Abbott's Guide to Ottawa and Vicinity/Rideau Falls
RIDEAU FALLS.
At a point close below "Earnscliffe" the Rideau river flows on either side of a low flat island which the street cars cross, and then falls into the Ottawa river from a height of nearly 50 feet. The level shelf of rock over which the water flows causes the fall to have the appearance of a curtain—hence the French appellation "Rideau," which name was then given to the river, as well as to the Governor General's residence and many other places. Owing to the situation of the falls they can only be seen from the Ottawa river, or from the Quebec shore.