Peribonka River


The Peribonka River is a river emptying in Sainte-Monique, in Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality, in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area in Quebec, Canada. It is long and drains an area of. It drains into Lac Saint-Jean at Pointe-Taillon National Park and is the largest tributary of this lake. The town of Péribonka is located on the north shore of Lac St-Jean at the river's mouth.
Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism activities, second; hydroelectricity, third.
The surface of the Péribonka River is usually frozen from the end of November to the beginning of April, but it is generally safe to drive on the ice from mid-December to the end of March.

Geography

The Peribonka River springs a short distance west of the Otish Mountains in a swampy area on the granite and muskeg of the Canadian Shield. From there it flows south until Lamarche, forming the boundary between the Maria-Chapdelaine and Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional Counties. From Lamarche, it flows west to Lac Saint-Jean. Its basin of comprises about one-third of the entire Saguenay River basin.
The Péribonka river takes its source from an unidentified small lake, on the southwest side of the Otish Mountains. This source is located south of Naococane Lake, southeast of Lac Conflans, Southeast of Jules-Léger Lake, North of Péribonka Lake and North of the mouth of the Péribonka river. This source is located on the southern slope of the watershed; the other slopes of this line are:
From its source, the course of the Péribonka river descends on entirely in forest zones, according to the following segments:
Upper course of the Péribonka river
Upper course of the Péribonka River, downstream from Lake Onistagane
Note: This segment crosses the Proposed Lake Onistagane Biodiversity Reserve.
Intermediate course of the Péribonka river downstream of Péribonka lake
Intermediate course of the Péribonka river, downstream of the Manouane River
Lower course of the Péribonka river
From the mouth of Tchitogama Lake, the course of the river descends on:
From the mouth of the Péribonka River, the current crosses Lac Saint-Jean east on, then follows the course of Saguenay River on east to the height of Tadoussac where it merges with the St. Lawrence River.

Tributaries

The major tributaries of the Peribonka are :
Historically the Innu indigenous people lived in this area and traveled the river by canoe. By the second half of the 17th century, the river was used by Europeans as an access route to James Bay. The first official reference to the river is from April 16, 1679, in the Register of missions, stating "juxtà fluvium Perib8ka ad lacum Peok8agami" priest François de Crespieul baptized two children. In October of that year, after investigating the state of English positions on Hudson Bay, Louis Jolliet returned to Quebec City via this route and called it Périboca in his manuscript. The spelling changed to Periboaka on Laura's map of 1731 and Periboac on Nicolas Bellin's map of 1755. In 1825, Pascal Taché identified it as Péribonka and subsequently this name, together with Peribonca, came in general use.
While trappers and traders made relatively little use of the Peribonka in the 17th and 18th centuries, the river gained importance in the 19th century. Logging camps were established within its watershed and the river was used to drive logs downstream, and starting in 1887, the first colonizers settled near its mouth.
In 1928, the Peribonka River overflowed its banks and flooded several villages. Major development came in the 1940s when Alcan, a leading aluminum producer, needed adequate hydro-electric power supply. From 1941 to 1943, the Chute-des-Passes Dam was built at the south end of Lake Péribonka that became a vast reservoir. This was followed by two other dams were built downstream: the Chute-du-Diable from 1950 to 1952, and Chute-à-la-Savane from 1951 to 1953.
The classic novel Maria Chapdelaine by French writer Louis Hémon is set on the shores of the Peribonka River.

Road access

The route 169 gives access to the north bank of the lower reaches of the Péribonka river, between its mouth and the village of Sainte-Monique. The roads of 9th range, 10th range and 12th range serve the peninsula of Sainte-Monique, either opposite the mouth of the Alex River. Route Uniforêt and Chemin Price Brothers serve the area southeast of the mouth of Tchitogama Lake. The Chute-des Passes path gives access to the zec des Passes up the Alex river valley, ie the valley to the West the Péribonka River; while the forest road R0253 serves the eastern part of this valley.

Hydroelectric development

There are 4 hydroelectric power stations on the Peribonka River, 3 of which privately belong to Alcan aluminum smelter:
The fourth, the Peribonka Power Station, built and operated by Hydro-Québec, is directly upstream from the confluence with the Manouane River. It was completed on March 9, 2008, and has a capacity of 385 MW. The dam is high and long, creating a reservoir with an area of.

Toponymy

The name is derived from the Montagnais word pelipaukau, meaning "river digging through the sand" or "where there is moving sand".
Certainly known to the Amerindians, who had to fish and hunt in the region, the Péribonka river was mentioned for the first time in an official document, the Mission Register, on April 16, 1679. On that day, "juxtà fluvium Perib8ka ad lacum Peok8agami ”, Father François de Crespieul baptizes two children. In October of the same year, after investigating the state of the English positions at Hudson Bay, Louis Jolliet returned to Quebec on this route. The famous Canadian explorer also drew the outline on a handwritten map also dating from 1679. He then named the Périboca River. This designation remains on the map of Guillaume Delisle, but turns into Periboaka on that of Father Laure and in Periboac on that of Nicolas Bellin.
In 1825, Pascal Taché identified the river by Peribonka. Thereafter, this name and the Péribonca variant will generally be used. Way of penetration relatively little frequented by trappers and merchants of the XVII and XVIII century, the Péribonka sees arriving, in XIXth century, the colonists and the workers of the industry forest. One establishes building sites in its basin and one uses its course for the descent of the logs and, in 1887, the first inhabitants settle near its mouth. In 1928, the river emerged from its bed and flooded, with Lake Saint-Jean, several villages. However, this drama does not prevent the region from thriving.
Alcan, a major aluminum producer, is developing Péribonka to be more adequately supplied with hydroelectric power. From 1941 to 1943, the Chute-des-Passes dam was built at the southern end of Péribonka Lake which became a vast reservoir. Two other dams were erected downstream during the 1950s. The French writer Louis Hémon mentions the Péribonka river several times in his novel Maria Chapdelaine, written shortly before his death and published in 1916. The Chapdelaine house is also located near the bank of this course of water.
The toponym "Rivière Péribonka" was formalized on December 18, 1986, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.