La Petite Décharge is the name of one of the two emissaries 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 ...

, the other being the La Grande Décharge. This river flows south of Alma Island, on the northwest shore of

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

, in the town of

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 ...

, 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, in the

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

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 ...

. La Petite Décharge marks the southern limit of Alma Island. To the east of this island, the two emissaries meet and form the

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 ...

at their confluence. The main economic activities are urban (ie the city of

), industrial and recreational tourism. La Petite Décharge is served on the north side by Mélançon-Ouest and Maurice boulevards. Paradis, as well as by the streets built on Alma Island; on the south side by Chemin du Golf, Scott Street West, Boulevard des Cascades, Rue Sacré-Coeur East and Boulevard Auger East. The surface of La Petite Décharge is usually frozen from the end of November to the beginning of April, however the safe circulation on the ice is generally done from mid-December to the end of March.

Geography

With a length of 16.2 kilometers, the Petite Décharge is dotted with rapids all along its route. The main watersheds neighboring the Petite Décharge are: * North side: La Grande Décharge,

Rivière aux Chicots Rivière, La Rivière, or Les Rivières (French for "river") may refer to: Places Belgium * Rivière, Profondeville, a village Canada * La Rivière, Manitoba, a community * Les Rivières (Quebec City), a borough France * La Rivière, Gironde * ...

, Rivière aux Harts, Mistouk River; * East side:

; * South side: Bédard River; * West side:

. La Petite Décharge is the second emissary of

whose mouth is located in the town of

, at: * West of the mouth of La Petite Décharge; * West of downtown

. From its source, the Little Landfill flows over in a forest, then an urban area, according to the following segments: * towards the East, then the North in a widening of the river, up to a bend of the river corresponding to the outlet of Lake Sophie (coming from the North); * towards the South-East, until the confluence of the

Bédard River (Saguenay River) The Bédard River is a tributary of the Saguenay River (via la Petite Décharge (La Grosse Décharge), la Petite Décharge), flowing in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of ...

(coming from the South); * towards the east passing in the town of

passing under a first road bridge, under the railway bridge, a second road bridge, up to at the bridge at route 169; * to the east, crossing the Alma Hydrobase area to the mouth of the river. La Petite Décharge spills out at the eastern tip of Alma Island, coinciding with the confluence of La Grande Décharge (coming from the North-West). The latter is crossed to the east by the

. This mouth is located at: * east of downtown

; * South-East of the Maligne Island hydroelectric plant; * West of downtown

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 mouth of the

Image gallery

Petite-décharge-2012.jpg, Passerelle du centenaire Petite-decharge-3.jpg, Les paliers de la Petite Décharge Barrage-petite-decharge.jpg, Barrage sur la rivière la Petite-Décharge

Toponymy

This toponym is pointed out by the surveyor Edmond Duberger in a report of April 29, 1861 in Quebec, probably dates from the 18th century.Tremblay, Victor. Alma au Lac Saint-Jean: son histoire, Chicoutimi, Centennial Edition, 1967, pages 9, 10. The toponym of "La Petite Décharge" was formalized 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 - Bank of Place Names - Toponym "La Grande Décharge"

Notes and references

Appendices

, a city *

, a stream * La Grande Décharge, a stream *

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 ...

, a body of water * Alma Island * Maligne Island hydroelectric plant *

List of rivers of Quebec This is a list of rivers of Quebec. Quebec has about: *one million lakes of which 62279 have a toponymic designation (a name), plus 218 artificial lakes; *15228 watercourses with an official toponymic designation, including 12094 streams and 3134 ...

Bibliography