The Rivière des Mères is a tributary of 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 ...

. This watercourse flows in the municipalities of

Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse is a municipality of about 1,800 people about 20 km east of Lévis, in Bellechasse Regional County Municipality in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec, Canada. It is a mostly rural community, and it was ch ...

and Saint-Vallier, in the

Bellechasse Regional County Municipality Bellechasse Regional County Municipality is a regional county municipality in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec. The county seat is Saint-Lazare-de-Bellechasse. Saint-Lazare was chosen as the county seat because of its central location ...

, in the administrative region of

Chaudière-Appalaches Chaudière-Appalaches () is an administrative region in Quebec, Canada. It comprises most of what is historically known as the "Beauce" (french: La Beauce; compare with the electoral district of Beauce). It is named for the Chaudière River and ...

, 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 ...

, 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 surface of the rivière des Mères is generally frozen from the beginning of December until the end of March, except for the rapids areas; however, safe circulation on the ice is generally done from mid-December to mid-March. The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood occurs in March or April.

Geography

The Rivière des Mères rises on the northwest side of the railway, in the 3th rang west, in

. This source is located west of the village of La Durantaye and south of the center of the village of Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse. This river flows northeast, more or less in parallel (on the southeast side) to the

Boyer River The Boyer River is a tributary of the Missouri River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 30, 2011 in western Iowa in the United States. Most reaches of the riv ...

and the Blanche River. From its source, the Mères river flows over , with a drop of , divided into the following segments: * north-east, passing from the north-west side of the village of La Durantaye, to route 281; * north-east, up to the limit of Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse and Saint-Vallier; * north-east, up to the bridge 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 ...

; * towards the north-east, collecting the waters of the Blanche river "(coming from the south), up to the path" Montée de la Station "; * north-east, to route 132; * north-east, to its confluence. The Mères river flows onto the long shore in the eastern part of Berthier cove, on the south bank of 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 ...

. This confluence is located on the west side of the village of

Berthier-sur-Mer Berthier-sur-Mer is a town in the Montmagny Regional County Municipality within the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, east of Quebec City on Quebec Route 132, Route 132. ...

, on the east side of the village of Saint-Vallier and opposite the village of

Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. It is part of the L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality, on the southeastern side of Île d'Orléans. Prior to April 5, 2003, it was kn ...

located on

Île d'Orléans Île d'Orléans (; en, Island of Orleans) is an island located in the Saint Lawrence River about east of downtown Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage ...

. This confluence is located east of the confluence of the

Toponymy

The name of this watercourse evokes the work of the Augustine sisters of the General Hospital of Quebec, who owned the seigneury of Saint-Vallier. The toponym Rivière des Mères was formalized 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 - Toponym: Rivière des Mères

Notes and references

{{Portal, Rivers Tributaries of the Saint Lawrence River Rivers of Chaudière-Appalaches

Geography

Toponymy

See also

Notes and references