The rivière aux Vaches is a tributary of the

Saint-François River The Saint-François River is a right tributary of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Its source is Lake Saint-François in Chaudière-Appalaches, southeast of Thetford Mines. It flows southwest towards Sherbrooke, where it changes course ...

. It flows northwest in the administrative region of

Centre-du-Québec Centre-du-Québec (, ''Central Quebec'') is a region of Quebec, Canada. The main centres are Drummondville, Victoriaville, and Bécancour. It has a land area of and a 2016 Census population of 242,399 inhabitants. Description The Centre-du- ...

, on the South Shore of the

Saint 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, connectin ...

, in

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, crossing the municipalities of: * MRC of

Drummond Regional County Municipality Drummond is a regional county municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Drummondville. Subdivisions There are 18 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (1) * Drummondville ;Municipalities (12) * Durha ...

: town of

Drummondville Drummondville is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, located east of Montreal on the Saint-François River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 79,258. The mayor of Drummondville is Stéphanie Lacoste. Drummondville is ...

("Grantham-Ouest" sector) and the municipalities of

Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham is a parish municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec. The population as of the Canada 2016 Census was 1,388. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Saint-Majoriq ...

, Saint-Bonaventure, Saint-Pie-de-Guire, Saint-François-du-Lac; * MRC of

Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality Nicolet-Yamaska is a regional county municipality in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada. The county seat is Nicolet. Subdivisions There are 16 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (1) * Nicolet ;Municipalities (11) * ...

: municipality of Saint-François-du-Lac.

Geography

The main hydrographic slopes near the Vaches River are: * North side:

; * East side:

; * South side: Saint-Germain River; * West side: David River,

Yamaska River The Yamaska River is a river in southern Quebec, Canada. Sourcing water within the Eastern Townships, it ends its journey in Lake Saint-Pierre where it is a tributary to the Saint Lawrence River; altogether it is long. Crossing nearly twenty ...

. The Vaches River originates from agricultural streams draining the area north of

highway 20 Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to: International * European route E20 Australia * Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA) * Yarra Bank Highway Brazil * BR-020 Canada * Alberta Highway 20 * British Columbia Highway 20 * Manitoba Highway 20 *New B ...

and north of the highway Interchange 55, west of the city of

. This headland is located in the "Grantham-Ouest" sector, north of

and west of the town of

. From autoroute 20, the rivière aux Vaches flows mainly in agricultural zones on: * north-west in the "Grantham-Ouest" sector, up to boul. Lemire West; * northwesterly, crossing

and Saint-Bonaventure where it winds, up to rang Petit 5 road; * (or in a direct line) winding north-west in Saint-Bonaventure, up to rue Principale crossed by the river in the heart of the village; * north-west, to the 2e rang road; * ( in direct line) along route 143 and meandering northwest through Saint-Pie-de-Guire, up to the 13e rang road that the river crosses to the northeast of the village; * ( in direct line) winding north-west through Saint-Pie-de-Guire and Saint-François-du-Lac, up to the mouth. The Vaches River flows on the southwest bank of the

, facing "La Grande Île" and at the foot of the "Rapides Pôltegok". The mouth is located upstream of the Blondin bridge which connects Saint-François-du-Lac (southwest side) and Pierreville (north-east side).

Toponymy

The course of the river being mainly in agricultural zone, the cattle (especially cows) come to drink there during all the grazing season (usually from May to November for this region). The river was also used as a grazing limit because the cattle are bad swimmers. Given the relatively uneven relief of this hydrographic slope, the "Vaches River" is aptly named. The toponym "Rivière aux Vaches" was officially registered on December 5, 1968, at 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 ...

.Commission de toponymie du Québec - Bank of place names - Rivière aux Vaches
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaches, river Rivers of Centre-du-Québec Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality Drummond Regional County Municipality

Geography

Toponymy

See also

References