The Rivière des Roches is a tributary of the northwest shore of the

Saint 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. Lawrenc ...

, flowing in the municipality of

Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures () is a city in central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River, adjacent to Quebec City. The town was founded in 1691 by three families (Desroches, Racette, Couture). It was merged with Quebec City on January 1, ...

, in the

Portneuf Regional County Municipality Portneuf () is a regional county municipality (RCM) in the Capitale-Nationale administrative region of Quebec, Canada. RCM of Portneuf has been established on January 1, 1982. It is composed of 21 municipalities: nine cities, seven municipalities, ...

, in the administrative region of

Capitale-Nationale Capitale-Nationale (; ) is one of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has a land area of 18,684.78 km2. It reported ...

, in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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, ...

, in

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 ...

. The Roches river valley is mainly served by the route 138, chemin du Roy, chemin du 3e rang and chemin du Cabouron, notably for the needs of agriculture and of forestry, are the two main economic activities in this area.Open Street Map - Accessed February 13, 2020
/ref> The surface of the Rivière des Roches (except the rapids areas) is generally frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March; safe circulation on the ice is generally done from the end of December to the beginning of March. The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood occurs in March or April.

Geography

The Roches river has its source in a forest area in

, almost at the limit of Neuville, north of the village of Saint-Nicolas. This source is located north of the

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

railway, west of the village center of Saint-Augustin-de- Desmaures, northwest of autoroute 400, northwest of the

, northwest of its mouth. From its source, the Roches river then flows over a distance of , with a drop in level of , according to the following segments: * towards the east by forming a progressive curve towards the south, in forest area and by crossing the railway of

, then entering agricultural area until the highway 40; * northeasterly along the south side of highway 40, to Dorval stream (coming from the north), corresponding to a bend in the river; * to the south in agricultural area, by crossing the

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

railway, to route 138; * towards the south-east by crossing the Cascade des Roches, crossing the Chemin du Roy and bending towards the east, to its mouth.Atlas of Canada - Department of Natural Resources Canada - Rivière des Roches - Length of segments established using the distance measurement application
/ref> The confluence of the Roches river and the

Saint-Laurent 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 ...

flows into the Saint-Laurent downstream of the Dombourg islets. This confluence is located southwest of the

Pierre Laporte Bridge The Pierre Laporte Bridge (French: Pont Pierre-Laporte) is the longest main span suspension bridge in Canada.Although Île d'Orléans Bridge is over 4 km in total length, its longest suspended span is 323 m and its total suspended len ...

, southwest of the center of

Toponymy

The toponym "Rivière des Roches" originates from the habit of residents of the area to designate it because of its rocky bed, just like sixty other similar entities across Quebec. It has also been known under the names Ruisseau Dorval and Rivière des Rouches. It is from this that the Desroches family, whose ancestor was called Tinon, then Tinon Des Roches, took its nickname. The toponym "Rivière des Roches" was formalized on December 5, 1968 at the

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 ...

.Commission de toponymie du Québec Bank of place names of Quebec - Rivière des Roches - Retrieved on February 13, 2020.
/ref>

Notes and references

Appendices

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roches, riviere des Rivers of Capitale-Nationale Tributaries of the Saint Lawrence River

Geography

Toponymy

Notes and references

Appendices

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