Blue Sea Lake (in French: ''Lac Blue Sea'') is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the municipalities of Blue Sea and

Messines, Quebec Messines is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec. It includes the population centres of Messines and Farley. Maniwaki Airport is located in Messines.Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, about north of

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

. It is known for its crystal clear water and is surrounded by cottages on its shores. The blue waters of Blue Sea Lake, together with its dimensions and the absence of significant

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

around, create the illusion of a sea. It feeds the Blue Sea River which empties into the Picanoc River, in turn a tributary of the

Gatineau River The Gatineau River (french: Rivière Gatineau, ) is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The river is long and drains ...

. Its name first appeared on a map of Hull County in 1928. Just over to the west, in

Cayamant Cayamant is a municipality in La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The village of Lac-Cayamant is located at the north end of Lake Cayamant, west of Gracefield, Quebec, Gracefield. It was formerly known as the ...

, is another, somewhat smaller lake called ''Lac de la Mer Bleue'', which also means "Blue Sea Lake". To distinguish between these two lakes, the English name is used for the larger one, even in French.

Geography

The town of Blue Sea is in the centre of what is known as the Upper Gatineau region and is surrounded by a number of other lakes, rivers, ponds, and wetlands — and true wilderness areas. Like so many other areas of Quebec, Blue Sea grew and prospered because of the forest industry, which in turn was dependent on the abundant waterways of the region, especially the Gatineau.

Local folklore

According to legend, a monstrous snake-like animal with a horse head used to live in this lake. Presumably seen by several people between 1913 and 1930, this exceptionally long, large, and fast seahorse has no longer given any signs of life since, except around 1980 in the Baskatong Reservoir, located much further north. His "absence" has been explained by the increase of tourism in the region and, hence, the number of motorized boats travelling on the lake. The Algonquin of Maniwaki called this monster "Misiganebic" or Grand Serpent, who supposedly cut a trail between Blue Sea and Cedar Lakes and would have manifested itself in several surrounding lakes and rivers.

References

External links

{{Authority control Blue Sea Lake

Geography

Local folklore

See also

References

External links