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Hundreds of rivers flow into James Bay. The geography of the area gives many of them similar characterisics. They tend to be wide and shallow near the Bay (in the area called the James Bay Lowlands), whereas they are steeper and narrower further upstream (as they pour off the Canadian Shield). Many of these rivers are popular destinations for wilderness canoe trippers. The Missinaibi River is probably the best known (it is recognized as a Canadian Heritage River), but there are many others.
The most common access point to this area is Moosonee, at the southern end of James Bay. Waskaganish is a town further to the north and east on James Bay. It has road access as of a few years ago, and is the most common end point for trips on the Broadback, Pontax, and Rupert Rivers (the town itself is situated at the mouth of the Rupert).
Many of these rivers (esp. Rupert, Eastmain, Grande Baleine and others in Quebec) are threatened by hydroelectric development (see James Bay, James Bay Project). Some have already been altered or dammed.
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