The Mékinac Lake is a large

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 ...

of freshwater of

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 thirteen p ...

(

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 ...

), located mainly in the municipality Trois-Rives, in Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the

, in

. The northern part of the lake and the bottom of the Bigué Bay (to the west) are within the

La Tuque (urban agglomeration) La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord, Quebec, Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the Population c ...

Toponymy

Like many historic waterways in the

St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...

and

Great Lakes Basin The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose dir ...

s, Mékinac Lake's name derives from a

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 ...

language. The Algonquin people who settled by the lake likened the shape of the high promontory overlooking a peninsula jutting into the lake from the east to a turtle, and so named it makinak (

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

''mikinaak''—snapping turtle). The French used a version of the original pronunciation—''Mékinac''. The name "Lake Mékinac" was officially registered as of December 5, 1968, at the "Bank of place names" of Commission de toponymie du Québec (Geographical Names Board of Québec). The surname "Mekinac" is used in 1808 in the baptismal act of the child Pierre-Olivier Launière said Mekinac, from

Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan is a parish municipality in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. This municipality is part of the Les Chenaux Regional County Municipality in Batiscanie and in the administrative region of Mauri ...

. The designation "lake Mekinac" appears in 1863 as "Mekina" in a work of Stanislas Drapeau. The designation " Mekinac River" is mentioned in an 1870 report of the surveyor Hilarion Lefebvre. The designation "lake Mekinac" is shown on the official plan of

Mékinac (township) The Mékinac Township is an area located in the municipality of Trois-Rives in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality (RCM), in the administrative region of Mauricie in the province of Quebec, in Canada. Mékinac Township is mostly a forest ...

in 1899. Finally, the Dictionary of rivers and lakes in the

, published in 1914, mentions it. Forestry workers and other travelers coming from the south to reach the Mékinac Lake named on their way the North Mékinac River (Petite rivière Mékinac nord), located in the territory of

Saint-Tite Saint-Tite is a town in the province of Quebec, Canada, north of Trois-Rivières, in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality (RCM) and in the Mauricie administrative region. In the 19th Century, the Batiscanie economy was mainly founded on f ...

and Grandes-Piles.

Geography

Mékinac lake has the shape of a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

, because of two bays forming the arms of the cross in the middle of the lake: * "Arm Bigué" (West side) that receives water from the outlet of "lac aux sleighs" (lake of Sleighs). The outlet of Lake Tom flows North into the "lac aux sleighs"; * "Grosleau Arms" (East side) that receives water discharge (long 0.4 km) of Lake Gélinas, which is located in the mountains. In the northern part of the lake (on the west bank), a camping site was built at the foot of the mountain "Cap à l'aigle" (Cape eagle), where the views are stunning. Mekinac lake covers 23 km² in the townships of

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterra ...

(North part), Hackett (central part) and Mekinac (south part). Its length is 18 km by 2 km wide. The lake drains into the Mekinac River, which is a tributary of the Saint-Maurice River. A water retention dam located at the mouth of Lake Mekinac was rebuilt in 2011 and 2012. The two main tributaries of Lake Mekinac are : * Rivière du milieu (River of the Middle) which flows from the eastern shore, in the northern part of the lake; * discharge of

Missionary Lake Missionary Lake ormerly named "Grand lac long" (Grand Long Lake)is located in the municipalities of Trois-Rives and Lac-aux-Sables in the Mekinac Regional County Municipality (RCM), in Batiscanie, in the administrative area of the Mauricie, in ...

which flows near the Mékinac dam, located south of Lake Mekinac. By road, the mouth of the lake is located about 99 km north of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

downtown or 52 km from Grand-Mère downtown. Starting from Grand-Mère, the path is to take the Route 155 (north) along the east bank of the Saint-Maurice River. Just before the bridge over the Mekinac River, 4.7 km after the village of Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac, turn on Saint-Joseph path towards Saint-Joseph-de-Mékinac, Quebec (municipality of Trois-Rives), a legendary authentic village that was developed through forestry, agriculture and tourist activities. After this town, turn left onto "Chemin du lac Mékinac" (Lake Mekinac Road). The distance between the Mekinac bridge ( Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac) and the dam of Mekinac Lake ( Trois-Rives) is 18.4 km (measured by road).

History

A peninsula in the middle of Lake Mekinac, on East bank (in the municipality of Trois-Rives) is designated the "Trou-du-Steamboat". It is located off the bay designated "Bras Grosleau" (Grosleau Arm) whose top of the neighbor mountain (north side) reaches over 320 meters. In this area, the mountains on the east side of the lake form a long promontory which falls into the lake Mekinac. Consequently, navigators have few places to hide when the wind rises. The name of this place is associated with a boat powered by a steam engine (commonly called "steamboat") who found refuge regularly in the large bay of "Bras Grosleau" when the lake became too agitated. To enter the bay, the boat had to cross a strait of 270 meters wide, between the peninsula and the headland, to take refuge in one of the four bays of "Bras Grosleau". This ship sank in 1930's near the same peninsula, in front of the "Grosleau Arm". The bay called "Bigué Arm" also was another haven for boats. The steam boat was used to circumvent the peninsula, on which the central mountain rises to over 260 meters, including commuting between bay "Grosleau Arm" (East side), with the bay "Bigué Arm" located at the opposite on the west shore of the lake. The steam boat was carrying forestry workers and goods to supply the logging camps established around the lake. The name "Trou-du-Steamboat" was officially registered on January 25, 1990, at the Bank of place names of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (Geographical Names Board of Québec)

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mekinac Lake Lakes of Mauricie Landforms of La Tuque, Quebec

Toponymy

Geography

History

See also

Notes and references