Leaf River ( French: ''Rivière aux Feuilles'';

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

: ''Kuugaaluk'' the large river"or ''Itinniq'' where there are spring tides"ref name=guide>) is a river in northern

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, ...

, Canada, at the northern limit of the

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

. It flows from

Lake Minto Lake Minto (, "where there are spotted seals") is a lake on western Ungava Peninsula, Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. It has a total surface area of and a net area of .Natural Resources Canada, Atlas of Canada Lakes It was named by Canadian explorer an ...

northeast through the

Ungava Peninsula The Ungava Peninsula (), officially (), is the far northwestern part of the Labrador Peninsula of the province of Quebec, Canada. Bounded by Hudson Bay to the west, Hudson Strait to the north, and Ungava Bay to the east, it covers about . Its ...

into Leaf Bay off

Ungava Bay Ungava Bay (; , ; /) is a bay in Nunavut, Canada separating Nunavik (far northern Quebec) from Baffin Island. Although not geographically apparent, it is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. The bay is roughly oval-shaped, about at its widest p ...

over a distance of . At the head of Leaf Bay is the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

community of

Tasiujaq Tasiujaq (, meaning: ''Which resembles a lake'') is a northern village (Inuit community) in Nunavik, in northern Quebec, Canada. Its population in the Canada 2021 Census was 420. Geography Tasiujaq was built on the shores of Leaf Lake at th ...

. With caution, it is possible to paddle the entire Leaf River without

portaging Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

, as it contains no impassable

waterfalls A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

or non-navigable

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

. The river's length, measured from Charpentier Bay to

, is ; if measured from first discernable current, it is . The river is ice-free for about 60 days each year.

Tributaries

The significant tributaries of the Leaf River are: * Charpentier River * Nedlouc River * Descareaux River * Daunais River * Goudalie River * Vizien River * Brissard River * Qijuttuuk River * Cohade River * Tuktu River * Dufreboy Creek * Viennaux River * Papijjusaq River * Peladeau River * Fanfan River

History

Since at least the late 19th century, the river has been known by its English name, "Leaf River", which was probably derived from the Arctic willow and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

trees that grow sparsely along its banks. The

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

fished there for salmon and porpoises, and opened a trading post at the mouth of the river around 1905. In the early 20th century, the French name ''Rivière des Feuilles'' was assigned, and standardized to its current form ''Rivière aux Feuilles'' in 1925. First known explorers:
1898 -

Albert Peter Low Albert Peter Low (May 24, 1861 – October 9, 1942) was a Canadian geologist, explorer and athlete. His explorations of 1893–1895 were important in declaring Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic, and eventually defining the border between Quebe ...

1912 -

Robert J. Flaherty Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputati ...

1976 - Bob Davis

The Leaf River caribou herd

Caribou crossing Leaf River.jpg, Caribou crossing Leaf River Caribou at the campsite (cropped).jpg, Leaf River and caribou The Leaf River caribou herd (LRCH) is a migratory forest-tundra ecotype of the boreal population, a caribou subspecies of Rangifer tarandus caribou. Like the George River Herd, it migrates between forest and tundra. Migratory caribou herds are often defined in terms of female natal

philopatry Philopatry is the tendency of an organism to stay in or habitually return to a particular area. The causes of philopatry are numerous, but natal philopatry, where animals return to their birthplace to breed, may be the most common. The term derives ...

natal homing Natal homing, or natal philopatry, is the homing process by which some adult animals that have migrated away from their juvenile habitats return to their birthplace to reproduce. This process is primarily used by aquatic animals such as sea tur ...

, the tendency to return to natal calving areas—in this case, the Leaf River. The Leaf Herd in the west, near the coast of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

, increased from 270,000 in 1991 to 628,000 in 2001. According to the Quebec's Natural Resources and Wildlife survey, the Leaf River Herd (LRH) (Rivière-aux-Feuilles) had decreased to 430,000 caribou in 2011. According to an international study on caribou populations, the Leaf River herd could be threatened with extinction by 2080.

References

External links

Tides on Leaf Basin, Quebec

Leaf Bay 7 day tidal predictions, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
{{Authority control Rivers of Nord-du-Québec Hudson's Bay Company trading posts