The Barley River is a tributary of the eastern bank of the upper part of the Malbaie River, flowing in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in the Charlevoix Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This watercourse successively crosses zec des Martres, then the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. The lower part of this valley is served by the route 381. The upper part is served by the forest road R0305 which passes on the south shore of Barley Lake for the needs of forestry. Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism, second. Because of the altitude, the surface of the Barley River is generally frozen from the end of November until the beginning of April; however, safe circulation on the ice is generally from the beginning of December until the end of March. The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood generally occurs in April.
Geography
The Barley River originates from Lake Wabano landlocked between mountains, located in a forest area in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba in the zec des Martres. The mouth of Lake Wabano is located to the southwest, at:
south-west of the confluence of the rivière des Martres and the Malbaie River;
From its source, the course of the Barley River descends on in a generally deep valley, with a drop of, according to the following segments:
west, in particular by crossing on the Lesclache Lake, to its mouth;
west, in particular by crossing Barley Lake in its full length, up to the dam at its mouth;
the southwest by forming a small loop towards the north to collect the discharge of Évanturel Lake, crossing a zone of rapids, then crossing Lac du Coq over its full length, up to the dam at its mouth. Note: Lac du Coq receives from the southeast the discharge of three small lakes;
to the southwest by crossing a series of rapids and collecting a stream, then to the west by crossing two series of rapids, to the discharge of Petit lac Barley;
north-west, up to the outlet of Lac Joncas;
north-west across a series of rapids, to its mouth.
The Barley River flows onto the west bank of the Malbaie River, in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. This mouth is located at:
From the mouth of the Barley River, the current descends on with a drop of following the course of the Malbaie river which flows into La Malbaie in the St. Lawrence River.
Toponymy
During the history the spelling of this toponym knew the variants: Berly, Berley and in Berley. In 1927, the current Barley spelling was finally fixed. This toponym evokes the life work of Pierre Berly, Amerindian of Abenaki origin who camped in the region. He operated at the outlet of the lake a trout pit known as "Trou à Berly". The toponym "Lac Barley" appears under the spelling "Lac Berley", named after an old Abenaki, Pierre Berley, in the work of Thomas Fortin, The last of the coureurs de bois, by Damase Potvin, 1945, page 211. This toponymic denomination was approved on 1963-07-03 by the Commission of geography of Quebec. The toponym "Rivière Barley" was formalized on December 5, 1968 at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.
