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The Saint-Maurice River (french: Rivière Saint-Maurice; Atikamekw: ''Tapiskwan sipi'') flows north to south in central
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
from
Gouin Reservoir The Gouin Reservoir () is a man-made lake, in La Tuque, in Mauricie, in the central portion of the Canadian province of Quebec, fully within the boundaries of the City of La Tuque. It is not one contiguous body of water, but the collective n ...
to empty into the
Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
at Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. From its source at Gouin Reservoir, located at the same latitude as the Lac Saint-Jean, the river has a total drop of about , to finally reach the St. Lawrence river at Trois-Rivières. The river is 563 km (350 miles) long and has a drainage basin of . Saint-Maurice River is one of the most important tributaries of the St. Lawrence River. The main tributaries of the Saint-Maurice River are: *
Matawin River Matawin (sometimes referred "Mantawa" or "Mattawin") may refer to: Canada ;Ontario * Matawin River (Ontario), in Thunder Bay District ;Quebec References {{Set index article ...
, whose mouth is at Matawin (Hamlet); * Vermillon River (La Tuque) which empties about 23 km, 14 miles (by water) upstream (north) of the Beaumont generating station in
La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...
; *
Manouane River (La Tuque) The Manouane River flows from west to east in the Haute-Mauricie (Upper-Mauricie), at northwest of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Lanaudière and Mauricie, in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The river basin is mostly covered by forest. ...
which empties about 115 km, 70 miles (by water) upstream (north) of
La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...
; *
La Trenche River (La Tuque) The Trenche River (commonly named “La Trenche” in French) flows in a southwesterly direction through two forested areas. The first is the unorganized territory of Lac-Ashuapmushuan, in the MRC Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality, ad ...
which empties near the
La Trenche Generating Station La Trenche Generating Station is a hydroelectric power plant on the Saint-Maurice River and within La Tuque, in Upper-Mauricie, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. Its construction was completed in 1950. This power ...
; * Croche River (La Tuque) which empties at north of
La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...
. Between Weymontachie and Trois-Rivières, the St-Maurice River has 27 tributaries identified as significant enough for downhill wood: Weymontachingue, Manouane, Little Rock, Little Flamand, Windigo, Flamand, Coucoucache, Grande Pierriche (Great Pierriche), Petite Pierriche (Little Pierriche), " La Trenche", Vermillion, Croche, Rivière-au-Lait, Bostonnais, Little Bostonnais, Small Stream, Mountain, Caribou, Rivière-aux-Rats, Wessonneau, Little Batiscan River, l'Oiseau (Bird), Bête Puante (Beast Puante), Mattawin, Mekinac, River "au Lac des Pêches" and
Shawinigan River The rivière Shawinigan flows in the rural area to the north of Shawinigan, then through the town of Shawinigan, in Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. The Shawinigan is a tributary of the right bank of the Saint-Maurice. Geography The Shawinigan ...
. During the 18th century, early fur traders travelled along the river. During the second half of the 19th century,
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply cha ...
became an important industry in the surrounding Mauricie region. For much of the 20th century, the river was used to transport logs to mills down river and it was, and still is, a major source of hydroelectric power. First communication channel in this region, the river was used by local Native Americans long before the arrival of Europeans on the spot. Early explorations by religious conversion in pain and trappers in search of furs for the trade, it was one of the primary routes of rivers in Quebec. Several municipalities have been established on its banks, thereby taking advantage of its hydroelectric power where the falls were high enough to install a dam integration an electrical generating station. Among other cities,
La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...
, Shawinigan and Trois-Rivières are the best known, and are themselves located along the Route 155 which connects the St. Lawrence River to Lake St. John.


Origin of name

The original name of the river was "Métabéroutin", the name given by Algonquin, which means "discharge of the wind" and in turn, the Attikameks of Haute-Mauricie still call "''Sipi Tapiskwan''", the "river of the threaded needle". The
Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples 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 pre ...
the call the river "Madôbaladenitekw" or the "river that ends". Jacques Cartier named it "River Fouez" in honor of the House of Foix in 1535. However, this name was abandoned in the early 17th century to the name of "Three Rivers". Its current name was given in the early 18th century in reference to the "fief of Saint-Maurice", the common name of lordship on the west bank granted about 1668 to Maurice Poulin in La Fontaine, government prosecutor of Three Rivers. He was the owner of some property along the river in the 17th century. The name "St. Maurice" is attested for the first time in a judgment dated 1723 and definitely supplanted the "Three Rivers" between 1730 and 1740. The river gave its name to the administrative region of Mauricie.


Communities

Communities on the river include, from the mouth of the river:


Bridges and other cross structures

Order from downstream ( Trois-Rivières) toward upstream: Territory of Shawinigan Territory of
La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...


Hydroelectric power stations and other dams

Order from downstream ( Trois-Rivières) to upstream: All plants on the St. Maurice are the property of Hydro-Québec.


Timber transportation

In 1996, the Saint-Maurice River was the last river in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
to stop the transportation of timber by flotation. For nearly 150 years, companies in forestry have used the current of the river and its tributaries for timber transportation. Before being stacked on the ice in Upper-Mauricie, logs were identified in order to be recovered downstream where baunes were implemented, including
Grandes-Piles Grandes-Piles is a village municipality in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. Geography Located in Radnor Township, this small village is located on a cliff at north of Grand-Mère, overlooking the Saint-Maurice Rive ...
, in Grand-Mère, Shawinigan or Trois-Rivières. Each spring, an army of loggers cleaned the river banks for delivering timbers which were hung on the shores, bays, rocks or in riparian wood. The loggers sorted the timbers for relaunching them into the water for redirecting them to Pulp paper plant downstream.


Wildlife fish

In the last 174 kilometers (108 miles), between Trois-Rivières and
La Tuque La Tuque (; ) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,227 at the Canada 2011 Census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 sq ...
, the experts found 42 fish species frequenting the river. The density of fish biomass is generally low, which is characteristic of rivers in Canadian Shield.


See also

* List of Quebec rivers * 1663 Charlevoix earthquake * Île Anselme-Fay


References


External links


Tourisme Mauricie
Regional tourist office {{Authority control Rivers of Mauricie Tributaries of the Saint Lawrence River Hydrological system of Saint-Maurice