The Belle Rivière is a tributary of

Lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (Canadian French: ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an are ...

, flowing the unorganized territory of Belle-Rivière and in the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Hébertville and Saint-Gédéon, in the

Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality Lac-Saint-Jean-Est is a regional county municipality in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Alma. In 2016, 99.3% reported that they spoke French most often at home, according to the census. Subdivisions There are 1 ...

, in the administrative region of

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 ...

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 ...

. The Belle Rivière valley is served by route 169, chemin du 3e rang, chemin du 2e rang, chemin du rang Caron, route des Savard, chemin du rang de la Belle-Rivière (north side of the river) and chemin du rang Sainte-Anne (south side). This valley is also served by some secondary forest roads, especially for forestry and recreational tourism activities. Forestry and agriculture are the main economic activities in this valley; followed by recreational tourism, as a second economic activity. The surface of the Belle Rivière is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, however the safe circulation on the ice is generally made from mid-December to mid-March.

Geography

Taking its source from

Lac de la Belle Rivière The lac de la Belle Rivière is a freshwater body at the head of Belle Rivière on the watershed of lac Saint-Jean, in the unorganized territory of Belle-Rivière, in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality, in the region Saguenay– ...

(), this river is long. This river empties into

at Saint-Gédéon. The main watersheds neighboring the Belle Rivière are: * north side: Bédard River,

Petite rivière Bédard The petite rivière Bédard is a tributary of the Bédard River, flowing in the municipalities of Larouche (MRC of Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality) and Hébertville-Station (MRC of Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality ...

, Rouge stream,

La Petite Décharge La Petite Décharge is the name of one of the two emissaries of lac Saint-Jean, the other being the La Grande Décharge. This river flows south of Alma Island, on the northwest shore of St. Lawrence River, in the town of Alma, in the Lac-Saint ...

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River () is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. T ...

; * east side: Vert Lake,

Kenogami Lake Kenogami lake is a long lake in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of south-central Quebec, Canada. Situated at an altitude of , the lake is long and deep. "Kénogami" means "long lake" in the Montagnais dialect and was originally used to ref ...

Cascouia River The Cascouia River is a tributary of Kenogami Lake, flowing in the municipality of Larouche, Quebec, Larouche in the Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality and in the city of Saguenay, Quebec, Saguenay, in the administrative region of S ...

Pikauba River The Pikauba River is a tributary of Kenogami Lake, flowing in the province of Quebec in Canada, in the administrative regions of: * Capitale-Nationale: in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in the Charlevoix Regional County Municipality; * ...

; * south side:

Métabetchouane River The Metabetchouan River (French: ''Métabetchouane'') is a tributary of Lac Saint-Jean in the centre of the province of Quebec, Canada. The course of this river successively crosses the regional county municipalitys (MRC) of: * La Jacques-Cartier ...

, rivière du Milieu, Grand lac des Cèdres outlet, rivière aux Canots, Chaine River; * west side:

Couchepaganiche East River The Couchepaganiche East River is a tributary of the Couchepaganiche River, flowing in the municipality of Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix, in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality, in the a ...

, Puant stream, Dumais stream,

. The La Belle Rivière rises at

(length: ; altitude: ) in the forest area. This source is located at: * south-east of route 169; * east of the village center of Saint-André-du-Lac-Saint-Jean; * south-east of

lac Saint-Jean Lac Saint-Jean (Canadian French: ) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an are ...

; * south-east of the confluence of the La Belle Rivière and a bay on the east shore of

; * south of downtown

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

; * south-east of the entrance to the

. From its source (

lac de la Belle Rivière The lac de la Belle Rivière is a freshwater body at the head of Belle Rivière on the watershed of lac Saint-Jean, in the unorganized territory of Belle-Rivière, in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality, in the region Saguenay– ...

), the Belle Rivière flows over with a drop of entirely in the forest and agricultural zone, according to the following segments: * north-east, up to a stream (coming from the south); * northerly, curving northwest, to La Belle Rivière (coming from the southwest); * towards the north by entering agricultural land and zigzagging at the end of the segment, until the confluence of the rivière des Aulnaies (coming from the south-east); * north-west, up to a stream (coming from the east) which the area around the village Hébertville-Station; * west to its mouth. La Belle Rivière pours into the bottom of a bay on the eastern shore of

. This confluence is located at: * south of the entrance to the bay; * south of the mouth of

(via

); * south-west of downtown

; * south-west of downtown

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi () is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and com ...

(sector of

Saguenay (city) Saguenay may refer to: Places in Canada *Saguenay, Quebec, a city *Saguenay River, a major river in Quebec *Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, the region of the Saguenay *Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality (The Saguenay Fjord), Regional Cou ...

); * west of the village center of

Hébertville Hébertville is a municipality in Quebec, Canada. History Hébertville was founded in 1849 and is named for the priest Nicolas-Tolentin Hébert (1810-1888), the son of Jean-Baptiste Hébert, a Patriot representative jailed in Montreal in 183 ...

. From the mouth of La Belle Rivière on the east shore of

, the current goes north on crossing this last lake, follows the course of the

via

on until

Tadoussac Tadoussac () is a village in Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers. The indigenous Innu call the place ''Totouskak'' (plural for ''totouswk'' or ''totochak'') meaning "bosom", probably in reference to the t ...

where it merges with the

Saint Lawrence estuary The estuary of the Saint Lawrence in Quebec, Canada, is one of the largest esturaries in the world. Situation The estuary of the St. Lawrence River is located downstream of the St. Lawrence River and upstream of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It ...

Toponymy

Its name comes from the montagnais "Mirochip8" which means "beautiful river". It has also previously been known as the Couchepagane River Kushpahigan or . The toponym "La Belle Rivière" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.Commission de toponymie du Québec - Bank of Place Names - Toponym: "La Belle Rivière"
/ref>

Geography

Toponymy

Notes and references

See also