The Bras Saint-Nicolas (in English: Saint-Nicolas Arm) is a tributary of the south-eastern bank of the rivière du Sud (Montmagny), which flows north-east to the south bank of the St. Lawrence River.

Bras Saint-Nicolas
Confluence of the Bras Saint-Nicolas with the rivière du Sud (Montmagny) at Montmagny.
Bras Saint-Nicolas is located in Quebec
Bras Saint-Nicolas
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionChaudière-Appalaches
MRCMontmagny Regional County Municipality
Physical characteristics
SourceAgricultural streams
 • locationSainte-Apolline-de-Patton
 • coordinates46°54′59″N 70°15′15″W / 46.916343°N 70.254113°W / 46.916343; -70.254113
 • elevation361 metres (1,184 ft)
MouthRivière du Sud (Montmagny)
 • location
Montmagny
 • coordinates
46°58′47″N 70°33′16″W / 46.97972°N 70.55444°W / 46.97972; -70.55444
 • elevation
10 metres (33 ft)
Length45.5 kilometres (28.3 mi)
Basin features
ProgressionRivière du Sud (Montmagny), St. Lawrence River
Tributaries 
 • left(upstream) rivière des Perdrix, rivière des Gagnon, ruisseau Normand, ruisseau des Castors, ruisseau Aubert, ruisseau Guimont, Cloutier River, ruisseau Fortin
 • right(upstream)

The Bras Saint-Nicolas flows in the municipalities of Sainte-Apolline-de-Patton, Cap-Saint-Ignace, Saint-Cyrille-de-Lessard, Saint-Eugène, Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours and Montmagny, in the Montmagny Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Chaudière-Appalaches, in Quebec, in Canada.

Geography

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The main neighboring watersheds of Bras Saint-Nicolas are:

The Bras Saint-Nicolas has its source at the confluence of the Méchant Pouce River and Fortin stream, in the municipality of Sainte-Apolline-de-Patton. This spring is located on the west side of the hamlet "L'Espérance", on the north slope of the Notre Dame Mountains.

From its source, the Bras Saint-Nicolas flows over 45.5 kilometres (28.3 mi), divided into the following segments:

Upper course of the river

Lower course of the river

  • 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) west, to a road;
  • 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi) southwesterly in Saint-Eugène, to the municipal limit of Cap-Saint-Ignace;
  • 2.0 kilometres (1.2 mi) southwesterly in Cap-Saint-Ignace, to the highway 20 bridge;
  • 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) west, up to the bridge;
  • 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) towards the southwest, passing south of the village of Cap-Saint-Ignace, to the road;
  • 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) southwesterly, along highway 20, to a road bridge;
  • 3.0 kilometres (1.9 mi) southwesterly in Cap-Saint-Ignace, to the municipal limit of Montmagny;
  • 4.9 kilometres (3.0 mi) towards the south-west, collecting the waters of the rivière des Perdrix (coming from the south-east), then towards the northwest to its confluence.

The Bras Saint-Nicolas empties onto the south-eastern bank of the rivière du Sud (Montmagny). This confluence is located upstream from the route 132 bridge, downstream from the route 283 bridge, in the heart of the village of Montmagny.

Toponymy

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In a lower segment, parallel to the St. Lawrence River, the Bras Saint-Nicolas meanders at an altitude of about fifteen meters, crossing a stronghold granted in 1672 to Nicolas Gamache by the intendant Jean Talon. A first hypothesis associates the origin of the toponym "Bras Saint-Nicolas" with this pioneer. Another hypothesis is rather referred to other to Nicolas Després, father of Geneviève Després whose husband, Louis Couillard de Lespinay, had bought the seigneury of Rivière-du-Sud in 1654 and 1655.

In 1802, the toponym “R. St. Nicholas' appears on a map by surveyor Samuel Holland. In 1803, the toponym appeared on a map of Vondenvelden with the generic Bras. In 1815, Joseph Bouchette also identified it by the same generic, a term used to designate a tributary or a subdivision of a watercourse.[1]

The toponym "Bras Saint-Nicolas" was made official on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[2]

List of bridges

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Sleepers Photo Municipality (ies) Year of construction Road Length Bridge type
Bridge 05076 Cap-Saint-Ignace 1939 [3] Route of Hope 28.1 metres (92 ft)[3] Reinforced concrete girder bridge [3]
Pierre-Noël Bridge Saint-Cyrille-de-Lessard 1952[4] Route Pierre-Noël 17.9 metres (59 ft)[4] Steel-timber bridge[4]
Bernier Bridge L'Islet 1891[3] Norman path 54.8 metres (180 ft)[citation needed] Bridge with intermediate steel deck[citation needed]
Fafard Bridge L'Islet 1966[5] Lamartine Road West 57.1 metres (187 ft)[5] Reinforced concrete girder bridge[5]
Bridge 05075S Cap-Saint-Ignace 1966[6] Highway 20 East 85.3 metres (280 ft)[6] Steel girder bridge[6]
Bridge 05075N Cap-Saint-Ignace 1970[6] Highway 20 West 85.3 metres (280 ft)[citation needed] Steel girder bridge[citation needed]
Blanchet Bridge Cap-Saint-Ignace 1929 [3] Four-Chemins Road 70.5 metres (231 ft)[citation needed] Lower steel deck bridge[citation needed]
Bridge 13999 Cap-Saint-Ignace 1970 [3] Route du Petit-Cap 75.7 metres (248 ft)[citation needed] Precast prestressed concrete girder bridge[citation needed]
Bridge 05081 Cap-Saint-Ignace 1930 [3] Bellavance Road 55.5 metres (182 ft)[citation needed] Steel-wood bridge[citation needed]
Bridge 10810 Montmagny 1891 [3] Cloutier Street 55.6 metres (182 ft)[citation needed] Lower steel deck bridge[citation needed]
Railway bridge Montmagny Canadian National Railway Steel girder bridge
Bridge 05131 Montmagny 1957[3] Saint-Ignace Street 47.0 metres (154.2 ft)[citation needed] Reinforced concrete portal bridge[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Source: "Names and places of Quebec", work of the Commission de toponymie du Québec, published in 1994 and 1996 in the form of a printed illustrated dictionary, and in that of a CD-ROM produced by the company Micro-Intel, in 1997, from this dictionary.
  2. ^ Commission de toponymie du Québec - Place name bank - Toponym: "Bras Saint-Nicolas".
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Inventory of structures" (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  4. ^ a b c "Transport infrastructures - Structure details". www.diffusion.transports.gouv.qc.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  5. ^ a b c "Transport infrastructures - Structure details". www.diffusion.transports.gouv.qc.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  6. ^ a b c d "Transport infrastructures - Structure details". www.diffusion.transports.gouv.qc.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2017-12-28.

See also

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