The Queue de Castor River (English: “Beaver’s tail River”) is a tributary of Gabriel Lake, flowing into the Eeyou Istchee James Bay (Municipality), in Jamésie, in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in Quebec, Canada.

Queue de Castor
Watershed of Nottaway River
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionNord-du-Québec
Physical characteristics
SourceBeaucours Lake
 • locationEeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality), Nord-du-Québec, Quebec
 • coordinates49°04′50″N 74°29′56″W / 49.08056°N 74.49889°W / 49.08056; -74.49889
 • elevation405 m (1,329 ft)
MouthGabriel Lake (Opawica River tributary)
 • location
Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality), Nord-du-Québec, Quebec
 • coordinates
49°14′30″N 74°26′24″W / 49.24167°N 74.44000°W / 49.24167; -74.44000
 • elevation
392 m (1,286 ft)
Length23.6 km (14.7 mi)[1]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • left(upstreams)
  • Outlet of lake Joe
  • outlet of Lake Dick
  • outlet of Lakes Curuy and Miro
  • Eastman outlet
  • outlet of lake Hazel
  • outlet of lake Nelson.

This river successively crosses the townships of Beaucours, Feuquières and Robert. Forestry is the main economic activity of the sector; recreational tourism activities, second. A logging camp has been established on the west bank of Ventadour Lake near a forest road.

The South of “Queue de castor River” Valley is served by route 212 which connects Obedjiwan to La Tuque and passes south of Lake Dubois. From there, the forest road R1032 (North-South direction) passes on the strip of land between the head lakes of the “Queue de Castor River” and the Ventadour River.

The surface of the Beaver's Tail River is usually frozen from early November to mid-May, however Ice safety is usually from mid-November to mid-April.

Geography

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The surrounding hydrographic slopes of the “Queue de Castor River” are:

The “Queue de Castor River” originates at the mouth of a Beaucours lake (length: 8.4 kilometres (5.2 mi); altitude: 405 metres (1,329 ft)) in Beaucours Township, in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality). This V-shaped lake has several small bodies of water in the northwest. It is fed by the Beaucours Creek (coming from the South).

The mouth of Beaucours Lake is located at 14.3 kilometres (8.9 mi) west of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality) boundary and the Regional County Municipality (RCM) Le Domaine-du-Roy.

The mouth of lake Beaucours is located at:

From the mouth of the head lake, the "Queue de Castor River" flows on 23.6 kilometres (14.7 mi) according to the following segments:

  • 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) southeasterly to the west bank of an unidentified lake;
  • 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) northeasterly across the northern part of an unidentified lake (length: 9.3 kilometres (5.8 mi); altitude: 402 metres (1,319 ft) ) to a road bridge;
  • 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) to the north, crossing an unidentified lake (length: 4.0 kilometres (2.5 mi); altitude: 401 metres (1,316 ft)) that the current crosses on its full length, as far as the bridge of a forest road;
  • 7.0 kilometres (4.3 mi) northeasterly across an area where the river widens to the limit of Robert Township;
  • 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) northwesterly in Robert Township winding to mouth.[2]

The “Queue de Castor River” flows into the bottom of a bay on the south shore of Gabriel Lake (Opawica River tributary) which flows through the North on 13.4 kilometres (8.3 mi). The latter, in turn, generally goes northwest, then west, then north, to its confluence with the Chibougamau River; this confluence is the source of the Waswanipi River. The course flows westward through the northern portion of Lake Waswanipi, Goéland Lake and Olga Lake, before pouring into the Matagami Lake which in turn flows into the Nottaway River, a tributary of Rupert Bay (James Bay).

The confluence of the "Queue de Castor River" with the Feuquières Lake is located at:

Toponymy

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At various times in history, this territory has been occupied by the Attikameks, the Algonquins and the Crees. Formerly, this hydronym was designated "Beavertail River".

The toponym "Queue de Castor River" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Quebec, when it was created.[3]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ "Atlas of Canada". atlas.nrcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  2. ^ River segments from the Atlas of Canada (published on the Internet) of the Department of Natural Resources Canada.
  3. ^ Commission de toponymie du Quebec - Bank of Place Names - Toponym: "Queue de Castor River"

See also

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