The Kécarpoui River () is a salmon river in the

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada. The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...

region of Quebec, Canada. It flows south and empties into the

Gulf of Saint Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in ...

Location

The Kécarpoui River is a narrow river, long. The mouth of the river is in the municipality of

Gros-Mécatina Gros-Mécatina () is a municipality on the Lower North Shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, near the border with Labrador in Quebec, Canada. Located near crab, lobster, and scallop fishing grounds, it is dependent on the fishing business, includi ...

in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality. The Kécarpoui Archipelago is a group of islands in the Gulf opposite the river mouth. ''Kécarpoui'' is an

Innu language Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais– Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the c ...

word meaning "porcupine river".

Description

The ''Dictionnaire des rivières et lacs de la province de Québec'' (1914) says of the river,

Basin

The Kécarpoui River basin covers . It lies between the basins of the

Véco River The Véco River (, ) is a salmon river in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada, that empties into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It has been dammed to supply a hydroelectric power plant. The shoreline around the mouth of the river is protected as ...

to the west and the

Saint-Augustin River The Saint-Augustin River (, ; ) is a salmon river in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It empties into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Location The Saint-Augustin River has its source in the mountains of Labrador, and winds south to Saint-Aug ...

to the east. It is partly in the unorganized territory of Petit-Mécatina and partly in the municipalities of Gros-Mécatina and Saint-Augustin. The Lac-Robertson Generating Station, which is powered by a dam on the

, is in the Kécarpoui basin.

Environment

A map of the

ecological regions of Quebec The Ecological regions of Quebec are regions with specific types of vegetation and climates as defined by the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks. Given the size of this huge province, there is wide variation from the temperate deciduou ...

shows the Kécarpoui River in sub-regions 6o-T, 6n-T and 6m-T of the east spruce/moss subdomain. Vegetation in the basin is dominated by conifers. Mammals include

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

boreal woodland caribou The boreal woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: Taxonomy), also known as Eastern woodland caribou, boreal forest caribou and forest-dwelling caribou, is a North American subsp ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

muskrat The muskrat or common muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over various climates ...

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

and

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

. There are seabird colonies on the many islands and islets near the river mouth.

Fishing

The Kécarpoui River is recognized as an

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

river. The river bed is composed of medium-sized rocks. Salmon swim up the river for . They average in weight. In 2013–2017 an average of 7 salmon were reported caught each year. The Pourvoirie Kecarpoui/Kecarpoui Outpost provides outfitting services. They do not have an exclusive right. They offer 6-day guided fishing expeditions that visit the Véco, Kecarpoui, Saint-Augustin, Coxipi, Chécatica, Napetipi rivers and the Baie des roches.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kécarpoui River Rivers of Côte-Nord