Petit lac Ha! Ha! is a freshwater lake in the Ferland-et Boilleau municipality, in the administrative region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, 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 ...

, 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 ...

. It is located on the east side of

Lake Ha! Ha! Lake Ha! Ha! is a waterbody tributary of the Ha! Ha! River. It is located in the municipality of Ferland-et-Boilleau, Quebec, in the Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality (MRC), in administrative region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, i ...

into which it drains. The southern portion of the lake is served by Route 381, which cuts the lake at the peninsula attached to the north shore, then heads northwest to the Northwestern part of

. Forestry is the main economic activity of the sector, followed by recreational tourism. The surface of Petit lac Ha! Ha! is usually frozen from late November to early April. The ice shelf is generally thick enough to allow safe passage from mid-December to late March.

Geography

This lake is located at south-west of the summit (altitude: ) of the

Mount Four Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

. The main hydrographic slopes near Petit lac Ha! Ha! are: * north side: Quiscale Creek, Huard Lake, Cedar River, Cedar Lake,

Otis Lake Otis may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Otis (Superman), in the films ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' and related DC Comics media ** Otis Graves, in the TV series ''Supergirl'' * Otis (''The Walking Dead''), in the Image Comics ...

; * east side:

Malbaie River The Malbaie River in the Charlevoix region empties into the Saint Lawrence River at La Malbaie. Until 1985 the river was used to transport logs downstream. It flows through a steep valley known as Les Hautes Gorges. A sugar maple and American el ...

, Cabin Creek; * south side:

, Michta Lake, Ha! Ha! River, Cruche River,

Barley River The Barley River is a tributary of the eastern bank of the upper part of the Malbaie River, flowing in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in the Charlevoix Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, ...

; * west side: Rivière à Pierre, Ha! Ha! River,

Rivière à Mars The Rivière à Mars is a tributary of the Baie des Ha! Ha! (Saguenay River), Baie des Ha! Ha! Crossing the borough La Baie, in Saguenay, Quebec, Saguenay (city), in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec, in Canada. The ...

. Petit lac Ha! Ha! has a length of between the surrounding mountains, forming a southward hook at the western end of

. Its maximum width is ; its altitude is ; and its area is . Petit lac Ha! Ha! is fed by the Quiscane stream (coming from the North and draining the Huard lake) and by an unidentified stream flowing from the east. This lake includes the Canots Cove (west side), Creuse Bay (South Shore) and Lambert Bay (South Shore). The mouth of the lake is located at: * southeast of the mouth of Lake Ha! Ha!; * south of the village center of

Boileau, Quebec Boileau is a village and municipality in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Papineau Regional County Municipality. The municipality was known as Ponsonby until 1993. Geography About north of Montebello, the municipality is c ...

; * south of Huard Lake; * southeast of the confluence of the Ha! Ha! River and the Bay of Ha! Ha!; * south-east of downtown Saguenay city; * north-west of downtown

Baie-Saint-Paul Baie-Saint-Paul ( 2011 Population 7,332; UA population 4,535) is a city in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Baie-Saint-Paul is the seat of Charlevoix Regional County Municipality. The city is ...

. From the bridge separating the two lakes, the current flows through

on northwesterly to the dam at its mouth, then the stream successively descends the Ha! Ha! River on to the northwest, across the Bay of Ha! Ha! on northeasterly, then go east on 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 ...

on 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 t ...

where this last river flows into the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Toponymy

The toponym "Petit lac Ha! Ha!" is linked to the lake, the river and the bay of the same name. The specific term "Ha! Ha!" has several possible interpretations. One popular interpretation associates it with an exclamation indicating irony or onomatopoeia of laughter. However, the name probably comes from an alteration of a Montagnais toponym almost unpronounceable in French, which in

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

means ''a place where bark is exchanged''. This is similar to the etymology of the Baie des Ha! Ha!, also part of the

basin. According to some historians, this specific is derived from the French word ''

ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...

'' meaning "an unexpected obstacle on a path". Additionally, the recollect Gabriel Sagard (baptized Théodat) published the Dictionary of the Huron Language (Paris, 1632), listing the noun ''Háhattey'', meaning "road, lane or address".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 under that of a CD-ROM made by the company Micro-Intel, in 1997, from this dictionary. The toponym "Petit lac Ha! Ha!" was made official 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 ...

Geography

Toponymy

References

See also