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Coordinates: 46°32′32″N 72°21′56″W / 46.5423°N 72.3656°W / 46.5423; -72.3656
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# Falls to Jimmy;
# Falls to Jimmy;
# [[Falls to Murphy]] to [[Saint-Stanislas, Mauricie, Quebec|Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux)]];
# [[Falls to Murphy]] to [[Saint-Stanislas, Mauricie, Quebec|Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux)]];

⚫
The river has some rapids or falls between [[Notre-Dame-de-Montauban]] and [[Saint-Adelphe]]. The Fall of the two and Fall of manitou are located in the latter locality.

⚫
The Batiscan river Falls are numbered from 1 to 10, from [[Saint-Narcisse, Quebec|Saint-Narcisse]] going back to [[Notre-Dame-de-Montauban, Quebec|Notre-Dame-de-Montauban]]. 4-7 drops are less crowded because less accessible, being located in wilderness areas.


'''Lower Batiscanie'''
'''Lower Batiscanie'''
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# "chutes de la Cheminée" (Falls of the chimney) (altitude 15 meters) in [[Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan, Quebec|Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan]].
# "chutes de la Cheminée" (Falls of the chimney) (altitude 15 meters) in [[Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan, Quebec|Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan]].


The "Jesuit Journal" of April 20, 1657 reports from a trip fur trade on the river Batiscan, from April 20 to July 15, 1657, carried out by eight French from [[Trois-Rivières]], with twenty canoes Algonquins. Starting from [[Trois-Rivières]], the group passed 28 jumps on Batiscan river in 14 days, arriving at the end of their journey as of May 28, 1657. In total, the group crossed 74 jumps or portage. A French was then drowned<ref>Raymond Douville, "La Seigneurie de Batiscan: chroniques des premières années (1636-1681)" (The Lordship of Batiscan: chronic early years (1636-1681)), Editions du Bien Public, [[Trois-Rivières]], p. 10, chapter "Les premiers Français à Batiscan" (First French in Batiscan).</Ref>.
⚫
The river has some rapids or falls between [[Notre-Dame-de-Montauban]] and [[Saint-Adelphe]]. The Fall of the two and Fall of manitou are located in the latter locality.


The terrible earthquake of February 5, 1663 would have changed significantly the relief in the [[Batiscanie]] including the disappearance of jumps in the Batiscan River, the emergence of new rocks, flattening of some mountains, major cracks in the ground ... <ref>Raymond Douville, "La Seigneurie de Batiscan: chroniques des premières années (1636-1681) (The Lordship of Batiscan: chronic early years (1636-1681)), Éditions du Bien public, [[Trois-Rivières]], p. 11 to 13, chapter "Le tremblement de terre de 1663" (The earthquake in 1663)."</Ref>.
⚫
The Batiscan river Falls are numbered from 1 to 10, from [[Saint-Narcisse, Quebec|Saint-Narcisse]] going back to [[Notre-Dame-de-Montauban, Quebec|Notre-Dame-de-Montauban]]. 4-7 drops are less crowded because less accessible, being located in wilderness areas.


=== Hydrology ===
=== Hydrology ===

Revision as of 23:53, 26 May 2013

See also: Batiscanie, Quebec
Batiscan River rapids.

The Batiscan river is a located in La Mauricie administrative region, in the Quebec province, Canada. This river flows 196 km from Lake Édouard (Haute-Mauricie) in Mauricie south to empty into the St. Lawrence River at Batiscan, Quebec, at the northeast of Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Its journey pass through the Regional County Municipality (RCM) (MRC in French) of La Tuque, Portneuf, Mékinac and Les Chenaux. The river traverses a territory covered mainly by forest from its source to the Saint-Adelphe, Quebec Railway bridge; the rest of his course is predominantly agricultural. The Batiscan river Valley is designated "Batiscanie, Quebec". Today, this valley is a paradise for camping, vacationing, observations of nature and water activities such as canoeing, kayaking, rafting, pontoon and swimming in designated areas. Batiscan river is a popular Canadian whitewater kayaking destination, providing numerous class III, IV, and V rapids.

