The Kikendatch Bay is a freshwater body that leads to the
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 na ...
, in the territory of
La Tuque, in
Haute-Mauricie, in the administrative region of
Mauricie
Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...
, in the
province of
Quebec, in
Canada.
This bay is mainly located in the township of Levasseur, except the entrance (west side) of the bay located in the canton of Aubin. Following the erection completed in 1948 of the
Gouin Dam, the "Kikendatch Bay" became an extension of
Brochu Lake
The Lake Brochu is a vast expanse of freshwater in the south-eastern part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.
This lake extends into ...
located further north-west, i.e. at the extreme east of Gouin Reservoir.
Recreotourism activities are the main economic activity of the sector. Forestry comes second. A civilian seaplane base is located at the top of the Gouin Dam.
The
route 400, connecting the Gouin Dam to the village of
Parent, Quebec, serves the southern part of Kikendatch Bay, as well as the valleys of
Jean-Pierre River
The Jean-Pierre River is a tributary of the Jean-Pierre Bay, on the south shore of the Gouin Reservoir, flowing into the territory
of the town of La Tuque, into the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.
The Jean-Pierre River f ...
and
Leblanc River
The Leblanc River is a tributary of the De La Galette River, flowing on the south shore of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the Mauricie administrative region, in Quebec, in Canada.
The Leblanc River runs success ...
; this road also serves the peninsula which stretches north in the Gouin Reservoir on . Some secondary forest roads are in use nearby for forestry and recreational tourism activities.
The surface of Kikendatch Bay is usually frozen from mid-November to the end of April, however, safe ice circulation is generally from early December to late March.
Geography
Toponymy
This hydronym identifying this bay under the specific "Kikendatch" (graph "Kirkendatch" used in the introduction of Description of surveyed townships ... (1889)) originated the transfer of the name of the trading post that had been established northwest of the Gouin Dam.
In 1832, the map of Arrowsmith (entitled British North America) identifies this post, as "mission center of Haut-Saint-Maurice" by the priest of
Yamachiche, Quebec, Severin-Nicolas Dumoulin (1793–1853), first missionary, in 1837, to visit the population of
Atikamekw
The Atikamekw are the Indigenous inhabitants of the subnational country or territory they call ('Our Land'), in the upper Saint-Maurice River valley of Quebec (about north of Montreal), Canada. Their current population is around 8,000. One o ...
since the voyage of the father
Jacques Buteux
Jacques Buteux (11 April 1600 – 10 May 1652) was a French-born Jesuit who became a missionary in Canada.
Biography
Jacques Buteux was born 11 April 1600 in Abbeville, Picardy, the son of a tanner.
On 2 October 1620 he entered the Society of Je ...
in 1651.
In his 1806 diary, Jean-Baptiste Perrault speaks of Kikèndâche. One of his sketches indicates a lake Kikèndàtche. According to Father Georges Lemoine, this name is of Algonquin origin and means where the boiler is and designates a place on the shore where the rock is dug in the form of a boiler. Variant: Baie Martel.
The toponym "Kikendatch Bay" was formalized on December 5, 1968, by the
Commission de toponymie du Québec
The Commission de toponymie du Québec (English: ''Toponymy Commission of Québec'') is the Government of Québec's public body responsible for cataloging, preserving, making official and publicize Québec's place names and their origins according ...
, when it was created.
Quebec Geographic Names Board - Place name bank - Place name: "Kikendatch Bay".
/ref>
Notes and references
See also
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*Saint-Maurice River
The Saint-Maurice River (french: Rivière Saint-Maurice; Atikamekw: ''Tapiskwan sipi'') flows north to south in central Quebec from Gouin Reservoir to empty into the Saint Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. F ...
*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 na ...
, a body of water
* La Tuque, a city
Bays of Quebec
La Tuque, Quebec