Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

Sorel-Tracy Sorel-Tracy (; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada and the geographical end point of the Champlain Valley. It is located at the confluence of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River, on the western edge of Lac Saint-Pierre, down ...

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

estuary of Saint Lawrence The St. Lawrence River Estuary is an estuary at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. It stretches 655 km from west to east, from the outlet of Lake Saint Pierre to Pointe-des-Monts, where it becomes the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Quebec, Canada. ...

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

, due to the presence of many marshes and wetlands that are frequented by waterfowl. Recreational activities on the river (such as fishing, boating, sailing, swimming, water skiing, nature observation) are active mainly in summer season. Sport fishing is particularly popular, including ice fishing, especially in the great bay of

Pointe-du-Lac Pointe-du-Lac () is one of the six boroughs of the city of Trois-Rivières and a former municipality in Quebec, Canada on the St. Lawrence River. It was founded in 1738 and its current church dates from 1882. Another old building in the village ...

. Around Lake Saint-Pierre, several recreational services are available including marinas, hotel services, restaurants, outfitters, docks, gas stations, and cruises.

Geography

Approximately 12,500 years ago, the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last ice age resulted in a vast basin filled by the

Champlain Sea The Champlain Sea () was a prehistoric inlet of the Atlantic Ocean into the North American continent, created by the retreating ice sheets during the closure of the last glacial period. The inlet once included lands in what are now the Canadi ...

. This sea extended from the

city of Quebec Quebec City is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a population of 839,311. It is the twelfth -lar ...

to the east, and covered the Lower Mauricie, the Lower Laurentians, the lower part of the Ottawa Valley,

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

on the western side, and

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

USA) on the South side. The outline of the

Champlain Sea The Champlain Sea () was a prehistoric inlet of the Atlantic Ocean into the North American continent, created by the retreating ice sheets during the closure of the last glacial period. The inlet once included lands in what are now the Canadi ...

is marked by ancient sandy shores where sand pits have been exploited. The water level has dropped some 8,000 years ago. The surface area of the watershed is (equivalent to more than 60% of the surface area of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

). 58% of the catchment area is located in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, 28% in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and only 14% in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

(2.5% in direct tributaries, 0.07% in the littoral zone). Lake Saint-Pierre is linked to 11 administrative regions, 58 RCMs and 654 municipalities. The lake is located in the

Regional County Municipalities The term regional county municipality or RCM (, , MRC) is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county regional municipality. Regional county municipalit ...

of Nicolet-Yamaska, Maskinongé, D'Autray, and Pierre-De Saurel, in addition to the city of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. The shores of the lake affect several municipalities: * North shore:

Berthierville Berthierville (; ) (also called Berthier-en-haut, and legally called Berthier before 1942) is a town located between Montreal and Trois-Rivières on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Berthierville is the seat of D'Aut ...

, Maskinongé,

Louiseville Louiseville () is a Types of municipalities in Quebec, town in the Mauricie Quebec region, region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. It is located near the mouth of the 'Rivière-du-Loup', on the north shor ...

,

Yamachiche Yamachiche () is a municipality in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. Etymology The name Yamachiche was first used to identify the Little Yamachiche River (''Petite rivière Yamachiche'') which runs through the town. It cam ...

and

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

(Pointe-du-Lac sector) * South shore:

Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel () is a town in the Regional county municipality of Pierre-De Saurel, in Montérégie, Quebec. It is located north of the Tracy section of Sorel-Tracy. Champlain Street marks the town's southern limit from Sorel-Tracy, an ...

, Pierreville, Baie-du-Febvre and Nicolet. Lake Saint-Pierre is fed by the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

(coming from the southwest) and the 14 main tributaries: * North bank (from the mouth):

Maskinongé River The Maskinongé River is located north of the administrative region of Lanaudière and west of the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada. The river has a total length of 40 km. It takes its source in Maskinongé Lake, locat ...

,

Rivière du Loup Rivière, La Rivière, or Les Rivières (French for "river") may refer to: Places Belgium * Rivière, Profondeville, a village Canada * La Rivière, Manitoba, a community * Les Rivières (Quebec City), a borough France * La Rivière, Giron ...

, Yamachiche River, Glaises Stream, Sable River * South bank (from the mouth):

Yamaska River The Yamaska River (, ) is a Drainage basin, river in southern Quebec, Canada. Sourcing water within the Eastern Townships, it ends its journey in Lake Saint Pierre, Lake Saint-Pierre where it is a tributary to the Saint Lawrence River; altoget ...

,

Saint-François River The Saint-François River (, ) is a right tributary of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Its source is Lake Saint-François in Chaudière-Appalaches, southeast of Thetford Mines. It flows southwest towards Sherbrooke, where it changes ...

, Colbert River, Landroche River, Des Frères River, Brielle River, Lemire River, Camille-Roy River,

Nicolet River The Nicolet River () is a river in Quebec, Canada. It is a tributary of the Saint Lawrence River on its southern shore and flows into Lake Saint Pierre. It is named in honor of the pioneer Jean Nicolet. It has several tributaries including the Ri ...

The average depth of the lake is only three meters. The channel of the seaway that has been dredged has a maximum depth of 11.3 m.

Toponymy

The lake was named by

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

following its passage on 29 June 1603, the day of the Stone (Apostle)#The Saint-Pierre, Saint-Pierre. The

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people 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 pred ...

call Lake ''Nebesek'', which means at lac. Jacques Cartier, during his second voyage to Canada in 1535, had given it the name of "Angoulême".

