Gitchigami-ziib

Gitchigami-ziibi, the Great Lake River, is the Ojibwe name for the St. Louis River, which reaches the western end of Lake Superior. It rises in the wooded uplands of northeastern Minnesota and descends through rapids toward a broad estuary. The river provided a route between the lake and the interior, though travellers had to carry their canoes past difficult stretches. The French named it for Saint Louis; its Ojibwe name places the great lake at the centre of its identity.