Toponymy

The river was named in 1602 by Samuel de Champlain. He reported in 1610 that it would name a chief Algonquin with the same name. The name Batiscan raises some interpretations from various sources. Father Charles Arnaud argued that the name meant "steam cloud or light". Still according to him, the name could also meant "spray of dried meat". According to Pierre-Georges Roy the name means "who rushes to his mouth", which has been observed in the past. According to Father Albert Lacombe the name comes from the art and tabateskan mean "hoof or pending" and according to Father Joseph-Étienne Guinard, it would come the cry "patiskam" and means "stumble".

Geography

Course

Batiscan river begins its course at 363 m of altitude in the Laurentian Mountains in the Edward Lake which is located in the Municipality of Lake Édouard (Haute-Mauricie). Particular characteristic, Edward Lake has a second emissary, the Jeannotte River which joins in Batiscan river after a course of 48 km.[1]

Lake Batiscan[2] is the second head of the Batiscan river. This elongated lake which is located in the MRC de La Jacques-Cartier (the unorganized territory of Lac-Croche). Lake Batiscan is especially fed by Croche River, lies outside the southwestern boundary of the Laurentian Wildlife Reserve. This lake discharges into the "Rivière aux éclairs" (Lightning River), which runs westward for 15 km before flowing into the Batiscan river.[3]

Batiscan river flows mainly south on 196 km, through the Portneuf Wildlife Sanctuary, through municipalities of Rivière-à-Pierre, Notre-Dame-de-Montauban, Lac-aux-Sables, Sainte-Thècle (Eastern limit of the municipality), Saint-Adelphe, Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux), Saint-Narcisse, Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan et Batiscan. The Batiscan river empty in the St. Lawrence River at the height of Batiscan.[4]

Main Waterfalls

The main waterfalls (or rapids) of the Batiscan river are (starting from the head of the river):

Upper Batiscanie:[5]

Note: Upper Batiscanie begins at the mouth of the "Rivière-à-Pierre" that empties into the Batiscan River, at kilometer 88.5.

  1. A series of Class II rapids over 50 kilometers from Lac-aux-Perles (Pearles Lake) down to the Island to the Cross ("Ile de La Croix"). This section of the river is only accessible by train, for those who wish to canoe-camping;
  2. continuing rapids of class III and IV (ideal for rafting) in the section "Portes de l'enfer" (Gates of Hell) on 25 km upstream of Rivière-à-Pierre, between Island to the Cross (Ile-de-la-Croix) and the beginning of the Portneuf wildlife Sanctuary;
  3. Series of rapids in the Portneuf Wildlife Sanctuary, several tens of kilometers: Trois-Roches (Three Rocks) Rapids, rapids "de la Sauvagesse" (Savage Rapid), Rapids "à Thiffault";
  4. Series of rapids between the Talbot bridge and Mount Otis (north of the village of Notre-Dame-de-Montauban), particularly at km 98.5, km 88 and km 84;

Mid Batiscanie

Note: Mid Batiscanie lies between Murphy Falls (Saint-Stanislas) and the mouth of the rivière-à-Pierre at km 88.5.

  1. Fall of the Ten;
  2. Fall of the Nine, located upstream of the bridge in the village of Notre-Dame-des-Anges;
  3. Fall of the Eight, located approximately 5.7 kilometers by water, below the village of Notre-Dame-de-Montauban and 5.3 km upstream from the bridge of the row Price in Saint-Adelphe, located near the village of Lac-aux-Sables. The road to the "Fall of the Eight" start at the intersection of Route 367 (or 2.5 km south of the bridge in the village of Notre-Dame-de-Montauban) and goes along the river on the right bank for about 5.2 km;
  4. Fall in the Seven, located downstream of row Price bridge (Lac-aux-Sables) and the mouth of the Tawachiche River);
  5. Fall of the Six, located at 1.2 km downstream from the mouth of Tawachiche River in forest areas;
  6. Fall of the Five, located 2 km downstream from the fall of the Six and 7.2 km from the railway bridge in Saint-Adelphe. This drop is in forest area without verbalized path;
  7. Manitou fall, between Saint-Adelphe and Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux);
  8. Falls to Jimmy;
  9. Falls to Murphy to Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux);

The river has some rapids or falls between Notre-Dame-de-Montauban and Saint-Adelphe. The Fall of the two and Fall of manitou are located in the latter locality.

The Batiscan river Falls are numbered from 1 to 10, from Saint-Narcisse going back to Notre-Dame-de-Montauban. 4-7 drops are less crowded because less accessible, being located in wilderness areas.

