Jacques-Cartier River
The Jacques-Cartier River is a river in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is 161 km long and its source is Jacques-Cartier Lake in Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, and flows in a predominantly southern direction before ending in the Saint Lawrence River at Donnacona, about 30 km upstream from Quebec City.
It is currently under nomination for Canadian Heritage River status.
Forestry is the main economic activity in the sector; recreational tourism, second; agriculture activities in lower part, third.
The surface of the Jacques-Cartier River is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, however the safe circulation on the ice is generally done from end of December to the beginning of March.
Geography
The Jacques-Cartier River drains an area of, starting in and flowing for nearly through the Laurentian mountains in the geological region of Grenville, then flows through the sedimentary rocks of the St. Lawrence Lowlands for approximately, from the municipality of Pont-Rouge to its mouth.The area covered by the drainage basin is for the most part undeveloped or protected, especially its source. In fact, 77% of its length is protected by the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve and the Jacques-Cartier National Park where one finds a steep glaciated valley formed during the last glaciation. Nevertheless, about 25,000 people live on the shores of this river close to its mouth, where it crosses the regional municipality of Portneuf and the municipalities of Tewkesbury, Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Shannon, Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, Pont-Rouge and Donnacona.
Important tributaries of Jacques-Cartier river are:
- Rivière aux Pommes
- Sautauriski River
- Ontaritzi River
- Rivière à l'Épaule
- Cachée River
- Launière River
- Rivière Jacques-Cartier Nord-Ouest
Course of the river
Upper course of Jacques-Cartier River
From the mouth of Nadreau Lake, the Jacques-Cartier river flows towards the northwest in the county of Montmorency to reach Jacques-Cartier Lake. In this course, the river descends on:
- westward into Lake Grandpré and along into "Lac Petit Pré" to its mouth;
- westward, to the discharge waters of Currier Lake and Fantôme Lake ;
- westward, to the outlet of Lakes Nissard and Durue ;
- westward, to the outlet of Asselin, “du Vison” and Gaudreau lakes;
- westwards receiving from the north the outlet of an unnamed stream, to the outlet of Joyal and Beauvais lakes;
- southwesterly, to Jacques-Cartier Lake, which is the main body of water in the Jacques-Cartier river;
- south across Jacques-Cartier Lake over its full length to its mouth;
- to the south, forming a hook to the west to cross the southern part of Lac Sept Îles, Lac Noir and Lac Lafontaine, to its mouth;
- to the south, then southwest to the confluence of the Launière River
- southwards in a deep valley to the outlet of the rivière Jacques-Cartier Nord-Ouest;
- to the south by collecting the confluence of the Cook River, up to the outlet of Lac McLish;
- towards the south-east, collecting at the end of the segment the confluence of the Sautauriski River to the confluence of the rivière Jacques-Cartier Nord-Ouest ;
- south-east then south to the confluence of the Cachée River ;
- to the south, then the southwest by forming two large curves until the confluence of the Cassian River ;
- towards the south-east, by forming a loop towards the east, then towards the south, until the bridge of the village of Valcartier;
- first towards the south, then towards the southwest, up to the bridge in the village of Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier;
- towards the south by forming a hook towards the east while crossing an agricultural zone, until the railway bridge in the village of Pont-Rouge;
- to the south, forming two loops to the east in the agricultural and forestry zone, to the Pont de l’autoroute 40;
- towards the south by forming a loop towards the northwest, to its mouth.
Flood zones
History
The reports that according to surveyor John Adams, in 1829, the river was known by the Hurons as Lahdaweoole, meaning "coming from far". They and the Montagnais used its shores for fishing and trapping. It is estimated that this region has been used by First Nations for over 7,000 years. Explorer Samuel de Champlain mentioned this river in 1632 as the "Sturgeon and Salmon River". In 1656, a map of Samson of Abbeville showed "R. J. Quartier" as the river's designation, probably so named according to the popular belief that Jacques Cartier had passed by the river's mouth. This natural highway was used among others by Jesuit missionaries to reach the Lac Saint-Jean area during the 17th century.Logging in the Laurentian highlands became an important economic activity during the second half of the 18th century. The Jacques-Cartier River was used for log drives to transport the logs to the Saint-Lawrence River and to the mills downstream. This practice was only stopped in 1975. With the settlement of French immigrants near the river's mouth came the formation of townships and new industries appeared such as flour mills.
In 1895 the Laurentian Wildlife Reserve was created to provide fishing, hunting, and recreation opportunities for the people. From 1918 on, the construction of fishing camps made fishing more and more popular. The end of the First World War and the construction of nearby roads to Lac Saint-Jean also contributed to this popularity. Then hydro-electric dams started to be built, taking advantage of the river's geography up until the 1970s. In 1972, a proposed Hydro-Québec project would have flooded the Jacques-Cartier River valley, but the project was strongly opposed by the population. The government reversed its decision and in 1981 Jacques-Cartier Park was created out of the wildlife reserve as a conservation park, accessible to the public for nature interpretation and nature friendly recreation activities.
Flora and fauna
The river bank is typically mixed forest, consisting of yellow birch and sugar maple, whereas the surrounding areas show rather the boreal forest rich in conifers, in particular the black spruce. This distinction is clearly visible in the steeper sections of the valley where a milder microclimate prevails.The fauna therefore is typical of a Canadian mixed forest. One can find in the Jacques-Cartier River valley the American black bear, bobcat, common raccoon, gray wolf, river otter, porcupine, moose, white-tailed deer, and caribou; in all 23 species of mammals. There are 104 species of birds, including birds of prey such as the barred owl, American kestrel, and osprey. Finally, there are 16 species of fish, of which brook trout in particular can be found frequently. In addition, a reintroduction program has been established for Atlantic salmon, which disappeared from the river in the 19th century.