The Saint-François River is a right

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

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 ...

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 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 ...

. Its source is Lake Saint-François in

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 ...

, southeast of

Thetford Mines Thetford Mines ( Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality. The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 141 miles northeast of Montreal an ...

. It flows southwest towards

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

, where it changes course northwest towards

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 ...

, and finally empties into 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 ...

near Pierreville. Its total length is 135 miles.

Etymology

The river is named after Saint

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

(1506–1552) by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, who explored the region under the French regime, and after François de Lauzon.François de Lauzon (1635-1647 or 1648), son of

Jean de Lauzon Jean de Lauzon or de Lauson (; 2 January 1586 – 16 February 1666) was the governor of New France from 1651 to 1657, one of the most challenging times for the new colony. He also was born into being the lord of Lirec. As a prominent lawyer in ...

Geography

Its course is also unusual, as it flows from northeast to southwest to branch off, halfway through, and continue its course from southeast to northwest. The Saint-François River has its origins in the lake Saint-François and heads southwest towards

. Along the way, it crosses the lakes Lake Aylmer and Lake Louise as well as many municipalities. In

, it receives the waters of the Massawippi River basin and the

Magog River The Magog River, or Sekosonotek in Abenaki, is a river that drains Lake Memphremagog. It is a small river running through the territories of the cities of Magog and Sherbrooke, in the administrative region of Estrie, in Quebec, in Canada, along a ...

basin. It continues north-west, passing through the municipalities of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and from there outflows into the

lake Saint-Pierre Lake Saint Pierre (; abe, Nebesek) is a lake in Quebec, Canada, a widening of the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières. It is located downstream, and northeast, of Montreal; and upstream, and southwest, of Quebec City. Th ...

History

The river has long been traveled by Native Americans; particularly the Abenakis. The Indian Reservation of

Odanak Odanak is an Abenaki First Nations reserve in the Central Quebec region, Quebec, Canada. The mostly First Nations population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 481. The territory is located near the mouth of the Saint-François River at its confluenc ...

, which today has a population of about 400, has existed since 1670. The

Fort Crevier Fort Crevier is a French fort built near the Saint-François River in Quebec. In 1687, near Saint-François-du-Lac, Quebec, Saint-François-du-Lac, the fort was built by Jean Crevier de Saint-François. It was also known as Fort Saint-François. ...

was also built in 1687 by the river. A temporary Jesuit mission was established at Coös for the Abenaki living in the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

valley or near the

Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It ri ...

. When the Abenaki mission Saint-François-de-Sales located on the

Chaudière River The Chaudière River (French for "Cauldron" or "Boiler"; Abenaki: Kik8ntekw) is a river with its source near the Town of Lac-Mégantic, in southeast Quebec, Canada. From its source Lake Mégantic in the Estrie region, it runs northwards to flo ...

moved to Odanak, the village took the latter's name, "Saint-François”. Odanak is located on the banks of the Saint-François River, about 10 kilometers east of

. In 1805, an 8,000 acre reserve () was granted for Indian refugees in Durham Township, near the present village of L'Avenir, as well as () in 1853 on the shore of Petit Lac Saint-François in the township of Coleraine.

References

Appendices

* Grand lac Saint François * Lake Saint-François * Lake Aylmer *

Lake Louise (Quebec) Lake Louise may refer to: Canada *Lake Louise (Alberta), a lake in Alberta *Lake Louise, Alberta, a hamlet which takes its name from the lake **Chateau Lake Louise, hotel in Alberta, one of Canada's Grand Railway Resorts **Lake Louise Ski Resort, ...

Lake Saint-Pierre Lake Saint Pierre (; abe, Nebesek) is a lake in Quebec, Canada, a widening of the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières. It is located downstream, and northeast, of Montreal; and upstream, and southwest, of Quebec City. Th ...

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 ...

External links