The "rivière de l'Enfer" rises from Grand lac des Enfers, located in a forest area in Lac-Pikauba. This lake is landlocked between the mountains, particularly the cliffs of the North shore. This lake is mainly fed by the outlet of Lac Tobin du Lac du Styx, as well as two streams. The mouth of this small lake is located to the southwest, at:
From the mouth of Grand lac des Enfers, the course of the Hell river descends on, with a drop of, depending on the segments following:
towards the north-east in a deep valley forming a curve towards the south-east and a loop towards the south at the end of the segment, up to a stream ;
eastward curving northeast, to a stream ;
south-east, to the outlet of Lac du Camp;
towards the northeast, bending slightly to the east to go around a mountain, to the outlet ;
towards the south-east, collecting the outlet from Lac des Enfers, the outlet from the Étang Tranquille, as well as collecting two streams, and bending towards the northeast at the end of the segment up to the outlet from lakes Muscat and Odette;
to the east crossing several series of rapids, forming a small hook to the north, and crossing Bob Lake on, to its mouth;
towards the south-east by crossing many rapids, until its mouth.
The Hell River flows into a bend on the west bank of the Malbaie River, in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in Grands-Jardins National Park. This mouth is located at:
south-west of the road bridge at the mouth of the Malbaie river, ie in downtown La Malbaie;
northwest of downtown Baie-Saint-Paul;
north-east of the mouth of lac Malbaie which turns out to be the head lake of the Malbaie river.
From the mouth of the Hell river, the current descends on with a drop of following the course of the Malbaie river which dump at La Malbaie in the St. Lawrence River.
Toponymy
In French Canadian toponymy, already in the 19th century, the term Hell was used to designate these entities as well as a mountain pierced by a deep crevasse, located southeast of Grand lac des Enfers. The stream has the same name as its head lake; these toponyms appear in the 1914 Dictionary of Rivers and Lakes of the Province of Quebec. The toponymic designation "Rivière de l'Enfer" was first approved on April 3, 1959, by the Commission de géographie du Québec. The toponym "Rivière de l'Enfer" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.
