The Kitchigama River is a river in the Eeyou Istchee Baie-James, in the administrative region of

Nord-du-Québec Nord-du-Québec (; en, Northern Quebec) is the largest, but the least populous, of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. With nearly of land area, and very extensive lakes and rivers, it covers much of the Labrador Peninsula ...

, 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 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 ...

. It is a tributary of the

Nottaway River The Nottaway River is a river in Quebec, Canada. The river drains Lake Matagami and travels north-west before emptying into Rupert Bay at the south end of James Bay. Its drainage basin is and has a mean discharge of 1190 m³/s (1556 yd³/s). It ...

. This hydrographic slope has no access forest road. The surface of the river is usually frozen from early November to mid-May, however, safe ice circulation is generally from mid-November to mid-April.

Geography

The Kitchigama River originates at the mouth of Grasset Lake (Eeyou Istchee James Bay) (length: ; width: ; ) which is located in Grasset Township. It is surrounded by large swamp areas. It receives the waters of the Supercase River on the south side and the waters of two unidentified streams on the east side. The mouth of the lake is located at northwest of a bay

Matagami Lake Lake Matagami is a lake in Jamésie, in Nord-du-Québec, in Quebec, in Canada. It is located just north-northeast of the town of Matagami. Geography Located in a marshy area of northern Quebec, the lake created by the meeting of the rivers All ...

, northwest of downtown of

Matagami Matagami (, ) is a small town in Quebec, Canada. It is located north of Amos, on Matagami Lake, at the northern terminus of Route 109 and the start of the James Bay Road (French: ''Route de la Baie James''). It is enclaved within the local mu ...

and at southeasterly of the mouth of the Kitchigama River (confluence with the

). The river meanders about in the characteristic swampy lowlands of the region, parallel to the

. From Grasset Lake (Eeyou Istchee James Bay), the Kitchigama River flows over according to the following segments: Upper Kitchigama River (segment of ) * north, to the outlet of Lac La Forest (coming from the North-West); * northeasterly, to the outlet of Testard and Gabriel lakes (from the southeast); * northeasterly to the northern limit of La Forest Township; * northeasterly to Kashapuminatikuch Creek (from the North); * east to the confluence of the Pahunan River; Kitchigama River Intermediate Course (segment of ) * north, to the outlet of Lake Montreau (coming from the East); * northwest to marsh areas, skirting an island of to the end of the island; * northwesterly to the outlet of Kamivakutisi Lake (coming from the West); Lower Kitchigama River (segment of ) * northwesterly to a bend in the river; * northwesterly from the northeastern side of a filamentous melt to a bend in the river; * north to mouth. The mouth of the Kitchigama River flows to the southwestern shore of the

at about south-west of it, before flowing into it, before reaching

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

. This confluence is located at: * Northwest of the mouth of

; * North-west of downtown

Matagami, Quebec Matagami (, ) is a small town in Quebec, Canada. It is located north of Amos, on Matagami Lake, at the northern terminus of Route 109 and the start of the James Bay Road (French: ''Route de la Baie James''). It is enclaved within the local mu ...

; * East of the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

border.

Etymology

The name Kitchigama would be derived from kitci and kami, meaning large body of water in

algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

. This name appears in 1896 on the map of Robert Bell. Some explorers of European descent have designated this river "Fall to Gama". According to father

Georges Lemoine Clément Georges Lemoine (16 January 1841 in Tonnerre – 13 November 1922 in Paris) was a French chemist and hydrologist. He was the father of geologist Paul Lemoine (1878–1940). He studied at the École Polytechnique and the École des po ...

, the name "Kitchigama" is of Algonquin origin. This term would be derived from "kitci" and "kami", meaning "large body of water". According to Father Joseph-Étienne Guinard, the

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

s and the

Algonquins The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

the term "Kitchigami" means "the sea, the ocean and all large bodies of water". In the course of history, several graphic variants have been identified: Kitchigoma, Michagami, Michagimi, Matchigama, Michigama, Mitchagimi, Mitchigami. Recent Cree surveys have identified the toponym "Minikwanaw Shipish", translated as "river of the mountain that drinks". Other Cree appellation of origin identify certain segments of the river, including "Kachiwapaminakuch Sipi", meaning "it can be seen from the river"; and "Nakatewakamiu Sipi, meaning" river with black water".Source: "Names and places of Quebec", a work 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 ...

, published in 1994 and 1996 in the form of a printed illustrated dictionary , and under that of a CD-ROM made by the company Micro-Intel, in 1997, from this dictionary.

Geography

Etymology

Notes and references

See also