The Yamaska River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

in southern

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 thirtee ...

, Canada. Sourcing water within the Eastern Townships, it ends its journey in Lake Saint-Pierre where it is a tributary to 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, connectin ...

; altogether it is long. Crossing nearly twenty municipalities in its course, it is intrinsically linked to life around it as it is a primary source of fresh water where it passes; due to human use and adaptation, the river and its banks have become heavily altered over time, beginning around the time the first European settlers arrived to modern days. Before exploitation, the river was rich with life. Urban, industrial, and intensive agricultural use have made it one of the most polluted rivers in Quebec, especially from agricultural waste and pesticides; nevertheless, many municipalities use it as their source for

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

.Développement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs Québec, ''Bassin versant de la rivière Yamaska – Modifier nos pratiques agricoles... la priorité'', 1997
Online version
Although the number of species of living

organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...

s has greatly decreased, a tenacious

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

still thrives along many parts of the Yamaska, some efforts are made by the citizens of various municipalities to alter human impact on the environments that connect to the stream. The Yamaska is used for recreational activities such as fishing and many navigate its waters, though it is not used for swimming. For many years the pollution issue has spawned environmental concern in places such as Granby, where citizens, environmental experts, municipal councilors, as well as groups and organizations work on conservation, study, inventory, and communication of ways to change an individual's impact on the river's health. These actions have led to the increase of community art and events aiming to speak for those who cannot, mainly animals and plants.

Toponymy

The name Yamaska appeared in the 17th century, beforehand it was named "R''ivière de Gennes''" (French for River of Gennes) by Samuel de Champlain in 1609. When the lands known as s''eigneurie de Yamaska'' were granted to Michel Leneuf de La Vallière, the river's name was instead "''rivière des Savanes''". The word "Yamaska" could be sourced to Abenakis meaning "there are rushes off the coast" or "there is much hay", from ''yam'' or ''iyamitaw'', respectively meaning ''off shore'' and ''much'', and ''askaw'', meaning ''hay'' or ''rushes''. This

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

name references '' baie de Lavalilière'' (Lavallière Bay), at the river's mouth where vegetation grows abundantly in a

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

. The name could also be from Algonquian ''hia muskeg'', it means "river of the

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s" or "river with muddy waters". Because of the nebulous Amerindian origin, this naming has been deformed (often in the form of ''Maska'' or ''Masca'', after which the inhabitants of

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérég ...

are named). It was officially named ''Rivière Yamaska'' 5 December 1968.

Geography

Hydrography

The

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the Yamaska measures ; its average debit at the end is of , this is considered relatively slow compared to Richelieu at and Saint-François at rivers, the nearest streams; it is however subject to seasonal fluctuations (with a record flow of in the spring (linked to the snowmelt) and in the fall (caused by precipitation), and minimums of in winter and summer.Atlas of Canada from the Department of Natural Resources Canada - Characteristics extracted from the geographic map, the database and site instrumentation - accessed on = May 11, 2020.
/ref> There are few bodies of water in the Yamaska's basin, only six are larger than one square kilometer, of these only three are natural: Brome, Roxton, and Waterloo lakes.

River's Course

Starting at an elevation of north of lac Brome, it flows westward until it reaches Farnham; this section is at the feet of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

, it receives two tributaries: '' North Yamaska River'' (''French: Rivière Yamaska Nord'') passing through Granby, and Yamaska South East River draining Cowansville, after which it turns northward and enters the '' Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands'' (lowlands of the Saint-Lawrence) and meets its main tributary ''Rivière Noire'' (Black River) at Saint-Damase, passing through its biggest agglomeration,

; it continues towards its mouth at

Lake Saint Pierre Lake Saint Pierre (; abe, Nebesek) is a lake in Quebec, Canada, a widening of the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières. It is located downstream, and northeast, of Montreal; and upstream, and southwest, of Quebec City. Th ...

, West of Saint François Bay.

Tributaries

Among its main tributaries are Noire, South-East Yamaska, and North Yamaska rivers.

Left tributaries (West Shore)

* Rivière Pot au Beurre (Yamaska River tributary) * Le Petit Chenail (Yamaska River tributary) ** Saint-Louis River * Salvail River * South-West Yamaska River * Yamaska South East River

Right tributaries (East Shore)

* North Yamaska River * Rivière à la-Barbe * Noire River ** Rivière le Renne ** Jaune River ** Rouge River * Chibouet River * David River

Regional County Municipalities and local municipalities crossed

* Brome-Missisquoi: Lac-Brome, Bromont, Brigham, Farnham * La Haute-Yamaska:

Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby Saint-Alphonse-de-Granby is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. The population as of the 2011 Canadian Census was 3,125. Before October 25, 2008 it was known simply a ...

, Granby * Rouville:

Ange-Gardien Ange-Gardien is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located within the Rouville Regional County Municipality in the province's Montérégie region. The population as of the 2016 Canadian Census was 2,699. It was constituted o ...

