Mattawa Bay is a freshwater body of the southwestern part of the Gouin Reservoir in the territory of the town 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 ...

, in the

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 ...

administrative region, 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 ...

. This lake extends in the canton of Poisson and Evanturel. Following the completion of the

Gouin Dam Gouin or Goüin may refer to: Places * Barrage Gouin Water Aerodrome, airport in Quebec * Gouin-Gouin, town in Burkina Faso * Gouin (electoral district), provincial electoral district * Gouin Boulevard, longest street on the island of Montreal * Go ...

in 1948, Mattawa Bay is in its present form as part of the

Gouin Reservoir The Gouin Reservoir () is a man-made lake, in La Tuque, in Mauricie, in the central portion of the Canadian province of Quebec, fully within the boundaries of the City of La Tuque. It is not one contiguous body of water, but the collective na ...

. Recreotourism activities are the main economic activity of the sector. Forestry comes second. Some forest roads serve the valleys of the

Flapjack River The Flapjack River is a tributary of the Mattawa Bay of the Southwest of Gouin Reservoir, flowing into the town of La Tuque, into the administrative area of the Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. The Flapjack River flows successively into the townsh ...

Bignell Creek Bignell Creek is a tributary of the Adolphe-Poisson Bay located on the southwestern side of the Gouin Reservoir. This stream runs entirely in forest zone in the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. Big ...

and the

Mégiscane River The Mégiscane River is a tributary of Parent Lake (Abitibi). It flows in the Northwest of Quebec, in Canada, in the administrative regions of: *Mauricie: in the westernmost part of the town of La Tuque; *Abitibi-Témiscamingue: in the territory of ...

. These forest road branches connect to route 404 which serves the Mattawa Bay Valley and connects to the Southeast at route 400 which connects the

to the village of

Parent, Quebec Parent is a community in northern Quebec, Canada, located within the city of La Tuque and about north-west of La Tuque's town centre. In 2011, it had a population of 611.Statistics Canada 2006 Census Parent community profile/ref> During the sum ...

via the river valleys Jean-Pierre and Leblanc. The surface of Mattawa Bay is usually frozen from mid-November to the end of April, but safe ice circulation is generally from early December to the end of March.

Geography

Toponymy

The toponym "Baie Mattawa" was formalized on December 5, 1968, by 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 ...

, when it was created.Quebec Geographic Names Board - Place names database - Toponym: "Mattawa Bay".
/ref>

Geography

Toponymy

Notes and references

See also