Rivière du Nord () is a -long river in the

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...

region that flows into the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

. The river begins as the outlet of Lac Brulé where it passes near

Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town in the province of Quebec, Canada, in the regional county municipality of Les Laurentides in the administrative region of Laurentides, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains (in English). Sai ...

and flows southeasterly.

Quebec Autoroute 15 Autoroute 15 (also called the Décarie Expressway (English) or Autoroute Décarie (French) between the Turcot and Décarie Interchanges in Montreal and the Laurentian Autoroute (English) or Autoroute des Laurentides (French) north of Autorout ...

follows the course of the Rivière du Nord valley north of Montréal providing access to many cottages and vacation homes. At

Saint-Jérôme Saint-Jérôme () ( 2021 population 80,213) is a suburban city located about northwest of Montreal on the Rivière du Nord. It is part of the Montreal of Greater Montreal. It is a gateway to the Laurentian Mountains and its resorts via the ...

, the river turns southwesterly where it continues to its mouth on the left bank of the Ottawa River. In addition to Saint-Jérôme, towns built along the Rivière du Nord's banks include Val-David,

Val-Morin Val-Morin is a municipality in the Laurentides region of Quebec, Canada, part of the Les Laurentides Regional County Municipality. Geography Val-Morin is located in the Laurentian Mountains, along the Rivière du Nord and on the shores of Lake R ...

, Saint-Adèle, Prévost, and

Lachute Lachute () is a town in southwest Quebec, Canada, northwest of Montreal, on the Rivière du Nord, a tributary of the Ottawa River, and west of Mirabel International Airport. It is located on Autoroute 50, at the junctions of Quebec Provincial ...

. Development along the Rivière du Nord valley was largely at the hands of

François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle François-Xavier-Antoine Labelle (November 24, 1833 – January 4, 1891) was a Roman Catholic priest and the person principally responsible for the settlement (or "colonization") of the Laurentians. He is also referred to as "Curé Labelle" an ...

, a Catholic priest who constructed a railway along the river. This railway was later converted into a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

called the P'tit Train du Nord in the 1990s. The oldest bridge over the river was constructed by William Shaw (1805–1894) near the village of Shawbridge, now part of the town of Prévost.Commission de toponymie du Quebec - Topos sur le Web - village de Shawbridge
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References

Rivers of Laurentides {{Quebec-river-stub