The Cascouia River is a tributary of Kenogami Lake, flowing in the municipality of Larouche in the Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality and in the city of Saguenay, in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. The Cascouia river valley is served by the route 169 and the “route des Bâtisseurs” which bypasses the northern part of the lake. This valley is also served by a few secondary forest roads, especially for forestry and recreational tourism activities. Recreational and tourist activities are the main economic activity around Cascouia Bay, especially vacationing around Lac du Camp; hydroelectric activities, second; forestry, third. The surface of the Cascouia 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
Following successive increases in the water level of Kenogami Lake in the early 20th century, Cascouia Bay expanded at the expense of the former Cascouia River, becoming a lake pass. The Cascouia River is located in the former municipality of lac-Kénogami. The main watersheds neighboring the Cascouia River are:
south-west of the confluence of the Chicoutimi River and the Saguenay River.
From its source, the Cascouia river flowed on with a drop of entirely in the forest zone, according to the following segments:
towards the south-east by crossing the current Camp lake on, until its mouth;
towards the south-east crossing the current Cascouia bay, up to the Cascouia pass;
south-east across the Cascouia pass, to the natural mouth of the river.
The old course of the Cascouia River emptied into Epiphanes Bay on the north shore of Kenogami Lake; following the erection of dams on Kenogami River, the old course is largely under the waters of this dam lake. This former confluence was located at:
south-west of the confluence of the Chicoutimi River and the Saguenay River.
From the mouth of the Cascouia river, the current crosses the Kenogami Lake for east to the barrage de Portage-des-Roches, then follows the course of the Chicoutimi river on towards the east, then the northeast and the course of the Saguenay river on towards the east up to Tadoussac where it merges with the Saint Lawrence estuary.
Toponymy
Cascouia Bay is frequently called “Lac Cascouia”, due to its isolation from the central part of Kenogami Lake. One of the first known mentions of the Innu word "Cascaouia" is attributed to the surveyor Joseph-Laurent Normandin, in 1732, who wrote in his Journal: "... There is a large bay, which is bordered by jongs and grasses, that the Indians call Les Gachek8illaces de Quinongamingue ”. Normandin also uses the form "Baye des Gachek8illasses". By modifying its primitive form in order to facilitate its use, the first explorers perpetuated this Amerindian term meaning "grasslands" or "rushes". For some, it is actually cattails. Several orthographic variants exist for this appellation, in particular: Kascouia, Kaskauia, Kaskovia, Kaskouia and Kashkouia. Other Amerindian spelling noted: Kashkouillasses. The toponym “rivière Cascouia” was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.