Lower Batiscanie

Note: Lower Batiscanie lies between the mouth of the Batiscan River and the foot of the Falls to Murphy (Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux))

  1. Fall des Ailes (Fall of the Wings);
  2. Ilets fall;
  3. "Grande chute" (Great Fall) (altitude 15 meters), in Saint-Narcisse(West side of the river) and Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan (East side), where the Saint-Narcisse dam is built;
  4. "chutes de la Cheminée" (Falls of the chimney) (altitude 15 meters) in Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan.

The "Jesuit Journal" of April 20, 1657 reports from a trip fur trade on the river Batiscan, from April 20 to July 15, 1657, carried out by eight French from Trois-Rivières, with twenty canoes Algonquins. Starting from Trois-Rivières, the group passed 28 jumps on Batiscan river in 14 days, arriving at the end of their journey as of May 28, 1657. In total, the group crossed 74 jumps or portage. A French was then drowned[6].

The terrible earthquake of February 5, 1663 would have changed significantly the relief in the Batiscanie including the disappearance of jumps in the Batiscan River, the emergence of new rocks, flattening of some mountains, major cracks in the ground ... [7].

Hydrology

The watershed of the Batiscan has an area of 4690 km². Its flow, which is measured at the central Saint-Narcisse is 96 m3/s.[8] Flow has however a strong seasonal variation, with a maximum of 937 m3/s in May and a minimum of unity 7.9 m3/s in September. The last 18 km unit, Batiscan river empties of the St. Lawrence River. At the mouth of the river, tides are up to 1.5 m.

The basin is composed of a hundred rivers.[9] The main rivers which are tributaries of the Batiscan, from upstream to downstream, are the river Castor noir, Éclairs, Jeannotte, Miguick, Rivière-à-Pierre, Tawachiche and Rivière-des-Envies.

The basin includes a thousand lakes. The largest lakes are Island lake 25.2 km², Batiscan 9.7 km², Lac-aux-Sables 5.31 km², Masketsi 4.01 km², "Lac-à-la-Tortue" (Turtle Lake) 3.39 km², the Jesuit 3.32 km² and Roberge 1.89 km². In the catchment area of the Batiscan river, more than 85 dams of various sizes were identified, seven of which have a height of more than 5 m.[10]

History

In 1639, the Jesuits made the acquisition of lordship of Batiscan in order to evangelize the Attikameks. They do not settled in the colony, although they used the river up to the nineteenth century for the fur trade. In 1685, the Jesuits conceded the first batches of the Lordship, to the settlers established mainly in Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan. In 1781, they installed a flour mill on Rivière des Envies, tributaries deemed easier than Batiscan river. In 1786, a chapel was built in Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux). Toward the end of nineteenth century, the municipalities were founded: Saint-Séverin, Saint-Tite, Sainte-Thècle, Saint-Adelphe and Lac-aux-Sables.[11]

Forest Industry

From 1852 the William Price and Company began to exploit the forest. Several sawmills were built on the Batiscan river and "Rivière des Envies". The timber was transported by water flow, requiring that workers had to drave the logs. The first trees were cut the White Pine sent to Great Britain. From the 1930, activities of logging turned and served rather to papers mills. In 1963 the log drive was abandoned on the Batiscan.[12]

Former Saint Narcisse Electric Central

In 1896, Jean-Baptiste Frégault bought the North Shore Power Company and buy production rights on the Great Waterfall near Saint-Narcisse. There he built a hydroelectric plant and a high-voltage line of 29 km, the first of the British Empire. The plant was expanded in 1905. In 1907, it was sold to the Shawinigan Water and Power Company. The latter was replaced by a new central Saint-Narcisse in 1926. In 1963, it was acquired by Hydro-Quebec during the nationalization of electricity.[13] This central Saint-Narcisse has a capacity of 15 MW. The Saint-Narcisse dam is the largest one with a length of 254 meters and a height of 21 meters from the river bed. Its reservoir covers 43 hectares.

