Ottawa River drainage basin
The Ottawa River drainage basin is the drainage basin in northern North America where surface water empties into the Ottawa River and adjoining waters. Spanning an area of about , it is the 12th largest drainage basin in Canada, occupying the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It accounts for about 11% of the total Saint Lawrence River drainage area.
Technological and industrial history of 21st-century Canada
Geological formations of shale gas are being explored as a new source of energy. A technique known as horizontal drilling is used to create a horizontal bore hole, through a formation. Water under high pressure is then pumped into the bore hole where it fractures the shale and allows the gas to escape the rock and seep up the bore hole. There are a number of shale gas fields in Canada including the Shallow Colorado basin in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Bakken, in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Antrim in Southern Ontario and the Utica in south east Quebec. The technique is not without problems for the fracturing can affect aquifers causing contamination and deviation. To date efforts at production in Canada have been limited to exploratory wells.