Ouiatchouaniche River


The Ouiatchouaniche River is a tributary of Lac Saint-Jean, flowing successively in the unorganized territory of Lac-Ashuapmushuan, the municipality of Sainte-Hedwidge and the city of Roberval, in the Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.
The upper part of the Ouiatchouaniche river valley is served by forest roads.
Forestry is the main economic activity in the upper and intermediate part of this valley; agriculture, in the lower part, except the urban area near the mouth.
The surface of the Ouiatchouaniche River is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, except the rapids areas; however, traffic on the ice is generally safe from mid-December to mid-March.

Geography

The Ouiatchouaniche river has its source in Lake Quentin in the unorganized territory of Lac-Ashuapmushuan. This lake is mainly supplied by the outlet from Couture lake and the outlet from an unidentified lake. This source is located at:
From its source, the Ouiatchouaniche river flows over with a drop of, according to the following segments:
Upper course of the Ouiatchouaniche river
Note: In forest area.
Intermediate course of the Ouiatchouaniche river upstream of the dam
Note: In forest area.
Intermediate course of the Ouiatchouaniche river
Note: In forest area.
Lower section of the Ouiatchouaniche river
Note: First in forest area, then agricultural.
The Ouiatchouaniche river flows on the southwest bank of lac Saint-Jean. This confluence is located on the north side of the city of Roberval, either:
From the mouth of the Ouiatchouaniche river, the current crosses Lake Saint-Jean for towards the northeast, follows the course of the Saguenay River via the Petite Décharge on eastwards to Tadoussac where it merges with the Estuary of Saint Lawrence.

Use of the territory

The south of the basin is located in the forest zone. From the southern limit of Sainte-Hedwidge, the river flows from agroforestry areas that are not under cultivation. Finally, the last kilometers downstream are located in agricultural areas, although they are not under cultivation. The river flows through two urban agglomerations, Sainte-Hedwidge and Roberval.
The only protected area along the watercourse is the habitat of the Lac Vallée muskrat. The river also serves as a limit to the zec de la Lièvre.

Toponymy

The term "Ouiatchouaniche" is of Innu origin; it is a diminutive of "Ouiatchouan". This last term turns out to be the name of a river flowing into Lac Saint-Jean to the southwest. Locally, this watercourse is designated “Rivière du Tremblay”. The second part of the term "Ouiatchouaniche" can also resemble "Ouananiche", which turns out to be the name of a river whose confluence with Lac Saint-Jean is to the southwest.
During a voyage of exploration in 1732, the surveyors Joseph-Laurent Normandin pointed out in his report the "Petite rivière 8iatch8anonchiche". This name translates to the little "river where the current is". The Journals of the Lower Canada House of Assembly for the year 1823-1824 indicate Ouigatshouanish. Old graphic variants of the toponym: Ouiatchouanish, Uiatchganish and Wiatshunanitsh
The toponym "Ouiatchouaniche river" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.