The Saint-Maurice River , or the Saint-Maurice River, is one of the main tributaries of the St. Lawrence River , after the Ottawa and the Saguenay Rivers and drains an area of 42,735 km. It touches the Lake Saint John watershed to the north; the Nottaway River watershed, a major tributary of James Bay , to the northwest; and the southwestern tributaries of the Ottawa River. The Saint-Maurice River is located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec , Canada .
20-804: The main tributaries of the Saint-Maurice River are: Between Weymontachie and Trois-Rivières , the St-Maurice River has 27 tributaries identified as significant enough for downhill wood: Weymontachingue, Manouane , Little Rock, Little Flamand, Windigo , Flamand , Coucoucache, Grande Pierriche (Great Pierriche), Petite Pierriche (Little Pierriche), " La Trenche ", Vermillion , Croche , Rivière-au-Lait, Bostonnais , Little Bostonnais , Small Stream, Mountain, Caribou, Rivière-aux-Rats , Wessonneau , Little Batiscan River, l'Oiseau (Bird), Bête Puante (Beast Puante), Mattawin , Mekinac , River "au Lac des Pêches" and Shawinigan River . During
40-655: Is a settlement and former municipality in central Quebec , Canada on the Saint-Maurice River . As a result of the municipal reorganization in Quebec which took effect at the beginning of 2002, Grand-Mère now forms part of the City of Shawinigan . Population in 2001 was 13,179. Grand-Mère was founded in 1898. Like some of its neighbouring towns, it owes its economic origins to the St-Maurice river on which it
60-839: Is characteristic of rivers in Canadian Shield . Weymontachie Wemotaci (designated as Weymontachie 23 until 1997) is a First Nations reserve on the north shore of the Saint-Maurice River at the mouth of the Manouane River in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. Together with the Obedjiwan and the Coucoucache Indian Reserve No. 24 , it belongs to the Atikamekw First Nation. The reserve, an enclave within
80-454: Is located has been struggling economically for decades, and boasts some of the most inexpensive real estate in Canada. The name of the town comes from a rock formation that resembles an old woman with a hair bun at the base of her head ("grand-mère" is French for grandmother). The formation formerly stood in the rapids of the Saint-Maurice River adjacent to the town. When the hydroelectric dam
100-406: Is located. A major hydroelectric dam that was built on the river in 1916 was one of the oldest and largest Hydro-Québec generating stations. The dam was replaced by a larger dam in 2004. The abundance of relatively inexpensive electricity led to the development of industry, primarily based on the production of paper. Logs which were used for the paper pulp were floated downstream on the St-Maurice to
120-623: The North West Company had already established a trading post at this place between 1770 and 1780, but this remains doubtful. Confirmation of the existence of a trading post at Wemotaci came in 1806, when Jean-Baptiste Perrault built the first structures for fur trading. In 1821, the post was taken over by the Hudson's Bay Company . In 1851, the Government enacted the allotment of 230,000 acres (930 km ) of land as reserves for
140-543: The "river that ends". Jacques Cartier named it "River Fouez" in honor of the House of Foix in 1535. However, this name was abandoned in the early 17th century to the name of "Three Rivers". Its current name was given in the early 18th century in reference to the "fief of Saint-Maurice", the common name of lordship on the west bank granted about 1668 to Maurice Poulin in La Fontaine, government prosecutor of Three Rivers. He
160-442: The 18th century, early fur traders travelled along the river. During the second half of the 19th century, logging became an important industry in the surrounding Mauricie region. For much of the 20th century, the river was used to transport logs to mills down river and it was, and still is, a major source of hydroelectric power. First communication channel in this region, the river was used by local Native Americans long before
180-663: The 1970s, the village revitalized. A new village was built closer to its namesake mountain. In 1971, the Federal Government bought the lands of the Hudson's Bay Company and these were subsequently added to the reserve. In May 2010, many residents of Wemotaci were evacuated as a forest fire threatened their homes. Historic populations: Mother tongue: There are two schools on the reserve: Grand-M%C3%A8re, Quebec Grand-Mère ( French: [ɡʁɑ̃ mɛʁ] , Quebec French : [ɡɾɑ̃ maɛ̯ɾ] )
200-776: The St. Maurice are the property of Hydro-Québec . In 1996, the Saint-Maurice River was the last river in Quebec to stop the transportation of timber by flotation. For nearly 150 years, companies in forestry have used the current of the river and its tributaries for timber transportation. Before being stacked on the ice in Upper-Mauricie , logs were identified in order to be recovered downstream where baunes were implemented, including Grandes-Piles , in Grand-Mère , Shawinigan or Trois-Rivières . Each spring, an army of loggers cleaned