Natural environment

This seasonally-flooded area is an important stopping point for hundreds of thousands of migrating

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

. It is also an important nesting area for

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

s: more have been counted here than in any other place in North America. In 1998, it was recognized as a wetland of international significance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

. The wildlife experts have identified 23 species of mammals around Lake Saint-Pierre, one of the most abundant species is the

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 ...

(''Ondatra zibethicus''), which is found in abundance in the lake.

Biosphere Reserve

Lake Saint-Pierre was appointed

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in 2000. ''The biosphere reserve of Lac-Saint-Pierre'' has an area of , whose in core areas and in buffer zones. The core areas are composed of Wildlife Refuge Great Island and bird refuge Nicolet. Nearly 290 species of birds, about 90 species of fish and 27 rare plants have been listed in this biosphere reserve.

Wildlife Sanctuary of Great Island

Wildlife Sanctuary of "Grande-Île" (Great Island) is located on Grande-île in the

Archipelago of Saint-Pierre Lake The Archipelago of Lake Saint Pierre counts 103 islands in the western part of Lake Saint Pierre, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. There are two groups: Islands of Berthierville, Berthier to the north and th ...

. It has an area of . This wildlife refuge was created in 1992 is the protection of one of the largest heron colonies in North America. It houses more than 5,000 herons.

Nicolet Bird Sanctuary

The "birds Nicolet refuge" is a protected area of which protects a staging area for ducks and

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North A ...

and also a nesting area for waterfowl. National Defence has acquired the site in the 1950. The site was recognized as a rest area in 1969 and as a refuge in 1982.

History

Being the last freshwater basin of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

and its geographical position, Lake Saint-Pierre has marked the history of French Canada in terms of the fishing industry, hunting, transportation including the

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

, pleasure boating, the settlement of surrounding lands, winter ice roads and ferries. Samuel de Champlain wrote, in 1609: "On the south side, there are two rivers, one called the" Rivière du Pont (Nicolet) and the other of Gennes (Saint-François or Yamaska), which are very beautiful and in beautiful and good country. "

Environment

Since the 1970s, the water quality of Lake Saint-Pierre has improved significantly, thanks to governmental requirements, such as: * construction upstream of discharged water filtration centres, including those of municipalities/cities and those of industries; * cleaning the banks and bed of the river, by municipalities/cities, organizations, businesses and riparian owners; * revision of the composition of many manufactured products, thus reducing harmful emissions into the environment; * implantation by riparian owners of regulated septic tanks; * prohibition of discharge of waste water by boaters and commercial vessels; * increased recycling of domestic and industrial waste, reducing the dumping of waste in nature; * enhanced surveillance of water activities (e.g. Canadian Coast Guard, Environment Ministry, Municipalities/Cities). The traffic on the river is a significant generator of shoreline erosion due to the waves produced, especially by large vessels using the

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

. The seaway has changed the course of the natural flow of the river. In places, the flow distribution in the lake due to some stagnation of water near the banks, creating a silting. In the area of Nicolet, the bed of the lake bottom contains an undetermined number of unexploded warheads from the centre of military fire which was in operation from the 1950s to the 2000s.

Disasters and tragedies

Throughout history, Lake St. Pierre has been the site of: * Large disasters: flooding due to spring floods (usually from the beginning of April up to mid-May, sometimes until the end of May) often increased by tides,Articles "De nombreuses résidences inondées aux abords du lac Saint-Pierre", publié par Radio-Canada, le samedi 7 mai 2011 à 10 h 39 , Mis à jour le 7 mai 2011 à 12 h 09
/ref> often sudden windstorms causing high waves, spring debacles, icebreaking on winter roads on the water ... These forces of nature have often resulted in damage to waterfront facilities, equipment (such as fishing equipment), buildings and boats. Sometimes debris drift (fishing huts, docks, craft ...); * Major tragedies: sinking, drowning, hunting or fishing accidents, people in perdition or drifting on the ice ... In the days when wood was being transported by the flow of rivers, lost wood logs floated on Lake Saint-Pierre, detached themselves from the wooden cords during the floods, or escaped from the booms on the rivers adjacent (or upstream). These floating balls occasionally caused breakage to the boats. Sometimes, chores were organized to recover them. On the north shore, between Maskinongé and

Pointe-du-Lac Pointe-du-Lac () is one of the six boroughs of the city of Trois-Rivières and a former municipality in Quebec, Canada on the St. Lawrence River. It was founded in 1738 and its current church dates from 1882. Another old building in the village ...

, Highway 40 is a jetty protecting the land from rising or storm surges, at high tide or during major floods. Some flooding is causing a significant increase in the area of Lake Saint-Pierre. The flood waters of April and May 2017 were particularly disastrous on the shores.

In popular culture

* Lac Saint-Pierre is the setting of the poem, folk ballad, and animated short, "the Wreck of the Julie Plante", by

William Henry Drummond William Henry Drummond (April 13, 1854 – April 6, 1907) was an Irish-born Canadian poet whose humorous dialect poems made him "one of the most popular authors in the English-speaking world," and "one of the most widely-read and loved poets" ...

. * It is not the lake sought after by Duddy Kravitz in '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' by

Mordecai Richler Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are ''The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (novel), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and ''Barney's Version (novel), Barney's Versi ...

. The lake in this book is clearly in walking distance of Lac des Sables.

References

External links

*
Lac Saint Pierre Biosphere Reserve, Canada
(UNESCO site) {{Authority control Biosphere reserves of Canada Saint-Pierre Ramsar sites in Canada Nature reserves in Quebec Saint Lawrence River Saint-Pierre Saint-Pierre Geological type localities

Geography

Toponymy

Natural environment

Biosphere Reserve

Wildlife Sanctuary of Great Island

Nicolet Bird Sanctuary

History

Environment

Disasters and tragedies

In popular culture

See also

References

External links