Winnipeg City Map Poster

About Winnipeg

Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine and the Red River of the North, a location now known as "The Forks". This point was at one time called "the Forks" because it was near where traders arrived by river boat. Winnipeg is named after nearby Lake Winnipeg; its name comes from either Cree or Ojibwe words meaning 'muddy waters', in reference to its muddy harbour during early settlement. The lake itself is a postglacial valley bog, originally freshwater but now saline with an average depth of . It has been significantly modified over thousands of years as successive cultures have changed and exploited it for different purposes including trade, transportation routes, water supply and waste disposal.