Gouin Reservoir

Gouin Reservoir
Location	La Tuque, Mauricie, Quebec
Coordinates	48°35′N 74°50′W
Type	Artificial
Primary outflows	Saint-Maurice River
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	100 km (62 mi)
Max. width	48 km (30 mi)
Surface area	1,570 km2 (610 sq mi)
Average depth	5 m (16 ft)
Shore length1	5,650 km (3,510 mi)
Surface elevation	404 m (1,325 ft)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Gouin Reservoir (in French: Réservoir Gouin) is a man-made lake in the central portion of the Canadian province of Quebec, fully within the boundaries of the City of La Tuque. It is not one contiguous body of water, but the collective name for a series of connected lakes separated by innumerable bays, peninsulas, and islands with highly irregular shapes. It has therefore a relative long shoreline of over 5,600 km (excluding islands) compared to its surface area of 1,570 km². It is the source of the Saint-Maurice River.

This large reservoir extends into the cantons of (in order, in row from north to south): Mathieu, Verreau; Lacasse, Toussaint, McSweeney, Magnan, Lindsay; Hanotaux, Cremazie, Lemay, Marmette, Brochu, Déziel; Poisson, Evanturel, Myrand, Chapman, Nevers, Aubin, Levasseur; Achintre, Sulte, Huguenin, Delage, Leblanc, Bureau.

Recreational tourism activities

There are no paved roads to the Gouin Reservoir, but it is accessible by several unpaved forest roads and by bush plane.

The reservoir is a popular fishing destination with numerous commercial outfitters and private lodges along its shores. There are also a number of outfitters offering recreational tourism activities such hunting trips, fishing trips, excursions in all-terrain vehicles (ex.: snowmobiles, VTT), nautical expeditions, photographic hunting, lodging in cottages, in house-boat, in hostel (auberge)... Many of these outfitters also provide equipment supply and maintenance services related to recreational tourism activities.

History

The reservoir is named after Jean Lomer Gouin, who was Premier of Quebec when, in 1918, the Shawinigan Water & Power Company impounded the reservoir for hydroelectric development. The Gouin Reservoir has a 600 MW station for local use, but is used to control the flow of the St-Maurice River for the stations down-stream (all operated now by Hydro-Québec).

The small Atikamekw community of Obedjiwan is located on the reservoir's north shore.

During the construction of the first Loutre dam (the name given to the dam prior to the Gouin name as it is known today), the Amerindians lived near Obedjiwan Lake, which was flooded when the reservoir was filled. At that time, the residents moved and rebuilt their village on the site of the present village of Obedjiwan, Quebec.

Geography

Road accesses

Although no paved road leads to the Gouin Reservoir, it is nevertheless accessible by several pathways, snowmobile trails and by air. The hydrographic slope of the Gouin Reservoir is accessible by:

• North side: route 212 from the village of Obedjiwan, Quebec and heading northeasterly following more or less the north shore of the Gouin reservoir, to the Normandin Lake (Normandin River) area;
• East side: the forest road 451 connecting Gouin dam, the village of Wemotaci and La Tuque to the south; this road section serves in particular the valley of the Wapous River and Berlinguet Lake;
• South side: the forest road 400 serves the south-east part of the reservoir by passing to the Gouin dam; Forest Road 404 serves the southwestern portion between the villages of Clova, Quebec and Parent, Quebec;
• West side: a forest road (North-South direction) located west of the Pascagama River.

The village of Parent and the village of Clova, both now part of the City of La Tuque. This tel villages are located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of the reservoir and are accessible by a forested road and by train with VIA Rail Canada.

A seaplane base is located at the top of the Gouin dam.

Main tributaries

The main rivers flowing into the Gouin reservoir are (clockwise from the Gouin dam):

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Main bays

This large reservoir has many bays and islands making navigation more complex. Before the existence of geolocation systems that developed in the 2000s, many navigators have lost their way on this water, misfires. (Clockwise, from the mouth)

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Main islands

(Clockwise, from the mouth)

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Main lakes

The main lakes included in the reservoir or related are: Toussaint, Magnan, McSweeney and Male. (Clockwise, from the mouth)

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Main passes

The many passes between the islands or peninsulas facilitate navigation on the reservoir.(Clockwise, from the mouth)

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Fauna

Fishes

Fish species present include the walleye, northern pike, and sauger. Fishers sometimes catch lake trout and brook trout, but these species are more marginal because this vast body of water is the ideal reference point for pike, which is very fond of small fish.

Waterfowl

Waterfowl present in the region include the American black duck (Anas rubripes), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), green-winged teal (Anas crecca), ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris), common merganser (Mergus merganser), hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), common loon (Gavia immer), Canada goose (Branta canadensis), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

Mammals

The main mammals in Haute-Mauricie are: moose, white-tailed deer, bears, hares, red foxes, muskrats, skunks and raccoons.

See also

• Saint-Maurice River
• Haute-Mauricie
• La Tuque
• Obedjiwan, Quebec