Saguenay River

Coordinates: 48°07′45″N 69°42′13″W / 48.12917°N 69.70361°W / 48.12917; -69.70361
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Saguenay River
Saki-nip, Pitchitaouichetz (
Innu: leaving water, watersource; river of death; river flowing between two mountain ranges[1][2]
Wendat: a large distance away; multiple spruces; opening, hole[3][4][5]
Native nameRivière Saguenay (French)
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionSaguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
Physical characteristics
SourceLac Saint-Jean
 • locationAlma, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
 • coordinates48°32′28″N 71°36′54″W / 48.54111°N 71.61500°W / 48.54111; -71.61500
 • elevation102 m
Saint Lawrence River[7]
 • average1,750 m3/s (62,000 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • left(upstream) ruisseau du Lac de l'Aqueduc, outlet of Lac de l'Anse à l'Eau, outlet of Petit lac de la Pointe à la Croix, outlet of Lac de la Boule, stream Desgagnés, ruisseau de l'Anse Creuse, cours d'eau Paul-Simard, outlet of Lac à Charlie, outlet of Lac des Mouches,
rivière aux Sables, La Petite Décharge
.

The Saguenay River (French: Rivière Saguenay, [ʁivjɛʁ saɡnɛ]) is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains

Tadoussac
, founded as a French colonial trading post in 1600, is located on the northeast bank at this site.

The river has a very high flow-rate and is bordered by steep

national parks
.

History

The Saguenay River was used as an important trade route into the interior for the

Saguenay Herald at the Canadian Heraldic Authority
.

Beginning in the 19th century, the river was exploited for transport and power by the

aluminum smelting and paper mills.[6]

Severe flooding of the Saguenay's tributary rivers from July 18 to 21, 1996, devastated the region in one of Canada's costliest natural disasters, the

Saguenay Flood.[8] However, an unexpected effect of the flood was to cover the heavily contaminated sediments at the bottom of the river with 10 to 50 centimetres (3.9 to 19.7 in) of new, relatively clean sediments. Research has shown that the old sediments are no longer a threat to ecosystems.[9]

Geography

The Saguenay originates in Lac Saint-Jean at Alma. There are two channels: La Petite Décharge and La Grande Décharge, on which is built the dam Île Maligne hydroelectric plant.[10] The island formed by these two rivers is part of the municipality of Alma.[11] At this place, the water is freshwater. Three bridges cross the "Petite Décharge" and two others cross the "Grande Décharge". It is when these two rivers meet just east of Alma that the Saguenay really begins. It begins in the form of a reservoir several kilometers long, unlike the rapids and powerful falls that dotted the river before the erection of dams.

At

Shipshaw, Quebec, the Saguenay splits again in two. On the northern watercourse, there is the Shipshaw hydroelectric station[12] and, on the south side, the Chute-à-Caron power plant.[13]
It is here that the Aluminum Bridge is located.

Between Chicoutimi and Jonquière, the two spillway weirs [fr] come together to form the Saguenay. It becomes accessible to navigation at this point. Moreover, Chicoutimi means "how deep is it" [14] in Innu-aimun. In downtown Chicoutimi, the Dubuc bridge [fr] and the Sainte-Anne bridge [fr] are located. At Tadoussac, a ferry provides the link between Tadoussac and Baie-Sainte-Catherine.

Tributaries

The significant tributaries of the Saguenay are (going upstream):

Riverside municipalities

Downstream

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "Rivière Saguenay". Commission de toponymie. Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Pitchitaouichetz". Commission de toponymie. Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Kouate". Commission de toponymie. Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Kyokiaye". Commission de toponymie. Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Ouatheronnon". Commission de toponymie. Gouvernement du Québec. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-89577-087-3
    .
  7. ^ a b Natural Resources Canada, Atlas of Canada - Rivers Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ The Saguenay Flood
  9. ^ Project Saguenay
  10. ^ Barrage Isle-Maligne
  11. ^ Alma - Island on the Saguenay
  12. ^ "Details".
  13. ^ "Details".
  14. ^ Pierre-Georges Roy, "The Geographical Names of the Province of Quebec", Lévis, Le Soleil, 1906, p. 130.

External links

Media related to Saguenay River at Wikimedia Commons

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