The Ouiatchouaniche River is a tributary 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 area ...
, flowing successively in the
unorganized territory of
Lac-Ashuapmushuan, the municipality of
Sainte-Hedwidge and the city of
Roberval, in the
Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality
Le Domaine-du-Roy ''(The King's Domain)'' is a regional county municipality in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. Its seat is in Roberval, and it is named for the King of France, who owned the land at the time of the colonizat ...
, in the administrative region of
Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
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 ...
, 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 ...
.
The upper part of the Ouiatchouaniche river valley is served by forest roads.
[Open Street Map - Accessed July 5, 2020]
/ref>
Forestry is the main economic activity in the upper and intermediate part of this valley; agriculture, in the lower part, except the urban area near the mouth.[
The surface of the Ouiatchouaniche River is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, except the rapids areas; however, traffic on the ice is generally safe from mid-December to mid-March.
]
Geography
The Ouiatchouaniche river has its source in Lake Quentin (length: ; altitude: ) in the unorganized territory of Lac-Ashuapmushuan. This lake is mainly supplied by the outlet (coming from the east) from Couture lake and the outlet (coming from the south) from an unidentified lake. This source is located at:
* west of Lac des Commissaires;
* south-west of the village center of Chambord Chambord can refer to:
* Chambord (liqueur), a brand of raspberry-flavored liqueur
* Château de Chambord, a French ''château'' built in the 16th century
* Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, the French commune where the ''château'' is located
* Chambord, ...
;
* south-west of the mouth of the Ouiatchouaniche River.[
From its source, the Ouiatchouaniche river flows over with a drop of , according to the following segments:
Upper course of the Ouiatchouaniche river (segment of )
Note: In forest area.
* towards the north by crossing a small lake, by collecting the discharge (coming from the west) of Surprise lake, by crossing Gareau lake (length: ; altitude: ) and crossing Lake Thomas-James (length: ; altitude: ), up to at its mouth;
* towards the north by collecting the discharge (coming from the west) of a set of lakes including Lac Sainte-Croix, crossing one of the Jumeaux lakes, up to the discharge of Long Summer Lake and East Lake;
* first by winding northwest to the outlet (coming from the southwest) of a small lake; then by winding towards the north, collecting successively the discharge (coming from the south) from Lac du Seuil, the discharge (coming from the west) from an unidentified lake, the discharge (coming from the east) from a stream, the outlet (coming from the south) from an unidentified lake, the outlet (coming from the east) from a stream, the outlet (coming from the north) from a small lake, the outlet (coming from the south) from another lake, to a stream (coming from the southwest);
Intermediate course of the Ouiatchouaniche river upstream of the dam (segment of )
Note: In forest area.
* towards the north by winding, by collecting the discharge (coming from the south) of a lake, by collecting a stream (coming from the West);
* to the north by collecting a stream (coming from the east) crossing marsh areas, to the south shore of Lake Edmond;
* to the north, subsequently crossing Lake Edmond (length: ; altitude: ) and Lake Valley (length : ; altitude: ) which is formed by the widening of the river and is surrounded by marshes, until its mouth, that is the dam "La Little Fall". Note: Lac Vallée receives the outlet (coming from the west) from Lac Saint-Pierre.
Intermediate course of the Ouiatchouaniche river (between the dam and the village) (segment of )
Note: In forest area.
* first towards the east by crossing a series of rapids up to a bend in the river; then towards the north, collecting the discharge (coming from the west) of a set of lakes including Lac Creux, at Aimé and Beemer, by forming a hook towards the northeast, up to the discharge (coming from the west) of Lac du Curé;
* towards the north by forming a hook towards the east while crossing a first series of rapids; then north, crossing a second series of rapids, up to a bend in the river;
* eastwards passing south of the village of Sainte-Hedwidge-de-Roberval, to a bend in the river, corresponding to a stream (coming from the south-east); then north through the village, up to a bend in the river, corresponding to a stream (coming from the south-east); then north, crossing the village, to Guay stream (coming from the east);
Lower section of the Ouiatchouaniche river (segment of )
Note: First in forest area, then agricultural.
* to the north, forming a loop to the west, up to a bend in the river;
* towards the northeast by entering the agricultural zone, while crossing islets of forest, up to a bend in the river;
* to the east by forming some streamers and crossing some rapids by forming a large curve towards the north, crossing rue Saint-Dominique, boulevard Marcotte, boul. Horace-J.Beemer, the railway and Saint-Joseph Boulevard, to its mouth.]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 area ...
. This confluence is located on the north side of the city of Roberval, either:
* south-east of the center of the village of Pointe-Bleue;
* north-west of the center of the village of Chambord.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. ...
via the Petite Décharge on eastwards to Tadoussac
Tadoussac () is a village in Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers. The indigenous Innu call the place ''Totouskak'' (plural for ''totouswk'' or ''totochak'') meaning "bosom", probably in reference to the tw ...
where it merges with the Estuary of Saint Lawrence
The estuary of the Saint Lawrence in Quebec, Canada, is one of the largest esturaries in the world.
Situation
The estuary of the St. Lawrence River is located downstream of the St. Lawrence River and upstream of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It ...
.[
]
Use of the territory
The south of the basin is located in the forest zone. From the southern limit of Sainte-Hedwidge, the river flows from agroforestry areas that are not under cultivation. Finally, the last kilometers downstream are located in agricultural areas, although they are not under cultivation. The river flows through two urban agglomerations, Sainte-Hedwidge and Roberval.
The only protected area along the watercourse is the habitat of the Lac Vallée muskrat (). The river also serves as a limit to the zec de la Lièvre.
Toponymy
The term "Ouiatchouaniche" is of Innu origin; it is a diminutive of "Ouiatchouan". This last term turns out to be the name of a river flowing into Lac Saint-Jean to the southwest. Locally, this watercourse is designated “Rivière du Tremblay”. The second part of the term "Ouiatchouaniche" can also resemble "Ouananiche", which turns out to be the name of a river whose confluence with Lac Saint-Jean is to the southwest.[Work: "Names and places of Quebec", work of the Commission de toponymie du Québec, published in 1994 and 1996 in the form of a printed illustrated dictionary, and in the form of a CD-ROM produced by the company Micro-Intel, in 1997, from this dictionary.]
Notes and references
External links
* .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouiatchouaniche, river
Rivers of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality