The Wayagamac Lake is located in the city of

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 ...

La Tuque (census division) 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 s ...

, in

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

, 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 ...

. Until 2006, the territory of the lake was part of the former unorganized territory of Petit-Lac-Wayagamac (Little Wayagamac Lake), before being merged to the

. The area of the lake is administered by the Zec de la Bessonne.

Geography

The Wayagamac lake is located 10 km (direct line) southeast of the city of

. This lake is surrounded by mountains

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...

. With some peaks exceeding 400 meters This Upper-Mauricie lake is segmented into three parts, the most important is the west side. It measures 9.2 km in length (east-west) and 5.9 km wide (north-south). The two main tributaries of the lake are the dumps of "Petit lac Wayagamac" (Small lake Wayagamac) (located 4.4 km to the East by the water) and Tom Lake (located 1.2 km south by water). ''Little Bostonians River'' From the outlet of Little Wayagamac Lake, the

Little Bostonnais River The Little Bostonnais river flows westbound in the city of La Tuque, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. Geography From the mouth of Little Wayagamac Lake, Little Bostonnais River runs on 4.4 km (measured on water) before emptying into the ...

course 4.4 km (measured on water) before flowing into the lake Wayagamac (southeast side). Wayagamac lake discharges from the west in the

which has an approximate length of 10.6 km (measured by water) between the dam and the Wayagamac lake. The mouth of the river flows into 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 ...

at the southern boundary of the city of

(just south of the airport). From the discharge of Little Wayagamac lake, the

water runs westbound on 23.6 km of which 8.6 km through the Wayagamac lake. ''Heron colony'' Like other zec of

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

, the zec de la Bessonne is not a protected area recognized by 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 ...

. By exception, logging and mining are permitted. A

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

ry and

bird colony A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting bir ...

are based on Steamboat Island, located in the center of Lake Wayagamac. The lake also serves as a water intake for the

municipal water system. ''Wayagamac Dam'' Built in 1953, this high-capacity dam has a length of 55 m and 6 m high. It has a holding capacity of 145 million cubic meters of water. The structure is composed of casing filled with stones. The dam has borrowed its name from the lake Wayagamac. The name "Dam Wayagamac" was officially registered on May 11, 1987, at the Bank of place names in

Geographical Names Board of Canada The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the Government of Canada, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of Canada ...

. Coordinates of the dam: Longitude West (72° 41' 50"); North Latitude: (47° 23' 02").

Toponymy

According to Father G. Lemoine, the term "waweia gamak" akin to the Algonquin language and means "at Round Lake". Father Joseph-Étienne Guinard consider that "waiagamak", set for "wawiagamaw" has meaning for "Round Lake". Yet its shape is triangular rather than round. This name, in the form of Wayagamack was mentioned in 1876 in a report of the surveyor Télésphore Chavigny Of Chevrotière. As of 1913, Wayagamack identified a pulp and paper established

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 ...

. The name "Lake Wayagamac" was officially registered on December 5, 1968, at the "Bank to place names" 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 ...

. In addition, Kruger, in partnership with the Société générale de financement du Québec (SGF Rexfor), has acquired the Kruger Wayagamack factory in 2001. This plant is located on the Ile-de-la-Potherie, in

Geography

Toponymy

Notes and references

See also