The Amédée River is a tributary of the St. Lawrence River, crossing the town of Baie-Comeau, in the Manicouagan Regional County Municipality on the Côte-Nord, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.
| Amédée River | |
|---|---|
 Chute de la rivière Amédée | |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Côte-Nord |
| MRC | Manicouagan Regional County Municipality |
| City | Baie-Comeau |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Brassard Lake[citation needed] |
| • location | Baie-Comeau |
| • coordinates | 49°15′02″N 68°18′31″W / 49.25056°N 68.30861°W |
| • elevation | 81 m (266 ft) |
| Mouth | Gulf of Saint Lawrence |
• location | Baie-Comeau |
• coordinates | 49°11′11″N 68°14′21″W / 49.18639°N 68.23917°W |
• elevation | 2 m (6.6 ft) |
| Length | 10.1 km (6.3 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | (upstream) |
| • right | (upstream) Le Petit Bras, Couillard stream, unidentified stream, stream (via Lac Amédée), outlet (via Lac Amédée) from Lac Marcel, outlet (via Lac Amédée) from Lac du Hibou, outlet of three small lakes. |
The eastern part of the Amédée river valley is served by forest roads and indirectly by the Trans-Québec-Labrador road; the lower part, by the route 138.[1]
Besides the urban area (Baie-Comeau sector) at the end of the segment, forestry is the main economic activity in this valley.[2]
The surface of the Amédée River is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, except the rapids areas; however, safe circulation on the ice is generally from mid-December to mid-March.
Toponymy edit
The Amédée river is named in honor of Amédée Couillard-Després, first manager of the sawmill built at the mouth of the river by Damase and Henri Jalbert in 1898.[3],[4]
The toponym “Amédée river” was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[5]
Geography edit
The Amédée River is part of the Manicouagan River watershed. It is supplied by Lake Amédée (length: 2.6 km (1.6 mi); altitude: 81 m (266 ft)) located at 7.9 km (4.9 mi) northwest of downtown town of Baie-Comeau. Lake Amédée is supplied by:
- north-west bank: two streams,
- north shore: the outlet of 5 lakes, the outlet of Lake Hibou, the outlet of Lake Marcel;
- east bank: the outlet of a stream, the outlet of two lakes, the outlet of two lakes.
The Amédée river has a free weir-type dam to regulate the water flow.[6] The river ends with falls located near the site named Vieux Poste before emptying into the St. Lawrence River.
The Amédée river flows for 10.1 km (6.3 mi) with a drop of 79 m (259 ft), according to the following segments:
- 5.9 km (3.7 mi) generally towards the south-east, forming some coils, until the beginning of a widening of the river;
- 2.7 km (1.7 mi) towards the south-east forming a widening of the river, first on 1.4 km (0.87 mi) by collecting the Couillard stream (coming from the north) to route 138; then on 1.3 km (0.81 mi) towards the south-east passing in an industrial zone (located on the west side of the river) and collecting Le Petit Bras (coming northeast) to the dam;
- 1.5 km (0.93 mi) towards the south-east crossing two zones of rapids and forming a loop towards the east at the end of the segment, until its mouth.[2]
The Amédée river flows at the bottom of a small bay on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, either:
- 6.2 km (3.9 mi) north-east of the mouth of the Manicouagan River;
- 3.8 km (2.4 mi) north-west of Pointe-Lebel where the regional airport is located;
- 3.7 km (2.3 mi) south-west of the mouth of the rivière à la Chasse (Baie-Comeau).[2]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Open Street Map - Accessed July 7, 2020
- ^ a b c "Atlas of Canada from the Department of Natural Resources Canada". Retrieved 2020-07-07.
Characteristics extracted from the geographic map, the database and site instrumentation
- ^ Lloyd Duhaime (1986). Power filled: Baie-Comeau: 50 years of history. Baie-Comeau: Éditions Nordiques. p. 192.
- ^ Historical and explanatory directory of the names of streets and avenues in Baie-Comeau. Baie -Comeau: Ville de Baie-Comeau. 2013. p. 13.
- ^ Commission de toponymie du Québec - Rivière Amédée
- ^ "Directory of dams - Technical sheet". www.cehq.gouv.qc.ca.