OTTAWA, a city of Carleton county, province of Ontario, and the capital of the dominion of Canada, on the right bank of the Ottawa river, ioi m. W. of Montreal and 217 m. N.E. of Toronto. The main tower of the Parliament Building is in 25' 29.499" N., and 42' 00.246" W.
The city stands for the most part on a cluster of hills, 6o to 155 feet above the river. It is on the transcontinental lines of both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways, and has direct communication by both systems to Montreal, Toronto and other points in Canada, as well as by the Ottawa and New York and other railroads to New York and elsewhere in the United States. Electric railways afford communication with all parts of the city and the suburbs, as well as through the neigh bouring city of Hull to Aylmer. Several bridges connect Ottawa with Hull and others cross Rideau river and the Rideau canal.
The site of the city is very picturesque. For three miles it follows the high southern bank of the Ottawa from the Chau diere falls, whose mist-crowned cauldron is clearly visible from the summit of Parliament Hill, to and beyond the Rideau falls, so named by early French explorers because of their curtain like appearance. The Rideau, a southern tributary of the Ottawa, once formed the eastern boundary of the city, which, however, is now absorbing a string of suburbs that lie along its eastern banks. The Rideau canal cuts the city in two, the western portion being known as Upper Town and the eastern as Lower Town. Roughly speaking, the canal divides the two sections of the population, the English occupying Upper Town and the French Lower Town.
Opposite and a little below the mouth of the Rideau river, the Gatineau flows into the Ottawa from the north. The river is now the scene of very large hydro-electric developments. Above the Chaudiere falls the river is broken by the Deschenes rapids, and beyond these again it expands into Lake Deschenes, a favourite summer resort. To the north the Laurentian Hills, broken by the picturesque Gatineau valley, offer skiing in winter.
the fourth side remaining open. The corner stone of the main building was laid by the then prince of Wales in 1860. With the exception of the library, it was destroyed by fire in 1916, and has since been rebuilt. In the tower is a remarkably beautiful war memorial chamber, and above it is hung a carillon of 53 bells. The Langevin block on the south side of Parliament Hill is used for departmental purposes, and to meet the increasing needs of the Government, a group of buildings is to be erected on the banks of the Ottawa, west of Parliament Hill. Other national institutions are the Public Archives, Royal Mint, Department of National Revenue, National Museum and the National Art Gal lery, and Dominion Observatory. Other buildings are the City hall, public library, university of Ottawa, the collegiate institutes, Normal and Model schools, and the Roman Catholic and Church of England cathedrals. City charities include a large general hospital and nurses' home, a general hospital supported by the Roman Catholics and three special hospitals devoted to contagious diseases.
A system of public parks and driveways, partly within and partly without the city, add very largely to its attractions. A number of these have been built and. are maintained by the federal district commission. Statues of Queen Victoria, as well as of Sir John Macdonald, Sir Wilfrid Laurier and other Canadian statesmen, stand on Parliament Hill. A very beautiful war mem orial was in preparation in 1928. Rideau Hall, the official resi dence of the governor general, lies on the eastern boundary of the city at the entrance to Rockcliffe park.
Ottawa is governed by a mayor, and board of control of four members, elected by the city at large, and a board of 18 aldermen, two elected by each of the nine wards. The city returns two mem bers to the Dominion House of Commons, and three to the Ontario legislature. The population in 1921 was 107,843 ; and 126,872 in 1931.