The Rivière des Roches (''English: River of rocks'') is a tributary of the west bank of the

Sainte-Anne River Sainte-Anne River (Les Chenaux), Teyaiar River ( Huron Wendat), rivière Sainte-Anne (French), flows from north to south on the north shore in the estuary section of the St. Lawrence River, in Les Chenaux, Portneuf and La Jacques-Cartier R ...

, on the north bank 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 ...

. This river flows in the unorganized territory of Lac-Jacques-Cartier and in the municipality of

Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges () is a municipality in Quebec, Canada. History First explored in 1693 by Louis Soumande (1652-1706) during a hunting expedition, the first settlers came in 1728 when some families were invited to settle there at the in ...

, in the

La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality La Côte-de-Beaupré () is a regional county municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Château-Richer. Its most populous community is the municipality of Boischatel. Subdivisions There are 11 subdivisions withi ...

, 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 upper part of this valley is mainly served by the rang Saint-Nicolas road which passes on the northeast side. The lower part is served by avenue Royale and by the chemin du rang Saint-Nicolas which passes on the southwest side. Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism activities, second; agriculture, third. The surface of the Rivière des Roches is generally frozen from the beginning of December until the end of March; however, safe traffic on the ice is generally from mid-December to mid-March. The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood occurs in March or April.

Geography

The Rivière des Roches rises at the confluence of three mountain streams, on the west side of Mont Bleu, in the unorganized territory of Lac-Jacques-Cartier. This source of the eastern flank of Mont Raoul-Blanchard, is located at: * west of the northwest shore of 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 ...

; * west of

Saint-Tite-des-Caps Saint-Tite-des-Caps () is a municipality in La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality in Quebec, Canada. Located on Route 138 to Baie-Saint-Paul, this road climbs up sharply to about to reach the town nestled in a valley. The Sainte-A ...

town center; * south-west of a curve in the course of the

; * north-west of the mouth of the Roches river. From its source, the course of this river descends on , with a drop of , according to the following segments: * south-east, up to the outlet (coming from the south) of Lac des Trois Castors; * towards the east by collecting the discharge (coming from the south) of a lake surrounded by resort, until the discharge (coming from the north) of two small lakes; * to the south, forming a large W at the start of the segment and collecting the discharge (coming from the east) from a small lake, to the Saint-Nicolas stream (coming from the northwest); * to the south by collecting the outlet (coming from the east) from Lac de la Colline, to the Prairies stream (coming from the west); * towards the south-east along the chemin du rang Saint-Nicolas (which passes on the south-west side) and passing under the avenue Royale bridge, until a stream (coming from the north), very close (upstream) to a bend in the river; * towards the south in an increasingly deep valley with a drop of by forming a loop towards the east, until its mouth.Atlas of Canada - Department of Natural Resources Canada - Rivière des Roches - Distance and altitude measurements based on application of site measures.
/ref> The Roches river flows on the west bank of the

Sainte-Anne River (Beaupré) Sainte-Anne River () or Sainte-Anne du Nord River () is a tributary of the northwest shore of the Saint Lawrence River where it flows at the height of Beaupré, Quebec, Beaupré. This river flows in Capitale-Nationale, in the provinces and terri ...

, in the municipality of

, at downstream of Les Sept Chutes. This confluence is located northwest of the northwest shore of the

, north from the mouth of the

Sainte-Anne river Sainte-Anne River (Les Chenaux), Teyaiar River ( Huron Wendat), rivière Sainte-Anne (French), flows from north to south on the north shore in the estuary section of the St. Lawrence River, in Les Chenaux, Portneuf and La Jacques-Cartier R ...

and south-west of the village center of

. From the confluence of the "rivière des Roches", the current flows over generally towards the southwest by the course of the

, which crosses downtown Beaupré, to the northwest shore of the

Toponymy

In 1815, the geographer Joseph Bouchette listed the main rivers in the seigneury of Côte-de-Beaupré, including "La Rivière Ste. Anne, who receives the small Rivers at the Rose and the Rocks". The origin of the toponymic designation "Rivière des Roches" derives from the nature of the bottom of the river where many rocks disturb its course. The center of the hamlet designated "Rivière-des-Roches" is located in Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, about 2 km from the mouth of the river, at the level of avenue Royale and the Roches river. The post office which served this hamlet from 1907 to 1954 also bore this name. At the beginning of the 19th century, a group of citizens and religious leaders thought of building a church in the hamlet of Rivière-des-Roches, near the site of an old butter factory. The Séminaire de Québec had even donated land for this purpose, from the farm it operated in Rivière-des-Roches, but the construction project never came to fruition. Nowadays, the Rivière des Roches welcomes holidaymakers on its banks. There are three other watercourses officially named Rivière des Roches, including two from the very region of Quebec, located at

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, ...

and Charlesbourg. The toponym "Rivière des Roches" was formalized on December 5, 1968 at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.Commission de toponymie du Québec - Bank of Place Names - Toponym: Rivière des Roches
/ref>

Geography

Toponymy

References

See also