Lake Mistassini () is the largest natural
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
by surface area in the province of
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, with a total surface area of approximately and a net area (water surface area only) of .
It is located in the
Jamésie
Jamésie is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Nord-du-Québec, Canada.
Its geographical code is 991 and together with Kativik TE and Eeyou Istchee TE it forms the administrative région and census division (CD ...
region of the province, approximately east of
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 ...
. 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 ...
town of
Mistissini
Mistissini ( cr, ᒥᔅᑎᓯᓃ/Mistisinî meaning Big Rock) is a Cree town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini. The town is inside the boundaries of the Baie-James Municipality and is the ...
is located on Watson Peninsula in the south-east corner of the lake, which separates Baie du Poste from Abatagouche Bay.
Extensive forests of
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
,
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...
,
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
, and
fir trees, which support a booming
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
industry, surround the lake.
Significant tributaries flowing into the lake include: Chalifour, Pépeshquasati, Takwa, Témiscamie, and Wabissinane.
Other nearby lakes include
Lake Albanel
Lake Albanel is located east of Lake Mistassini and covers a total area of approximately . It is located in the region of Jamésie. Quebec Route 167 ends beside this lake. It is entirely located in the protected area of Lacs-Albanel-Mistassini-et ...
and
Lake Troilus
Lake Troïlus is of the Broadback River watershed, located in Baie-James, in the Nord-du-Québec, in the province of Quebec, Canada.
This body of water is part of the Assinica Wildlife Sanctuary. The surrounding areas are conducive to hunting a ...
.
Etymology
![Lac Mistassini](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Lac_Mistassini.JPG)
The name Mistassini came from 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 ...
or
Montagnais , and means "large rock"; it probably refers a large
glacial erratic
A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundred ...
stone, about high, located near the outlet of Lake Mistassini into the
Rupert River
The Rupert River is one of the largest rivers in Quebec, Canada. From its headwaters in Lake Mistassini, the largest natural lake in Quebec, it flows west into Rupert Bay on James Bay. The Rupert drains an area of .
There is some extremely la ...
.
Over the centuries, it went through many name changes and different spellings. In 1664, on a map by Ducreux, this lake was known as ''Outakgami''. On maps by Jolliet (1684), Jaillot (1685) and Franquelin (1688), the lake was identified as ''Timagaming''. In 1703, the cartographer
Guillaume Delisle
Guillaume Delisle, also spelled Guillaume de l'Isle, (; 28 February 1675, Paris – 25 January 1726, Paris) was a French cartographer known for his popular and accurate maps of Europe and the newly explored Americas.
Childhood and education
Desli ...
used the same name, along with the name ''Mistasin''. Laure (1731) and
Bellin (1744) showed on their maps the name ''Lake Mistassins''. Other spelling variations of this First Nations designation included: ''Mistacinnee, Mistacsinney, Mistasinne, Mistasinia'', etc.
In 1808, James McKenzie of the
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...
used the name ''Lake Mistassini'' in his writings, the first use of the name in its current form. Nevertheless, other variants persisted long after: for instance, the explorer James Clouston inscribed ''Mistassinnie'' in his diary of 1820, while the geologist Robert Bell mentioned in 1880 the name ''Misstissinny''. Yet, thereafter, ''Mistassini'' became the accepted form, as evidenced by the map of the province of Quebec drawn in 1880 by Taché, and the expedition report published by
Albert Peter Low
Albert Peter Low (May 24, 1861 – October 9, 1942) was a Canadian geologist, explorer and athlete. His explorations of 1893–1895 were important in declaring Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic, and eventually defining the border between Quebec ...
in 1885, and in his Annual Report of 1900, Bell also adopted the current spelling.
Pre-contact
In the summer of 1948 Rogers and Rogers found 121 prehistoric sites in the region about Lake Mistassini and Albanel. At site 33, a sandy bank 15 to 20 feet high, where the land in back of the banks was comparatively flat and dry,
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
people in the area in 1948 claimed to have camped since time immemorial. At the time of Roger's research in 1948, First Nation people were actively still using campsites on 36% of the 121 prehistoric sites.
History
The existence of this large lake was known to French explorers prior to its official discovery;
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...
knew of it in 1603. It was finally discovered by Europeans in 1663 as part of an expedition ordered by
Governor D'Avaugour and led by
Guillaume Couture
Guillaume Couture (January 14, 1618 – April 4, 1701) was a citizen of New France. During his life he was a lay missionary with the Jesuits, a survivor of torture, a member of an Iroquois council, a translator, a diplomat, a militia captain, a ...
(first settler of Pointe-Lévy (
Lévis) and hero of
New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
).
He was accompanied by Pierre Duquet and Jean Langlois, as well as by Native American guides; the whole group consisting of a fleet of 44
canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
s. They went up 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 ...
