Rivière Saint-Maurice
Saint-Maurice, Rivière
Rivière Saint-Maurice, 563 km long, rises upstream from RÉSERVOIR GOUIN, 200 km west of Lac SAINT-JEAN, Québec. It drains a basin of 43 300 km2. After its confluence with Rivière Manouane, it feeds Réservoir Blanc and then takes in the Vermillon, Trenche, Croche, Mattawin and Mékinac rivers. It forms a delta at its outlet into the St Lawrence River at TROIS-RIVIÈRES.
The upper Saint-Maurice flows through a steeply banked valley marked by glacial erosion. Its angular course is controlled by faults in the Precambrian rocks. The middle Saint-Maurice, downstream from LA TUQUE, is bordered with alluvial terraces and cuts through transversal moraines and marine clays. The lower Saint-Maurice begins at the southern extent of the Laurentides, at Grandes-Piles. With a rate of discharge of 730 m3/s, it runs through ancient sediments which are prone to gravity and slumping. It is harnessed at GRAND-MÈRE, Chutes Shawinigan and La Gabelle.
The river is a historical route of human penetration inland. Several paleo-American sites, dating from the 2nd to 17th centuries, have been discovered. In 1535 Jacques CARTIER called it Rivière de Fouez. The delta's 3 channels are the basis of the name of the city of Trois-Rivières, founded in 1634 by Guy de La Violette to promote the fur trade. The name Saint-Maurice came from the given name of Maurice Poulin de La Fontaine (c 1620-76).
The iron ore of the marshes of the lower Saint-Maurice was exploited at the historic site of Vieilles-Forges and in other foundries from the 1730s until 1908 (see LES FORGES SAINT-MAURICE).
The upper Saint-Maurice was explored in 1828. Hydroelectric energy and floating log booms made possible the establishment between 1890 and 1900 of pulp and paper mills and chemical industries in Grand-Mère and SHAWINIGAN. On the upper Saint-Maurice, the ATTIKAMEK live in the villages of Manawan, Weymontachie and Obedjiwan. LA MAURICIE NATIONAL PARK, established in 1970, attracts naturalists and tourists.
Author SERGE OCCHIETTI Revised: DON CUMMINGS
Links to Other Sites
Forges du Saint-Maurice National Historic Site of Canada
This Parks Canada site presents the intriguing history of French and English iron making operations at Canada's first industrial village.
The story of the founding of Montreal is perhaps unique in history....
INSIDE TCE