220-465: The arrival of Europeans on the spot. Early explorations by religious conversion in pain and trappers in search of furs for the trade, it was one of the primary routes of rivers in Quebec. Several municipalities have been established on its banks, thereby taking advantage of its hydroelectric power where the falls were high enough to install a dam integration an electrical generating station. Among other cities, La Tuque , Shawinigan and Trois-Rivières are
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#1732771784244240-572: The best known, and are themselves located along the Route 155 which connects the St. Lawrence River to Lake St. John . The original name of the river was "Métabéroutin", the name given by Algonquin , which means "discharge of the wind" and in turn, the Attikameks of Haute-Mauricie still call " Sipi Tapiskwan ", the "river of the threaded needle". The Abenaki the call the river "Madôbaladenitekw" or
260-506: The city of La Tuque , is bordered to the west and south by the Saint-Maurice River, whereas its eastern boundary is about 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) long, and its northern boundary is 7.8 kilometres (4.8 mi). It is accessible by gravel road from La Tuque's town centre through the hamlet of Sanmaur that is on the opposite shore of the Saint-Maurice River. Also at this location, the Canadian National Railway crosses
280-577: The map of John Arrowsmith became the most common form until 1986, when it was replaced by Weymontachie , as demanded by the local band council. The standardized writing of the Atikamekw language spells it as Wemotaci, which was made official in March 1997. The area of the upper Saint-Maurice River had long been the homeland and hunting grounds of the Atikamekw indigenous people. Some sources claim that
300-420: The paper mill from more northerly areas. The mill, which has changed ownership over the decades, has had a lasting impact on the town, from the creation of its award-winning golf course to the construction of several of the town's historic buildings. The surrounding area consists of forested hills, lakes, and flat plains and farms, with much glacial activity still evident. The Mauricie region in which Grand-Mère
320-539: The river and has a siding at Sanmaur. The local economy is based on the art and craft, shops and services, forestry, trapping, construction, tourism, transport and outfitters. Like many other native names, Wemotaci underwent many spelling variations over time. The oldest reference to the toponym is from 1724. In 1827, it was written as Montachene , and in 1829 as Weymontachinque , in 1830 as Waimootansking , in 1832 as Weymontachingue and Warmontashingen , in 1837 as Warmontaching . The 1932 spelling of Weymontachingue on
340-414: The river banks for delivering timbers which were hung on the shores, bays, rocks or in riparian wood. The loggers sorted the timbers for relaunching them into the water for redirecting them to Pulp paper plant downstream. In the last 174 kilometers (108 miles), between Trois-Rivières and La Tuque , the experts found 42 fish species frequenting the river. The density of fish biomass is generally low, which
360-591: The use and benefit of the "Indian" tribes residing in Lower Canada. Two years later, these lands were distributed among the Atikamekw, Algonquins, and Abenakis by John Rolph , Commissioner of Crown Lands. On August 9, 1853, this was made official by the Governor General in Council. But the Atikamekw didn't give up their nomadic life and settle on the reserve. And it wasn't until 1895 that the reserve
380-628: Was surveyed. The construction of a dam and the National Transcontinental Railway led to the growth of the Sanmaur settlement, which in turn attracted the Atikamekw to the reserve at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1939 however, the Hudson's Bay Company left Weymontachingue and due to lack of funding for maintenance of the village, its population stopped growing after 1950, when its inhabitants began to leave and settled either in Sanmaur or in other nearby villages. In
400-537: Was the owner of some property along the river in the 17th century. The name "St. Maurice" is attested for the first time in a judgment dated 1723 and definitely supplanted the "Three Rivers" between 1730 and 1740. The river gave its name to the administrative region of Mauricie . Communities on the river include, from the mouth of the river: Order from downstream ( Trois-Rivières ) toward upstream: Territory of Shawinigan Territory of La Tuque Order from downstream ( Trois-Rivières ) to upstream: All plants on
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