The Rivière des Neiges is a
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
of the east bank of the
Montmorency River
The Montmorency River is a tributary of North-East bank of St. Lawrence river, flowing in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The course of the river successively crosses the regional county municipa ...
. It flows in the unorganized territory of
Lac-Jacques-Cartier, in
La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality
La Côte-de-Beaupré is a regional county municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Château-Richer. Its most populous community is the municipality of Boischatel.
Subdivisions
There are 11 subdivisions within ...
, in the administrative region of
Capitale-Nationale
Capitale-Nationale (; en, National Capital region) is one of the 17 List of Quebec regions, administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's Communauté métropol ...
, in
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
from
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 ...
, to
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 ...
.
This river has a low water level; thus, kayaking is only possible during the spring flood.
This valley is mainly served by a secondary forest road up the east bank of the Rivière des Neiges. From the mouth of the
Savane River, this road extends northeastward, mainly following the east bank of the latter. While the hydrographic slope of
lac des Neiges is mainly served by the forest road R0308 coming from the South and passing on the East side of the lake. A secondary forest road runs along the east shore of this lake to serve a dozen chalets in the mouth of the lake and the area north of the upper part of the Rivière des Neiges.
Because of its altitude, the surface of the upper part of the Rivière des Neiges is generally frozen from the end of November until the beginning of April; however, safe circulation on the ice is generally done from mid-December to the end of March. The lower part of the river course has a freezing period of about two weeks less than the upper part. The water level of Lac des Neiges is controlled by a dam built at its mouth. 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 Neiges is the most important tributary of the
Montmorency River
The Montmorency River is a tributary of North-East bank of St. Lawrence river, flowing in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The course of the river successively crosses the regional county municipa ...
. It rises in Lac des Neiges, in the
Laurentides Wildlife Reserve
Réserve faunique des Laurentides (), also known by its former name of parc des Laurentides, is a wildlife reserve in Quebec, Canada, located between Quebec City and the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. This reserve is part of the network of ...
. It then flows south over a distance of to reach the Montmorency river past the southern limit of the wildlife reserve.
The bed of the Rivière des Neiges turns out to be very rocky. The course of this river descends to the bottom of a glacial valley. This valley gradually becomes more steep, offering splendid panoramas on the way to the point of confluence with the Montmorency river.
From the dam at the mouth of
lac des Neiges, the Rivière des Neiges descends on , with a drop of according to the following segments:
Upper part of the rivière des Neiges (segment of )
* first towards the east, then towards the south-east crossing English Lake (length: ; altitude: ) to its mouth;
* towards the south-east by passing near the southern zone of the
old forest of Lac-des-Neiges located on the west bank, then the course of the river forms a small hook towards the northeast, to the outlet (coming from the south) of lakes Renaud and Dumont;
* towards the south-east relatively in a straight line in a valley becoming more and more steep, by collecting the discharge (coming from the north-east) of Lac Lily, up to a bend river;
* towards the south in a well boxed valley by collecting in particular the discharge of lakes Malin, Génois, Morency and Petit lac Génois, until the
Savane River (from the East);
Lower part of the rivière des Neiges (segment of )
* to the south by collecting the outlet of Lac Indigo (coming from the west) to the outlet (coming from the northwest) of Lac Beaudry;
* to the south in a well-enclosed valley, in particular by crossing the Lac des Petites Îles, to the confluence of the
rivière du Camp Brûlé (coming from the East);
* to the south in a well-boxed valley, forming a hook to the southwest, to its mouth.
[Atlas of Canada - Department of Natural Resources Canada - Rivière des Neiges (La Jacques-Cartier) - Distance and altitude measurements established from the application of site measurements.]
/ref>
From the confluence of the Rivière des Neiges, the current flows over generally towards the south by the course of the Montmorency River
The Montmorency River is a tributary of North-East bank of St. Lawrence river, flowing in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The course of the river successively crosses the regional county municipa ...
, to the northwest 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 ...
.[
]
Toponymy
The toponym Rivière des Neiges is linked to Lac des Neiges. The origin of these toponymic designations is associated with the presence of snow on the surrounding peaks for a greater part of the year than in the lower valleys. The designation "Snow River" appears on the map of provincial surveyor Frederic William Blaiklock of 1852.[Source: Names and places of Quebec, work of the Commission de toponymie published in 1994 and 1996 in the form of an illustrated dictionary printed, and under that of a CD made by the company Micro-Intel, in 1997, from this dictionary.]
The Wendats name this river Kahndaoochaooyi Lahandawa.
The toponym Rivière des Neiges 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 ...
.[.]
See also
* La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality
La Côte-de-Beaupré is a regional county municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Château-Richer. Its most populous community is the municipality of Boischatel.
Subdivisions
There are 11 subdivisions within ...
* Montmorency River
The Montmorency River is a tributary of North-East bank of St. Lawrence river, flowing in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The course of the river successively crosses the regional county municipa ...
* Rivière du Camp Brûlé
* Savane River
* Lac des Neiges
* Lac-des-Neiges Old Forest, a protected area
* List of rivers of Quebec
This is a list of rivers of Quebec. Quebec has about:
*one million lakes of which 62279 have a toponymic designation (a name), plus 218 artificial lakes;
*15228 watercourses with an official toponymic designation, including 12094 streams and 3134 ...
Notes and references
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neiges, Riviere des
Rivers of Capitale-Nationale
La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality
Laurentides Wildlife Reserve