Bec-Scie River


The Rivière Bec-Scie is a tributary of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, flowing in the municipality of L'Île-d'Anticosti, in the Minganie Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Côte-Nord, in province of Quebec, in Canada.
The Bec-Scie river turns out to be the last river flowing south in the western part of the island before the territory of SÉPAQ Anticosti.
The main forest road of Anticosti Island serves the upper part of this valley. A network of secondary roads connect to this main road, as well as to the west to a forest road network for forestry purposes.
Forestry is the main economic activity in this area; recreational tourism activities, second.

Geography

The Bec-Scie river has its source at Lake Valiquette located in the western part of Anticosti Island. The mouth of Lake Valiquette is located at the end of the southern bay, at:
From its source, the Bec-Scie River flows south between La [Petite Rivière (Anticosti Island - Western part)|La Petite Rivière] ; and the Baleine stream and the Sainte-Marie River.
From the mouth of Lac Valiquette, its course descends towards the south with a drop of, according to the following segments:
  • south relatively in a straight line, first passing under the bridge of the main road of the island and crossing on the north-western part of Faure lake or the main body of water in this valley, up to its mouth;
  • towards the southwest to a bend in the river, corresponding to a stream ;
  • south first, winding through an area of marshland, and crossing Lac Sans Bout, up to its mouth;
  • towards the south, first passing under the forest road bridge and forming a few serpentines, collecting in the marsh area the discharge of some marshes and lakes including Castor Lake, then passing under the forest road bridge, to its mouth.
The Bec-Scie river flows onto the south shore of Anticosti Island, at the end of a small bay, either east of Pointe aux Pimbinas, at west of the mouth of the Baleine stream and east of the center of the village of Port-Menier. At its mouth, the current of the river forms a channel up to about at low tide in the sandstone.

Toponymy

The toponymic designation "Bec-Scie" refers to Mergus, a genus of fish-eating ducks whose French common name is harle. This toponym has been in use since at least 1924.
It was made official on April 2, 1981, at the "Banque des noms de lieux" of Commission de toponymie du Québec.