Hogs Back Falls is a unique geological formation approximately 8 kilometers upstream from downtown Ottawa and the Parliament Buildings.

It is a significant acoustic, geological and social space, located where the Rideau River splits into to two streams. The river carries on its natural course until it meets the Ottawa River at Rideau Falls. The falls make it impossible for navigation, which is a major reason why the Rideau Canal was built. The canal also empties into the Rideau River through a series of locks approximately 2 kilometers upstream from Rideau Falls. Two different but related waterways - one natural, the other one manufactured to work around nature.

Acoustically, Hogs' Back is a significant site in terms of the interplay between the natural and human-created world. The acoustic properties of the various waterfalls, combined with human voices, the roar of traffic and other human-made sounds make a strong statement about the forces of nature as they collide with human development and settlement.

The falls are part of a larger development, both natural and artificial. While the falls themselves appear to be in their natural state, evidence of "improving upon nature" abounds.

"These rocks, sandstones and limestones were formed in the bottom of a shallow sea which covered the region in Ordovician times four hundred million years ago. Later, the region was uplifted and the strata were folded and broken". From a plaque at Hogs Back Falls.

To me, the phrase "Folded and Broken" is symbolic of Hog's Back and its place within the Ottawa soundscape. Hogs Back is both wild and civilized. Two hundred years ago, water flowed freely. Water flow is now controlled by a dam at the head of the falls. The falls, "a wild place in the midst of an orderly cityscape" is a symbol of wilderness tamed. It is nature by consent.

Individual soundwalks of Hogs Back Falls:

July 13
July 19
September 4
September 20

Hear some of the individual sounds of Hogs Back:

Birds and traffic. [Listen]
Birds and the falls. [Listen]
Tiny Gentle Falls - downstream on the Rideau River in a small tributary. [Listen]
The Singing Bridge - a metal bridge, which "sings" when cars drive over it. [Listen]
Swingbridge - the sound of bells warning traffic that the bridge over the Rideau canal is about to be moved to let a boat through. [Listen]

"Folded and Broken" the composition created with these sounds.

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