The Rivière à Mars Nord-Ouest is a tributary of the rivière à Mars flowing in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in the Charlevoix Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. The "rivière à Mars North-West" crosses the central-western part of the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. Upstream of the port, industrial and urban area, the "rivière à Mars" valley is mainly served by the "Consol Paper road". The "rivière à Mars North West" is served by a few other secondary forest roads for forestry and recreational tourism activities. Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism, second. The surface of the "rivière à Mars North-West" is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, however the safe circulation on the ice is generally made from mid-December to mid-March.
Geography
The main watersheds adjacent to the "rivière à Mars North-West" are:
south of the confluence of the northwest Mars river and the rivière à Mars.
From its source, the "rivière à Mars North-West" flows on generally towards the north, with a drop of entirely in the forest zone, according to the segments following:
northward, to the outlet of "Lac Cloc-Cloc" and "Petit Lac Cloc-Cloc";
towards the north, collecting at the beginning of the segment a stream, then the northeast, by unevening and meandering to the outlet of Lac des Écores ;
first towards the north-east to a bend in the river, then on towards the south-east by winding up to a stream ;
by winding towards the northeast, then towards the east by collecting a stream, to its mouth.
The "rivière à Mars North-West" flows in a river loop on the west bank of the rivière à Mars. This confluence is located at:
south of the confluence of the rivière à Mars and Baie des Ha! Ha!;
south-east of downtown Saguenay.
From the confluence of the "rivière à Mars North-West", the current descends the course of the rivière à Mars on generally towards the north, crosses the Baie des Ha! Ha! on northeast, then follows the course of the Saguenay River on east to Tadoussac where it merges with the Saint Lawrence Estuary.
Toponymy
The toponym “Rivière à Mars Nord-Ouest” is associated with its tributary “Rivière à Mars”. These two names evoke the first pioneer Mars Simard to settle around the 1870s near the rivière à Mars, on the Baie des Ha! Ha!. The toponym “Rivière à Mars Nord-Ouest” appeared on the draft map of Lac Pikauba, 1961-09-15, item 75 and on the draft map of Baie-St-Paul, 1961-06-30, item 251. The toponym "Rivière à Mars Nord-Ouest" was formalized on December 5, 1968 at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.
