# Timber slide > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Timber_slide > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Timber_slide.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_slide > Source revision: 1352443020 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Device for moving timber past rapids and waterfalls}} {{about|a method to move timber around a waterfall|a logging method to move timber with water|Log flume}} thumb|230px|right|Timber slide in Ottawa, with the Duke of York on timber raft, Sept. 1901. A '''timber slide''' is a device for moving [timber](/source/timber) past [rapids](/source/rapids) and [waterfall](/source/waterfall)s. Their use in [Canada](/source/Canada) was widespread in the 18th and 19th century [timber trade](/source/timber_trade). At that time, cut timber would be floated down [river](/source/river)s in large [timber raft](/source/timber_raft)s from logging camps to ports such as [Montreal](/source/Port_of_Montreal) and [Saint John, New Brunswick](/source/Port_of_Saint_John). Rapids and waterfalls would, however, damage the wood and could potentially cause log jams. Thus at these locations timber slides were constructed. These were thin water filled [chutes](/source/chute_(gravity)) that would run [parallel](/source/Parallel_(geometry)) to the river. They would usually only be wide enough for a single log and one at a time the logs would be directed down it. The idea is attributed to [Ruggles Wright](/source/Ruggles_Wright) who introduced the first one in 1829 not far from what is today down-town [Hull, Quebec](/source/Hull%2C_Quebec), Canada.[http://www.timberplus.co.uk/timber-slides/ History of Timber Slides] Later, the slides could often be up to a kilometre in length. They were most commonly found on the [Ottawa River](/source/Ottawa_River) system. The [Bonnechere River](/source/Bonnechere_River) in [Eastern Ontario](/source/Eastern_Ontario) had five chutes along the waterway before emptying into the Ottawa River. In some areas the timber slide became a tourist attraction, the most notable being the 1.2 km chute bypassing the [Chaudière Falls](/source/Chaudi%C3%A8re_Falls) on the Ottawa River in [Ottawa](/source/Ottawa). Its most notable visitors are the [Duke of York](/source/Duke_of_York), who later became King [George V](/source/George_V), and his wife, the [Duchess of York](/source/Duchess_of_York) [Mary of Teck](/source/Mary_of_Teck).Elizabeth Cavaliere "Sliding down the Timber Chute: The 1901 Royal Tour of Canada" NiCHE Blog http://niche-canada.org/2016/08/15/sliding-down-the-timber-chute-the-1901-royal-tour-of-canada/ Timber slides disappeared after the construction of canal networks and the decline of the timber trade. They were almost all out of service by the [First World War](/source/World_War_I). ==See also== * [Log flume](/source/Log_flume) * [Ottawa River timber trade](/source/Ottawa_River_timber_trade) * {{ill|Tømmerrenna|nb|Tømmerrenne|vertical-align=sup}} is the term for a timber slide in Norway, where they were also common. == References == {{reflist}} * Lee, David. "Lumber Kings and Shantymen: Logging, Lumber and Timber in the Ottawa Valley." Ottawa: Canada, 2006. Category:Wood Category:Water transport Category:Log transport Category:Forestry in Canada Category:History of forestry --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Timber slide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_slide) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_slide?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.