Forges and mineral ressources

Iron deposits were exploited from eighteenth century until the early twentieth century. Two forges were opened in the watershed, the "Forges de Batiscan", between 1798 and 1813, and "Forges de Saint-Tite", between 1870 and 1888. A zinc and lead was exploited in Notre-Dame-de-Montauban in 1911 and 1965. A copper and nickel was exploited to Lake Édouard in 1973 and 1974.[14]

Bridges

Major bridges built over the Batiscan river (from the mouth):

Lower Batiscanie

  • Bridge of road 138, Principale street, in Batiscan, built at about 500 meters upstream from the Batiscan river mouth emptying in St. Lawrence river;
  • Batiscan railway bridge, built at about 800 meters upstream from the bridge of road 138;
  • Two bridges of Highway 40, in Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan, built at about 2500 meters above the Batiscan railway bridge;
  • Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan bridge, located at the height of the village, built at about 2.5 km upstream from the Highway 40 bridge, connecting Church Street (north shore) and the road of the village of Champlain (south shore);
  • Pedestrian bridge crossing the river at the foot of Saint-Narcisse dam;

Mid Batiscanie

  • Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux) bridge, located at the height of the village, built at about 8.5 km upstream of the dam of Saint-Narcisse;
  • Cement bridge of Saint-Adelphe, located at the height of the rue du Moulin village, about 15.5 km upstream from the bridge of Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux) bridge,
  • Covered wooden bridge of Saint-Adelphe, upstream of the other bridge buitl in cement. Wooden bridge was built in 1924 and demolished in 1965, after the construction of the cement bridge. Covered Bridge had a pedestrian sidewalk on the southeast side;
  • Saint-Adelphe Railway Bridge linking row St-Pie and row Haut-St-Emile, built at about 2.8 km upstream from the bridge of the village;
  • Lac-aux-Sables bridge, linking the village and the road of row Price leading to Saint-Ubalde, about 14 km upstream of the railway bridge of Saint-Adelphe. The covered wooden bridge spanning the Batiscan, between the village and the road of row Price, was built in 1900. It was destroyed by fire on June 14, 1950. The bridge was rebuilt in 1952[15]
  • Notre-Dame-de-Montauban bridge, located at the height of the village, built at about 12 km upstream from the bridge of Lac-aux-Sables.
  • Railway bridge, located 4.2 km upstream from the bridge of Notre-Dame-de-Montauban. This bridge allows the train from Hervey Junction to head to Rivière-à-Pierre, along Rousseau road (route 367).

Upper Batiscanie

  • Talbot Road bridge at kilometer no. 102 or 13.5 km from the river upstream from the mouth (km no. 88.5) of Rivière-à-Pierre. Between kilometer 102 and 88.5, the river has many rapids, some suitable for experienced kayakers. The Talbot bridge allows the Portneuf Wildlife Sanctuary to serve its territory lying west of the river Batiscan, especially larger lakes such Gilardeau, Lapeyrène Robinson and Lake Travers.
  • Bridge of "Ile-à-la-Croix" (Cross Island), located at the northern limit of the Portneuf Wildlife Sanctuary for part of the territory east of the river Batiscan. The bridge also provides access to the road leading to the northern part of the reserve, on the west side of the river Batiscan.
  • Bridge railway sector Beaudet, located at 9 km upstream from the northern boundary of the Portneuf Wildlife Sanctuary or 19.8 miles north of Ile-à-la-Croix. Through this railway bridge, the train goes north along the right bank.
  • Railway Bridge, located 8.5 km downstream of the station of Lake Édouard (Haute-Mauricie) by rail, allowing the train back on the left side, and back to the north.
  • Railway Bridge, located 2 km downstream from the bridge above the river and 4.3 km from the station of Lake Édouard (Haute-Mauricie) by the railroad.
  • Road bridge, built next to the last railway bridge at the head of the river is 2.3 km from the railway station of the city of Lake Édouard (Haute-Mauricie).
  • Railway Bridge, located one kilometer from Lake Édouard (Haute-Mauricie) by water or 2.3 km from the station of Lake Édouard (Haute-Mauricie) by the railroad.

Note: In summary, twelve road bridges and seven railway bridges span the river Batiscan throughout its course. The railway bridge Saint-Adelphe was built in 1907. Trains have circulated for 100 years. The old iron bridge was decommissioned in 2007.

Hydroelectric Power Plan

The central Saint-Narcisse is the only hydroelectric power plant ever built on the Batiscan river. However, two power plants have been built on the tributaries of the river Batiscan:

Main attractions

Waterfall of five dollars bill

The Waterfall of the Nine (popularly designated "Waterfall of the five dollars bill") is located approximately 0.5 km upstream of the village of Notre-Dame-de-Montauban. Scenic view is beautiful from the waterfront park (referred Park of the Waterfall) or from the bridge over the Batiscan at the level of the village, or "Bar of the Waterfall" (east side of the river). This waterfall has a great resemblance to the image on the old five Canadian dollars bill. Public park built around the falls attracts many visitors. Eight trails were built around the Park of the Waterfall, by the local Cooperative Montauban, one joined the Otis Mountain (325 m.). In addition, an elevated walkway leads visitors on a small island in the middle of the rapids. This park around the falls began to be built in 1977, for the centenary of the parish of Notre-Dame-des-Anges.

