The Lac Bouchette is a fresh water body located in the municipality of Lac-Bouchette, in the MRC Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (, ) is a region in Quebec, Canada. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as Sagamie in French, from the first part of "Saguenay" and th ...

, in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, in Canada. The main vocation of the lake relates to recreational and tourist activities, in an agricultural environment. The surface of Lac Bouchette is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, however the safe circulation on the ice is generally made from the end of December to mid-March.

Geography

Lac Bouchette is located in the township of Dablon, covering a large area from range V to range VII. The lake is long in the north–south direction and a maximum width of . Lac Bouchette receives by its southern point the waters of the rivière des Commissaires which flows for towards the northeast at the limit of ranges V1 and V11, from

lac des Commissaires The lac des Commissaires flows in the municipality of Lac-Bouchette, in the MRC Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec, in Canada. The lake is popular for recreational and ...

. The plans of the Mapping Service of the Ministry of Energy and Resources, of the

Government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, indicate this segment of river as the Ouiatchouane River. This river receives on its right the waters of the trout river. With a length of (in a north–south direction), Ouiatchouane Lake is located adjacent north of Bouchette Lake, in ranges V and V1. End to end, these two lakes form a body of water long. An isthmus 0.5 km long which is crossed on the west side by a channel about 250 m long designated the "Pass", separates the lakes Bouchette and Ouiatchouane. The Hermitage road crosses this isthmus from East to West, to head towards the Ermitage Saint-Antoine. The waters of Lake Bouchette flow from the north into Lake Ouiatchouane, via this "Pass". The route 155, connecting

La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...

and

Chambord Chambord can refer to: * Chambord (liqueur), a brand of raspberry-flavored liqueur * Château de Chambord, a French ''château'' built in the 16th century * Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, the French commune where the ''château'' is located * Chambord, ...

( Lac Saint-Jean), runs along the eastern part of the Bouchette lakes and Ouiatchouane. This road crosses the village of Lac-Bouchette, which is located on the eastern shore of these two lakes. A road goes around Lac Bouchette. The main tributaries of the eastern shore of Lac Bouchette are: 7e rang stream, Bouchard-Cloutier stream and Ruisseau Thibault which feeds on Lac Castor. While the Qui-Mène-du-Train River flows on the eastern shore of Lake Ouiatchouane. Lac Trévis is located parallel to Lac Bouchette (distance of 1.1 km for the southern part of each lake), to the west, in range 7. Lac Bouchette has wetlands on the west shore. This zone begins at Baie de la Grèle, located at the mouth of

and extends in range V11 from lot 40 to lot 23. This wetland covers part of Bouchette Island (triangular), located on Lake Bouchette, near the mouth of the rivière des Commissaires. Lac des Commissiaires Covering an area of and a length of , the

lac des Commissioners Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is ''Kerria lacca''. Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infes ...

stretches from north to south. Its maximum width is . Its shape has two parts, roughly of similar length. The southern end of the southern part of the lake ends in a narrow bay six kilometers long, curving west. The route 155 connecting

and

runs along the southern part of the lake. In the middle of the lake, in the northern part, the lake forms a bulge towards the East, designated "Hail Bay" or "Mirage Lake" (former name "Lac Quaquakamaksis"). The "dam of the Commissioners" belongs to the

and is found at the outlet of the

Lac des Commissaires The lac des Commissaires flows in the municipality of Lac-Bouchette, in the MRC Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec, in Canada. The lake is popular for recreational and ...

, which constitutes the main source supplying the Ouiatchouane River. Ouiatchouane River The mouth of Ouiatchouane Lake drains from the northwest to the bottom of a bay ( deep) in the Ouiatchouane River. This river flows north to reach Lac Saint-Jean, northwest of the intersection of route 155 and route 169. The Ouiatchouane River flows mainly in the woods, except the last two kilometers of its route which are agricultural in nature.

Toponymy

The toponym "Lac Bouchette" was established in 1828, during an expedition to explore the territory. This expedition follows the vote on a plan by the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada to establish new places of colonization. In 1828, the surveyor

Joseph Bouchette Lt.-Colonel Joseph Bouchette (May 14, 1774 – April 8, 1841) was the Canadian Surveyor-General of British North America. His book, ''Topographical Description of the Province of Lower Canada'' was published at London in 1815 and also translated in ...

(1774-1841) who led an expedition in the Lac-Saint-Jean region, was accompanied by commissioners Andrew and David Stuart. The Surveyor General's team had left

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

in the summer of 1828, going up the

Saint-Maurice River The Saint-Maurice River (french: Rivière Saint-Maurice; Atikamekw: ''Tapiskwan sipi'') flows north to south in central Quebec from Gouin Reservoir to empty into the Saint Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. F ...

. Then, they borrowed the

Bostonnais River The river Bostonais or Bostonians is a river of Canada, located in Quebec, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in La Tuque (urban agglomeration). Geography This river of 96 km takes its sources in main lakes, located at almost highe ...

to go up to the head lakes where it is possible to change the catchment area in particular by using the Métabetchouan river, to descend to Lac Saint-Jean. In Quebec, several place names include the surname "Bouchette" in his memory, including a canton located south of

Maniwaki Maniwaki is a town located north of Gatineau and north-west of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The town is situated on the Gatineau River, at the crossroads of Quebec Route 105, Route 105 and Quebec Route 107, Route 107, not far south ...

and the La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve. The toponym "Lac Bouchette" was registered on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the

Commission de toponymie du Québec The Commission de toponymie du Québec (English: ''Toponymy Commission of Québec'') is the Government of Québec's public body responsible for cataloging, preserving, making official and publicize Québec's place names and their origins according ...

.Commission de toponymie du Québec - Lac Bouchette
/ref>

References

Appendices

* Lac Saint-Jean * Ouiatchouane River * Lac-Bouchette, municipality * Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchette, lake Lakes of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality

Geography

Toponymy

References

Appendices

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