Saint-Césaire Saint-Césaire () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Poitou-Charentes), southwestern France. In the 1970s, a Neanderthal skeleton was found near Saint-Césaire.

* Les Maskoutains: Saint-Damase,

, Saint-Barnabé-Sud, Saint-Simon, Saint-Hugues, Saint-Louis, Saint-Marcel-de-Richelieu * Pierre-De Saurel: Saint-Aimé, Massueville, Saint-David, Yamaska * Nicolet-Yamaska: Saint-François-du-Lac

Biodiversity

A varied

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

and

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

exists along the Yamaska, reflecting the various regions it traverses; species of birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals,

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

s, insect,

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, lichen, algae and many more populate its waters, banks, and surrounding marshes. Pollution has greatly affected the nature that used to thrive in and around the river, reducing the number of species of fish from 70 to 33 between 1963 and 2003; to counter this the Quebec

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

proceeds to implement fish in the river to increase fishing as a sport. The main fish cruising its waters are

white sucker The white sucker (''Catostomus commersonii)'' is a species of freshwater cypriniform fish inhabiting the upper Midwest and Northeast in North America, but it is also found as far south as Georgia and as far west as New Mexico. The fish is common ...

(''Castostomus commersonii'') and Cyprinidae; more polluted areas are occupied by

brown bullhead The brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas'') and yellow bullhead (''Am ...

(''Ameiurus nebulosus''). Species sought after for fishing include

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskell ...

(''Esox masquinongy''), '' Esox'',

black bass Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

(''Micropterus sp.''), ''

Sander A sander is a power tool used to smooth surfaces by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to hand-hold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodw ...

'',

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

(''Perca flavescens''),

pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...

(''Lepomis gibbosus'') and mud cat. Over the years the species added to the river for increase sport are the brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), rainbow trout (''Oncorynchus mykiss''), muskellunge, ''Sander'', yellow perch, brown bullhead, smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu''), and brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis''). Chutes YamaskaGranby

Inventories carried at Mont Yamaska allowed to observe over fifteen species of amphibians and even reptiles (such as the painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta'') and

Common Garter Snake The common garter snake (''Thamnophis sirtalis'') is a species of thamnophis snake, in the natricine subfamily, which is indigenous to North America and found widely across the continent. Most common garter snakes have a pattern of yellow strip ...

(''Thamnophis sirtalis'')). Common amphibians inventoried in the river are the dusky salamander (''Desmognathus fucus''),

wood frog ''Lithobates sylvaticus'' or ''Rana sylvatica'', commonly known as the wood frog, is a frog species that has a broad distribution over North America, extending from the boreal forest of the north to the southern Appalachians, with several nota ...

(''Rana sylvatica''), and the green frog (''Rana clamitans''). The Baie Lavalilière (Sainte-Anne-de-Sorel, Québec), located near the mouth of the river, is considered a very rich habitat for amphibians, although

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

bullfrog ''Bullfrog'' is a common English language term to refer to large, aggressive frogs, regardless of species. Examples of bullfrogs include: Frog species America * Helmeted water toad (''Calyptocephalella gayi''), endemic to Chile *American bullfr ...

(''Rana catesbeiana''),

northern leopard frog ''Lithobates pipiens''Integrated Taxonomic Information System nternet2012''Lithobates pipiens'' pdated 2012 Sept; cited 2012 Dec 26Available from: www.itis.gov/ or ''Rana pipiens'', commonly known as the northern leopard frog, is a species of le ...

(''Rana pipiens''), and green frog limit their population.

Citizen Collective Art Movement

11 May 2013 saw the inauguration of two collective artworks "''URGENCE YAMASKA''" (Yamaska Emergency) and "''LA YAMASKA, C'EST NOUS...''" (The Yamaska, it is us...), during the community art project Art-Yamaska; the art is said to be issue of a collective reflection about the river's health and depicts several clear environmental messages. The project aims education of ecological awareness linked to the Yamaska's health. Along with the artwork's public

exposition Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair * Expository writing ** Exposition (narrative) * Exposition (music) *Trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade e ...

on Granby's water

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure system ...

, the project included poetry

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

, a photography exposition, and several

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

and

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

workshops, culminating in festivities on the river's celebration day in 2013. Since their installment, the collective murals have gained much renown and visibility due to their location just off a popular cycling network (a large portion of it within meters of the river). In May 2015, a new artful message followed in the Art-Yamaska project with the creation of "''Qu'es-tu devenu Yamaska?''" (What have you become, Yamaska?) a few kilometers downstream the same cycling track as the previous mural. Once more, workshops were organized by the art and creativity non-profit organization ''Atelier 19'' to allow a group of

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

to invent an environmental message to be posted underneath and on the sides of Patrick-Hackett bridge; the place is famous for its

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term ...

in the form of

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

art, the message is thus expressed conjointly and with inspiration from that art movement.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Montérégie Rivers of Centre-du-Québec Saint-Hyacinthe Tributaries of the Saint Lawrence River Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality Granby, Quebec Rouville Regional County Municipality Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality Pierre-De Saurel Regional County Municipality