The Étamamiou River (french: Rivière Étamamiou) is a river in the
Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada.
Location
The river runs through the
Basse-Côte-Nord between the
Olomane and
Little Mecatina rivers.
It has a very irregular course of .
Upstream from Lake Manet, about from its mouth, the river divides into two sections which meet again at Foucher Lake, further down.
The river again divides into two channels before reaching the gulf, which one arm enters downstream from the hamlet of Étamamiou and the other arm enters in Bussière Bay.
There is an impressive rapids near the mouth, but above this the river is calm.
The mouth of the river is in the municipality of
Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality.
The river mouth is about west of
La Tabatière and east of
Natashquan.
The
Ouapitagone Archipelago
The Ouapitagone Archipelago (french: Archipel de Ouapitagone) is a small group of rocky islands in the province of Quebec, Canada.
They are off the Côte-Nord (North Shore) of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
Location
The islands are in the municipa ...
is just south of the river mouth.
Name
In the
Innu language the word "aitumamiu" means "splitting in two" or "lake with two outlets".
The name is related to Itomamo.
In the past it has been spelled Etamamu, Itamamiou, Hightomamiou, Aitomami, Etaumamiu, Itamamu and Itumamu.
The present form of Étamamiou was used on a regional map of 1913.
At that time, two sections of the river were identified, but one was incorrectly shown as ending in
Coacoachou Lake and the Bay of Wolves (Baie des Loups) in the west.
The error was not corrected on the maps until 1950.
The Innu call the river Uiahtehau, meaning "the leaves change color in the fall."
It is also called Mistamiskaikan Hipu.
Watershed
The river drains a watershed of around .
The mountainous region is rich in wildlife such as
hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...
,
ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus''),
spruce grouse (''Falcipennis canadensis''),
ptarmigan (''Lagopus''),
boreal woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''),
moose (''Alces alces''),
marten
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on t ...
,
Canada lynx (''Lynx canadensis'') and
porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...
.
The waters are used by
beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
(''Castor canadensis''),
muskrat
The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...
(''Ondatra zibethicus''),
otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
,
mink
Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
and migratory birds.
European presence
Around 1733
Jacques de Lafontaine de Belcour
Jacques de Lafontaine de Belcour (22 September 1704 – 18 June 1765) was a French entrepreneur who was involved in various business ventures in New France (now Quebec) such as trading with the Indians and hunting seals and whales. He became involv ...
established a French trading post at the river's mouth.
In 1764 the post was sold to the English, and apparently remained in business for another 100 years.
The river was explored in 1892 by the surveyor Louis Poulin de Courval.
He said the main mouth was a good harbor, and the river was a series of lakes with abundant salmon and trout, flowing through excellent hunting territory.
The hamlet of Étamamiou where the post stood is inhabited by a few families occupied in fishing and by an outfitter.
Fishing
Salmon swim up the Étamamiou River for more than .
The Étamamiou inc. outfitter located from the river mouth belongs to the Unamen Shipu community of Innus.
As of 2019 the Étamamiou Outfitters had exclusive fishing rights over the river basin.
They provide Innu guides, transportation by float plane, accommodation and a chef.
There are six salmon pools with rocky sand bottoms.
Fishing is mainly from boats.
In addition to salmon there are many anadromous
brook trout
The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
.
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Étamamiou River
Rivers of Côte-Nord