, reached Lake Mistassini and continued on the
Rupert River
The Rupert River is one of the largest rivers in Quebec, Canada. From its headwaters in Lake Mistassini, the largest natural lake in Quebec, it flows west into Rupert Bay on James Bay. The Rupert drains an area of .
There is some extremely la ...
which flows to the
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
.
Thereafter, Lake Mistassini became an important step along the route from the
Saguenay to
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 ...
. In 1672,
Charles Albanel
Charles Albanel (1616 – 11 January 1696), born in Ardes or Auvergne, was a French missionary explorer in Canada, and a Jesuit priest.
Life
Charles Albanel entered the Society of Jesus in 1633 at Toulouse. In 1635 he began teaching at various Je ...
crossed the lake in an official mission. On June 18, 1672, he wrote: "We entered the great Lake Mistassirinins
.. this Lake is named for the rocks with which it abounds, which are of prodigious size."
That same year, a fur
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
was established on the lake, the location of which shifted from time to time until 1821, when it was established at the present site of the village
Mistissini
Mistissini ( cr, ᒥᔅᑎᓯᓃ/Mistisinî meaning Big Rock) is a Cree town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini. The town is inside the boundaries of the Baie-James Municipality and is the ...
.
![Large Bark Canoe on North West Side, Lake Mistassini (756)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Large_Bark_Canoe_on_North_West_Side%2C_Lake_Mistassini_%28756%29.jpg)
Mistassini Cree camp leader Alfie Matoush allowed ethnographer Edwards Rogers and his wife to join Matoush's 13-member hunting group in 1953-4 in their traditional hunting territory in the eastern Subarctic. Rogers observed the variety of game and resources that the Matoush group exploited and noted that they were able to derive a high percentage of the goods necessary for their existence, which included an impressive variety of game and resources, sufficient to keep their health at a better level than other, more sedentary First Nation people who lived in hamlets.
Their traditional hunting grounds, an area northeast of Lake Mistassini, were near the headwaters of the
Eastmain River
The Eastmain River, formerly written East Main, is a river in west central Quebec. It rises in central Quebec and flows west to James Bay, draining an area of . The First Nations Cree village of Eastmain is located beside the mouth.
Name
Eastm ...
, and just south of Noakokan. Lake Indicator is near their southern boundary. Rogers observed that Lake Indicator was used as an early winter base for hunting and trapping, and noted the remains of an earth-covered conical lodge, four house pits, and a log cabin. Rogers noted that the Mistassini First Nations left their summer encampments in late August or early September at the lower end of Lake Mistassini and moved to their hunting grounds where the men built a fall camp. From October through December they lived in early winter camps which were more substantial. This was where they cached their canoes. During the hardest part of the winter they moved to different hunting camps. In April, they moved back to the early winter camp, and by the end of May they were at their summer camp at the south end of Lake Mistassini.
The earth-covered conical lodge, three house pits, and the remains of a log cabin were near the Matoush early winter camp (1953-1954), about mid-way on the west shore of Lake Indicator. The earth-covered conical lodge was used by Matoush's parents, his siblings, and his own family c. 1915-1920 as an early winter camp from October to January.
The known distribution of earth-covered conical lodges in the eastern Subarctic extends from the east coast of James Bay at the Eastman River post, the lower Rupert River, and Fort George.
Geography
Main islands
(Clockwise, from the mouth)
Peninsulas, capes and bays
Access roads
The eastern sector of Mistassini Lake (including the village of
Mistissini (Cree village municipality)
Mistissini ( cr, ᒥᔅᑎᓯᓃ/Mistisinî meaning Big Rock) is a Cree village municipality in the territory of Eeyou Istchee in northern Quebec, Canada; it has a distinct legal status and classification from other kinds of village municipal ...
and the hamlet Rivière-Chalifour) is accessible from
Chibougamau
Chibougamau () is the largest town in Nord-du-Québec, central Quebec, Canada. Located on Lake Gilman it has a population of 7,504 people (2016 Canadian Census). Chibougamau is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou Istc ...
by the
route 167. This road goes north to the east shore of Albanel Lake. Some secondary forest roads connect to this main road.
See also
*
List of lakes of Quebec
This is an incomplete list of lakes of Quebec, a province of Canada.
Larger lake statistics
This is a list of lakes of Quebec with an area larger than . :fr:Liste des lacs du Canada#Québec
List of Lakes
0–9
* Lake 3.1416
A
...
*''
Cree Hunters of Mistassini
''Cree Hunters of Mistassini'' is a 1974 documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada and co-directed by Boyce Richardson and Tony Ianzelo. It chronicles a group of three Cree families from the Mistassini region of Quebec as th ...
''
*
Mistassini dike swarm
The Mistassini dike swarm is a 2.5 billion year old Paleoproterozoic dike swarm of western Quebec, Canada. It consists of mafic dikes that were intruded in the Superior craton of the Canadian Shield. With an area of , the Mistassini dike swarm stan ...
References
Works cited
*
External links
*
{{Canada topic, List of lakes of
Mistassini
Cree