The Pipmuacan Reservoir () is a man-made lake on the boundary of the

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (, ) is a region in Quebec, Canada on the Labrador Peninsula. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as Sagamie in French, from the fi ...

and

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, ...

regions of Quebec, Canada, about north of

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

. It is used to control the flow for downstream hydro-electric generating stations on the

Betsiamites River The Betsiamites (also called Bersimis) is a river of Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada, which joins the Saint Lawrence River. The Pipmuacan Reservoir, impounded by the Bersimis-1 Dam, is roughly halfway down its course.Natural Resources Canada, Atlas o ...

and, through Lake Pamouscachiou, also on the Shipshaw River. It has a total surface area of and a net area (water only) of . The reservoir is shaped highly irregularly, with many deep bays, dotted with islands in its western section, and characterized by a large rounded peninsula in the centre. Primary tributaries are the Betsiamites, Sylvestre, Hirondelles, and Pipmuacan Rivers. The reservoir is named after Lake Pipmuacan that was flooded during the formation of the reservoir. The name is of

Innu The Innu/Ilnu ('man, person'), formerly called Montagnais (French for ' mountain people'; ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit northeastern Labrador in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador and some portions of Quebec. They refer to ...

origin, that may mean "arrow". The Geographic Board reported in 1960 that "according to the missionaries of the Côte-Nord, the

had given this name to the lake in remembrance of their last fight with the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

on Mount Pigmaugan (Pipmuacan) that overlooks the water." Other spelling variations before standardization include Pipmuakan, Pipmaugan, and Pipmakan. The sport fish found in Pipmuacan Reservoir are

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

, and

lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...

Outfitter An outfitter is a shop or person that sells specialized clothes (an '' outfit'' is a set of clothing). More specifically, it is a company or individual who provides or deals in equipment and supplies for the pursuit of certain activities. In Nort ...

s provide fishing excursions and accommodations at the reservoir.

History

The Pipmuacan Reservoir was formed in October 1953 when

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

began construction on the dams and power plant of Bersimis-1. The first dam, long and high, was built between two mountains surrounding Lake Cassé, and the second, long, curtailed the release of water into the Desroches River. The reservoir's spillway was cut through a mountain between the two dams. By 1956, the construction work was completed. In 2002, Hydro-Québec diverted part of the Portneuf River to the north into the Pipmuacan Reservoir to increase the capacity of the Bersimis power stations.M. Belles-Îles and I. Simard, ''Dérivation partielle de la rivière Portneuf. Suivi environnemental 2005 en phase exploitation – Passe migratoire Portneuf.'' Groupe conseil Génivar inc. for Hydro-Québec, Montréal, 2005 The partial diversion of the Sault aux Cochons River is being studied to further optimize the operation of the existing stations.

References

{{Reflist

External links

"Giant of the North"
''Popular Mechanics'', December 1943, article on the crash program to create the Shipshaw hydroelectric project Lakes of Côte-Nord Reservoirs in Quebec Lakes of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean