The Oreille River is a tributary of the Blondeau River (Chibougamau Lake), flowing entirely in the town of Chibougamau, in Jamésie, in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Oreille
Watershed of Nottaway River
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionNord-du-Québec
Physical characteristics
SourceLemoine Lake
 • locationChibougamau, Nord-du-Québec, Quebec
 • coordinates50°00′54″N 74°10′12″W / 50.01500°N 74.17000°W / 50.01500; -74.17000
 • elevation424 m (1,391 ft)
MouthBlondeau River (Chibougamau Lake)
 • location
Chibougamau, Nord-du-Québec, Quebec
 • coordinates
49°58′32″N 74°07′57″W / 49.97556°N 74.13250°W / 49.97556; -74.13250
 • elevation
385 m (1,263 ft)
Length7.7 km (4.8 mi)[1]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftNatevier River

The course of the river flows entirely in the canton of Roy.

The hydrographic slope of the "Oreille River" is accessible by the junction of a forest road (East-West direction) serving the north side of Chibougamau Lake; the latter is connected to route 167 which also serves the south side of Waconichi Lake and the Waconichi River. This last road comes from Chibougamau, going north-east to the south-eastern part of Mistassini Lake.

The surface of the "Oreille River" is usually frozen from early November to mid-May, however, safe ice circulation is generally from mid-November to mid-April.

Geography

edit
The main hydrographic slopes close to the "Oreille River" are:

The Oreille River originates at the mouth of Lemoine Lake (length: 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi), altitude: 424 metres (1,391 ft)) in the Township of Roy. This source is located at:

From the mouth of Lemoine Lake, the Oreille River flows over 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi), according to the following segments:

  • 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) to the south, then east in the township of Roy, to route 167;
  • 2.3 kilometres (1.4 mi) southeasterly, crossing at 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi) Oreille Lake (length: 0.9 kilometres (0.56 mi); altitude: 395 metres (1,296 ft)) to its mouth;
  • 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) to the northeast, crossing on an unidentified lake 0.7 kilometres (0.43 mi) (length: 0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi); altitude: 401 metres (1,316 ft)) to its mouth;
  • 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) south to mouth.[2]

The Oreille River empties onto the north shore of the Blondeau River which flows to the north shore of McKenzie Bay from Chibougamau Lake. From this mouth, the current crosses this bay to the south, borrows the McKenzie Passage which is crossed by a road bridge, before crossing it to the Southwest Chibougamau Lake bypassing the island of Portage which bounded on the northeast by Dorés Lake (Chibougamau River). Chibougamau Lake is the main head lake of Chibougamau River.

From the mouth of Chibougamau Lake, the current flows through Dorés Lake (Chibougamau River), and then generally descends to the southwest (except the large S of the upper part of the river) by taking the Chibougamau River to its confluence with the Opawica River. From this confluence, the current flows generally southwesterly through the Waswanipi River to the east shore of Goéland Lake (Waswanipi River). The latter is crossed to the northwest by the Waswanipi River which is a tributary of Matagami Lake. Finally, the current flows along the Nottaway River and empties into Rupert Bay, south of James Bay.

The mouth of the "Oreille River" located at:

Toponymy

edit

The term "Oreille" is a family name of French origin.

The toponym "rivière Oreille" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec, at the foundation of this commission.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Atlas of Canada". atlas.nrcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  2. ^ Distances from the Department of Natural Resources Canada's Atlas of Canada (published on the Internet).
  3. ^ "Commission de toponymie du Québec – Banque de noms de lieux (Bank of places names)- Toponym: "Rivière Oreille"". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca.

See also

edit