Morin River


The Morin river is a tributary of the Rivière aux Écorces, flowing in the unorganized territory of Lac-Ministuk, in the Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. The course of the Morin River crosses the northwestern part of the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve.
The small Morin River valley is located near route 169. This valley is also served by some secondary forest roads, especially for forestry and recreational tourism activities.
Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism, second.
The surface of the Morin River 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

This watercourse flows parallel to the Rivière aux Écorces before flowing into it, near the Sawine River. It drains in particular Lake Morin and Lake Cadieux, formerly called Petit Lake Morin, whose respective areas are and. The Morin River crosses the road connecting Quebec to Lac-Saint-Jean, in the northern part of the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve; both the lake and the river are used for speckled trout fishing.
The main watersheds neighboring the Morin River are:
The Morin River originates from a mountain stream in a forest area in the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. This source is located at:
  • south of Morin Lake;
  • west of Pika Lake;
  • west of Hocquart Lake;
  • north of Rivière aux Canots;
  • east of the Rivière aux Écorces;
  • south-west of route 169;
  • south of the confluence of the Morin river and the Rivière aux Écorces;
  • south-east of lac Saint-Jean.
From its source, the Morin river flows over with a drop of entirely in the forest zone, according to the following segments:
Upper course of the Morin River
  • towards the north, curving towards the northwest at the end of the segment up to the outlet of Lac des Panicauts;
  • towards the north-east, forming a hook towards the east, up to the outlet of Lac Cadieux;
  • northwards to the outlet of the lakes of Eminence, Gareau and the Ephemera;
  • to the north, forming small coils up to the outlet of Lac Morin;
Intermediate course of the Morin River
  • towards the northwest by forming small streamers at the end of the segment up to the outlet of Choquette Lake;
  • first towards the east, then towards the north by forming a large curve towards the east, then forming a loop towards the west at the end of the segment, up to a stream ;
  • towards the northwest by forming a hook towards the north, up to the highway 169 bridge;
Lower course of the Morin River
  • north-west, to the outlet of the Lac des Trois Îles;
  • towards the north-west, meandering through a plain comprising three areas of marshes to the east shore of Lac Gatien;
  • towards the north-east, bypassing a peninsula from the west across the lake in Gatien formed by the widening of the river, up to its mouth. Note: this lake is surrounded by marshes. It is fed by the Toupillons pond and Lor lake;
  • north-east in the marsh zone at the start of the segment, forming a large S, then crossing the lake in Arche formed by the widening of the river, up to its mouth;
  • north-east, to its mouth.
The Morin River flows onto the south bank of the Rivière aux Écorces. This confluence is located at:
  • south-west of the confluence of the Sawine River and the Rivière aux Écorces;
  • west of the Pikauba River;
  • north-east of lac de la Belle Rivière;
  • south of the confluence of the Pikauba and the Écorces rivers;
  • south-west of the confluence of the Pikauba River and Kenogami Lake;
  • southwest of the confluence of the Chicoutimi River and the Saguenay River in the Chicoutimi sector of the city of Saguenay.
From the mouth of the Morin river, the current successively follows the course of the Rivière aux Écorces on towards the northeast, the course of the Pikauba River on generally towards the north, crosses Kenogami Lake on towards the northeast until barrage de Portage-des-Roches, then follows the course of the river Chicoutimi on to the east, then the northeast and the course of the Saguenay river on east to Tadoussac where it merges with the Saint Lawrence estuary.

Toponymy

In 1914, this watercourse appeared on a map under the name of "Rivière Vaseuse"; in 1928, the same name appears on another card accompanied by the variant "Rivière Morin". This last toponym is indicated later on maps of 1943 and 1954.
The name of Morin evokes the life work of Joseph Morin, merchant, farmer and secretary-treasurer of the Charlevoix municipality, before embarking on active politics. He was elected Liberal MP for the riding of Charlevoix from 1886 to 1897, then re-elected in 1900. Not having stood in the 1904 election, he was appointed governor of the prison in Quebec two years later, a post he held from 1906 to 1915.
More than a hundred geographic entities, essentially lakes and small rivers, evoke various people of this patronym in different regions of Quebec territory.
The toponym "Rivière Morin" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.