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The Chaudière River (; French for "Cauldron" or "Boiler";
Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...
: Kik8ntekw) is a river with its source near the Town of Lac-Mégantic, in southeast
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada. From its source
Lake Mégantic Lake Mégantic (, ) is a large body of water in Québec, Canada, located in the Appalachian Mountains near the U.S. border. It is a source of the Chaudière River which drains into the St Lawrence River at Québec City. The lake has a surface area ...
in the
Estrie Estrie () is an List of Quebec regions, administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 pe ...
region, it runs northwards to flow into the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
opposite
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
.


Geography

The river's drainage area is , initially in the
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...
, then in the low-lands of the St. Lawrence. It includes 236 lakes covering and is populated by approximately 180,000 inhabitants. Its annual medium flow at the station of Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon is , varying from (low water) to (spring high water), with historical maximum of . Its principal tributaries are: *Rivière du Loup (not to be confused with Rivière du Loup in the Bas-Saint-Laurent), also known as the Rivière Linière *Famine River * Beaurivage River * Bras Saint-Victor The river's basin has nearly 50 percent of the faunal richness of Quebec, namely 330 out of 653
vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...
species known in the province can be found there. The river, and the Chaudière Falls which it passes over, are popular outdoor recreation areas.


Municipalities crossed

Its course crosses the regional county municipalities (MRC) of: Left bank of the Chaudière river (from the confluence): * Lévis ("Saint-Rédempteur" and "Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon" sectors); * MRC of La Nouvelle-Beauce in Chaudière-Appalaches: municipalities of Saint-Bernard, Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon, Scott, Sainte-Marie; * MRC Beauce-Centre in Chaudière-Appalaches: municipalities of Saint-Joseph-des-Érables, Beauceville; * MRC Beauce-Sartigan, in Chaudière-Appalaches: municipalities of Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Saint-Georges, Saint-Martin, Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce; * MRC Le Granit in
Estrie Estrie () is an List of Quebec regions, administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 pe ...
: municipalities of Saint-Ludger, Sainte-Cécile-de-Whitton, Lac-Mégantic. Right bank of the Chaudière river (from the confluence): * Lévis ("Charny" and "Sainte-Hélène-de-Breakeyville" sectors); * MRC of La Nouvelle-Beauce in Chaudière-Appalaches: municipalities of Sainte-Marie, Vallée-Jonction, * MRC Beauce-Centre in Chaudière-Appalaches: municipality of Beauceville, * MRC of Beauce-Sartigan in Chaudière-Appalaches: municipalities of Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Saint-Simon-les-Mines, Saint-Georges, Saint-Martin, Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce, * MRC Le Granit in
Estrie Estrie () is an List of Quebec regions, administrative region of Quebec that comprises the Eastern Townships. ''Estrie'', a French neologism, was coined as a derivative of ''est'', "east". Originally settled by anglophones, today it is about 90 pe ...
: municipalities of Saint-Robert-Bellarmin, Frontenac, Audet, Lac-Mégantic ("Fatima" sector)


History

The
Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...
Nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...
, whose
homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...
'' Ndakinna'' encompasses the river and Chaudière Falls, call it "''Kik8ntekw''" or "''Kikôntekw''", meaning "River of the Fields." On the charts of
Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...
, it was given the name "Etchemin River" (a name now used for Etchemin River, another river whose drainage area borders with that of the Chaudière River). It was called "''Rivière du Sault de la Chaudière''" for a period of time before it became simply "''Rivière Chaudière''" towards the end of the 18th century. This name translates as boiler and refers to the
waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...
close to its mouth. Its location was strategic for French colonization during the 18th century, because the river was a natural link between
New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
and the British colonies to the south. It was also used by
Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...
at the time of his 1775 expedition in the invasion of Quebec. In 1823,
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
was found along its shores in the Eastern Townships of
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. On 6 July 2013 the Lac-Mégantic derailment caused a major
oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...
which contaminated the river at its source at
Lac Mégantic Lac may refer to: Places Africa * Lac Region, a district in Chad * Lac Prefecture, a district in Chad America * Rivière du Lac, a tributary of the Montmorency River, in Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, Canada Europe * Laç, a city in Albania * Lac ...
. Downstream communities such as Saint-Georges ( to the northeast) were forced to obtain potable water from alternate sources and residents asked to limit their water consumption. Floating barriers were installed in an attempt to contain the contamination.


Description

The Chaudière Valley largely crosses the Quebec region of Beauce. It has shaped its industries and its way of life, particularly in spring when its overflows during snowmelt in inhabited areas are frequent, despite its course regulated by 160 dams and retaining dikes. The river runs through several towns and villages in the region, including Saint-Ludger, Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce, Saint-Martin, Saint-Georges, Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Beauceville, Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Vallée-Jonction and Sainte-Marie, Quebec. The river is a prime site for outdoor activities, particularly near
lac Mégantic Lac may refer to: Places Africa * Lac Region, a district in Chad * Lac Prefecture, a district in Chad America * Rivière du Lac, a tributary of the Montmorency River, in Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, Canada Europe * Laç, a city in Albania * Lac ...
and Chutes-de-la-Chaudière park. Located near the mouth of the river, in Lévis, this park offers
hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...
and cycling trails as well as a footbridge suspended over the river, which offers a viewpoint on the fall, high. The fall was harnessed for its hydro-electric potential in 1901, but was destroyed in 1970. The dam was rebuilt in 1999 on the remains of the old installations, and supplies a small hydro-electric plant of .


Gallery

File:Lac Mégantic.jpg,
Lac Mégantic Lac may refer to: Places Africa * Lac Region, a district in Chad * Lac Prefecture, a district in Chad America * Rivière du Lac, a tributary of the Montmorency River, in Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, Canada Europe * Laç, a city in Albania * Lac ...
, head lake of the Chaudière. File:LeGrandSault(riviereChaudiere).jpg, The Grand Sault, near Saint-Martin. File:Barrage Sartigan 10.jpg, The Sartigan dam at Saint-Georges. File:Rivière Chaudière à Scott.jpg, Meander at
Scott, Quebec Scott is a municipality in La Nouvelle-Beauce Regional County Municipality, in Quebec, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic O ...
File:Rivière Chaudière à Saint-Lambert.jpg, The islands near Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon. File:Rivière Chaudière crue printemps.jpg, The river in flood. File:Chutes chaudieres.jpg, The Chaudière Falls.


List of bridges


See also

*
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 313 ...


References


External links


Le comité du bassin versant de la rivière Chaudière
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudiere River Rivers of Estrie Rivers of Chaudière-Appalaches