A Virtual Tour of The City of Winnipeg

The Winnipeg Floodway (or Duff's Ditch)

Construction of the Greater Winnipeg (Red River) Floodway was completed in 1967 and Duff Roblin suffered much ridicule for his proposed 40 km channel to divert potential floodwaters from the city. Well, we certainly know better now. Thanks to "Duff's Ditch" (and countless other people) the floodwaters of 1997 didn't effect Winnipeg nearly as much as possible had there been no defense.

In this image, where highway 59 crosses the floodway, only a thin stream of water is visible at the bottom of the ditch. The larger dark shapes are waters collecting in the sand pits (bright white areas) adjacent to the floodway. This area is near the Red River and we can take note of the patterns of agricultural fields next to the rivers in the region. The closer to the river, the more common these narrow fields, which reflect the distribution of landholdings to younger generations amongst our earliest settlers. This pattern is also visible along the Assiniboine River though not as pronounced, suggesting less subdividing of individual properties

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