Batiscan Park (Saint-Narcisse)

Covering an area of 400 hectares (1000 acres), the Regional Park of the Batiscan is dotted with waterfalls, rapids and pools in the grip of Saint-Narcisse dam. The park which is bisected by the River Batiscan, has a long elevated walkway crossing the river, many lookouts and a network of trails totaling 25 kilometers, connecting three municipalities: Saint-Stanislas (Des Chenaux), Saint-Narcisse and Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan. This park offers a range of educational activities on the environment, outdoor activities and historical thematics.

See also

Related Articles:

Municipalities:

ZEC, Wildlife Sanctuary and parks:

Rivers:

RCM / MRC (in French):

References

  1. ^ Société d'aménagement et de mise en valeur du bassin de la Batiscan (Planning and Development Company of the basin Batiscan) 2007, pp. 77–78
  2. ^ Commission de toponymie du Québec, http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/CT/toposweb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=3894
  3. ^ Noms et lieux du Québec, ouvrage de la Commission de toponymie publié en 1994 et 1996 sous la forme d'un dictionnaire illustré imprimé. La société Micro-Intel en a produit un cédérom, en 1997.Template:Fr
  4. ^ Société d'aménagement et de mise en valeur du bassin de la Batiscan (Planning and Development Compagny of the basin Batiscan) 2007, p. 18
  5. ^ This segmentation of the Batiscanie in three territories was defined by Sylvain Veillette (Sainte-Thècle) and Gaétan Veillette (Saint-Hubert), in March 2013. This segmentation distinguishes three regions that have their own particularities. The three names are inspired by the same segmentation for the Saint-Maurice River (Mauricie) and Mattawin river (Mattawinie)
  6. ^ Raymond Douville, "La Seigneurie de Batiscan: chroniques des premières années (1636-1681)" (The Lordship of Batiscan: chronic early years (1636-1681)), Editions du Bien Public, Trois-Rivières, p. 10, chapter "Les premiers Français à Batiscan" (First French in Batiscan).
  7. ^ Raymond Douville, "La Seigneurie de Batiscan: chroniques des premières années (1636-1681) (The Lordship of Batiscan: chronic early years (1636-1681)), Éditions du Bien public, Trois-Rivières, p. 11 to 13, chapter "Le tremblement de terre de 1663" (The earthquake in 1663)."
  8. ^ Société d'aménagement et de mise en valeur du bassin de la Batiscan (Planning and development company of the basin Batiscan) 2007, pp. 79–83
  9. ^ Société d'aménagement et de mise en valeur du bassin de la Batiscan (Planning and Development Company of the basin Batiscan) 2007, pp. 78–79
  10. ^ Chaire de recherche du Canada en dynamique fluviale (Canada Research Chair in Fluvial Dynamics). "Barrages sur le bassin versant de la rivière Batiscan (Dams on the watershed of the Batiscan river)". {{cite web}}: Text "accessed as of Janvier 14th, 2013" ignored (help)
  11. ^ Société d'aménagement et de mise en valeur du bassin de la Batiscan 2007, pp. 40–41
  12. ^ Société d'aménagement et de mise en valeur du bassin de la Batiscan 2007, pp. 41–42
  13. ^ Company development and enhancement of the Basin Batiscan 2007, p. 42
  14. ^ Société d'aménagement et de mise en valeur du bassin de la Batiscan 2007, pp. 42–43
  15. ^ Book "Lac-aux-Sables - Témoin de notre passé" (Witness of our past), Historical Society of Lac-aux-Sables and Hervey-Jonction, p. 77.
  16. ^ "History of Saint-Séverin".
  17. ^ id = 14 "History of Dam [[Rivière-à-Pierre, Quebec|Rivière-à-Pierre]]". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing pipe in: |url= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)

46°32′32″N 72°21′56″W / 46.5423°N 72.3656°W / 46.5423; -72.3656

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