Chaudière River


The Chaudière River is a river with its source near the Town of Lac-Mégantic, in southeast Quebec, Canada. From its source Lake Mégantic in the Estrie region, it runs northwards to flow into the St. Lawrence River opposite Quebec City.

Geography

The river's drainage area is, initially in the Appalachian Mountains, then in the low-lands of the St. Lawrence. It includes 236 lakes covering and is populated by approximately 180,000 inhabitants. Its annual medium flow at the station of Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon is, varying from to, with historical maximum of.
Its principal tributaries are:
The river's basin has nearly 50 percent of the faunal richness of Quebec, namely 330 out of 653 vertebrate species known in the province can be found there.
The river, and the Chaudière Falls which it passes over, are popular outdoor recreation areas.

Municipalities crossed

Its course crosses the regional county municipalities of:
Left bank of the Chaudière river :
Right bank of the Chaudière river :

History

The Abenaki Nation, whose homeland Ndakinna encompasses the river and Chaudière Falls, call it "Kik8ntekw" or "Kikôntekw", meaning "River of the Fields." On the charts of Samuel de Champlain, it was given the name "Etchemin River". It was called "Rivière du Sault de la Chaudière" for a period of time before it became simply "Rivière Chaudière" towards the end of the 18th century. This name translates as boiler and refers to the waterfall close to its mouth.
Its location was strategic for French colonization during the 18th century, because the river was a natural link between New France and the British colonies to the south. It was also used by Benedict Arnold at the time of his 1775 expedition in the invasion of Quebec.
In 1823, gold was found along its shores in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.
On 6 July 2013 the Lac-Mégantic derailment caused a major oil spill which contaminated the river at its source at Lac Mégantic. Downstream communities such as Saint-Georges were forced to obtain potable water from alternate sources and residents asked to limit their water consumption. Floating barriers were installed in an attempt to contain the contamination.

Description

The Chaudière Valley largely crosses the Quebec region of Beauce. It has shaped its industries and its way of life, particularly in spring when its overflows during snowmelt in inhabited areas are frequent, despite its course regulated by 160 dams and retaining dikes. The river runs through several towns and villages in the region, including Saint-Ludger, Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce, Saint-Martin, Saint-Georges, Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Beauceville, Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Vallée-Jonction and Sainte-Marie, Quebec.
The river is a prime site for outdoor activities, particularly near lac Mégantic and Chutes-de-la-Chaudière park. Located near the mouth of the river, in Lévis, this park offers hiking and cycling trails as well as a footbridge suspended over the river, which offers a viewpoint on the fall, high. The fall was harnessed for its hydro-electric potential in 1901, but was destroyed in 1970. The dam was rebuilt in 1999 on the remains of the old installations, and supplies a small hydro-electric plant of.