The Lake Traverse (also referred to as "Lake Travers" or "Traverse Lake") is located in the northern area of Sainte-Thècle, in the Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making tourism in Mauricie popular. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km2 (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

in the

province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Lake Traverse is part of the

Batiscanie, Quebec Batiscanie, a vernacular name, of a territory located in the Mauricie region, divided between the RCMs of Les Chenaux, Portneuf and Mékinac, in Quebec, Canada. The name Batiscanie evokes, without geopositioning it, the territory of the Bat ...

. It is the head of

Rivière des Envies Rivière des Envies (, ) is located in Canada, in the province of Quebec, in the Mauricie administrative region, in the Batiscanie. Rivière des Envies course from the outlet of Lac-de-la-Traverse, located in row St-Joseph, Sainte-Thècle. This ...

which flows South into

Saint-Tite Saint-Tite () is a Canadian city located at the foothills of the Laurentians, between Grandes-Piles and Saint-Adelphe, in the Mauricie RCM of Mékinac. A large body of water, Lake Pierre-Paul, bathes the northeastern part of the territory.' ...

Geography

The distance between the bridge of

Croche Lake (Sainte-Thècle) Croche Lake (, ) is located in Sainte-Thècle, in the Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, in Quebec, Canada. From the beginning of the colonization of Sainte-Thècle (from 1867), the area around the lake was used for forestry an ...

, located in the lower village of Sainte-Thècle and the mouth of Lake Traverse is (measured by road). From the village, the road trip is: Saint-Michel-North road, Marcotte road, St. Joseph North road, then the Lake Jesuit road. In addition, the "road of the Lake Traverse" (hence the path of Lake Jesuit road) dessert cottages on the west side of the lake. Lake Traverse is located in the North Row B (referred to as "row of Lake Traverse" or "Row Saint-Joseph") in Sainte-Thècle, which forms the northern boundary of the

Lordship of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade The Lordship of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade was located on the north shore of St. Lawrence river, between Trois-Rivières and Quebec City in the province of Quebec, Canada. The southern front of the manor was on the edge of St. Lawrence river. The d ...

. This lake is located at the foot of

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains, also known as the Laurentians or Laurentides, are a mountain range in Canada. The range is long and ranges in height from with peaks over . The Laurentian Mountains extend across Labrador and Quebec within the Laurent ...

, at the limit of

St. Lawrence Valley 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 ...

. Thus, northern agricultural zone ends at Lake Traverse. While the northwest area of Lake Traverse is entirely a forest area and generally mountainous. Lake Traverse has three areas, separated by peninsulas. The area to the west with a length of , contains the source and the mouth (south area), the central area of and small area east of . While the width of the lake is (covering 3 zones).

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

power lines across the lake, north-east to south-west. Several cottages were built in the vicinity of the lake.

Toponymy

Formerly, before the construction of "Government Road" around the lake by the west side, the "lake Traverse" was a key issue to access woodlots upstream (north), located in the

Lejeune Township The Lejeune Township () is located in the MRC Mekinac Regional County Municipality, in Mauricie, Quebec, Canada. Geography Located south of Mekinac Township and west of Marmier Township, Lejeune township straddles two municipal territories: * Th ...

. Winter roads (December to March) allowed the owners of forest lots and forestry contractors to cross the lake on the ice with their cars drawn by horses. In the Spring, boats (or rafts driven by "cageux") allowed the workers to cross the lake, from the sawmill sector. The floating wood tronc on the lake supplied the sawmill at the mouth. A boat pulled the wood on the lake with a "baune" (floating cable) to bring stranded, downstream from the bridge of the landfill. The name "Lake Traverse" was formalized on December 5, 1968, in the Bank of place names in

Commission de toponymie du Québec The Commission de toponymie du Québec (, ''Toponymy Commission of Québec'') is the Government of Québec's public body responsible for cataloging, preserving, making official and publicizing Québec's place names and their origins according to th ...

(Geographical Names Board of Québec)

History

In 1882, the

Government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

began the construction of the road of Row B North (called row of Lake St. Joseph or row of Lake Traverse) in Sainte-Thècle, along the road of row St-Georges. These two new routes gave a new impetus to the colonization. Historically, the topography of the valley of the discharge of Lake Jesuit and around Lake Traverse allowed access to

, located in the northwestern territory of Sainte-Thècle. However, the trip was difficult because of several rocky headland which were finally dynamited gradually in the 1960s and 1970s. Sawmill Saint-Amand At the mouth of Lake Traverse, Alfred Saint-Amand (married to Julie Gregory) operated a sawmill from 1902 to 1932, powered by water. This mill was continued by his son Adélard Saint-Amand, and then by his grandson, son Rolland Saint-Amand In addition, Frank Blais operated a sawmill at Lake Travers. Bridge at the mouth The first public bridge over the

rivière des Envies Rivière des Envies (, ) is located in Canada, in the province of Quebec, in the Mauricie administrative region, in the Batiscanie. Rivière des Envies course from the outlet of Lac-de-la-Traverse, located in row St-Joseph, Sainte-Thècle. This ...

at the end of 19th Century, at the mouth of Lake Traverse is the so-called "chemin du gouvernement" (government road). This public bridge was located close (upstream) of the sawmill of Alfred Saint-Amand. The first wooden bridge of the municipality of the parish at the mouth of Lake Traverse was built around 1933, for only one lane. The bridge was rebuilt in 1950 for two lanes. While the private mill bridge (originally built of wood in 1912 and rebuilt approximately every ten years) was located downstream of the mill. This bridge was replaced in 1958 by a much stronger bridge. Sugar shacks The Lake Traverse saw many sugar shacks. Louis Bédard operated a sugar shack in around 1900 on the other side of the lake. Arthur Perron continued to operate the cabin on a lot later owned by Rolland Cossette. Samuel Bédard also had a cabin on a lot sold to Joseph Plamondon. Finally Réjean Bédard owned this lot. Alfred Huot taped maples on a lot that he sold to Odinat Huot; this lot was subsequently acquired by Rolland Béland. George Bacon also operated a sugar shack in this area, a lot was later acquired by Leandre Trudel. Other operators of sugarhouse were "Pit" Grenier, and Louis Toupin, and was later acquired by Lucien Toupin.Gaétan Veillette, article»sugar shacks (north half of Sainte-Thècle)», published on May 26, 1976 in Journal Le Dynamique (published in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traverse, lake Lakes of Mauricie Mékinac Regional County Municipality

Geography

Toponymy

History

See also

References