Pika River
The Rivière Pika is a freshwater tributary of the Pikauba River, flowing in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This watercourse successively crosses the regional county municipalities of:
- MRC Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality, in the unorganized territory of Lac-Achouakan;
- MRC du Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality, in the unorganized territory of Lac-Ministuk.
The upper part of the Pika River valley is accessible by route 169 (route d'Hébertville); other secondary forest roads have been developed in the sector for forestry and recreational tourism activities.[1][2]
Forestry is the primary economic activity in the sector; recreational tourism, second.
The surface of the Pika River is usually frozen from late November to early April, however safe circulation on the ice is generally from mid-December to late March.
Geography
Draining small lakes in the northern part of the Laurentides wildlife reserve, the Pika river, a small tributary of the left bank of the Pikauba river, flows over approximately 16.37 km from Little Pika lake and Pika Lake.
The main watersheds neighboring the Pika River are:
- north side: Pikauba River, Bras des Angers, Dominus stream, Sauce stream, Petite rivière Pikauba;
- east side: Pikauba river, Savard brook, Little Pikauba river, Suzor-Côté lake, Bousquet lake, Sekaw lake, Gobeil brook, Cyriac River;
- south side: Lac du Panache, Rivière aux Canots, Rivière aux Canots Est, Riffon Lake, Girard stream;
- west side: Rivière aux Écorces, Pika Lake, Lac Audubon, Lac Cadieux, Morin River, Lac Morin.[1]
The Pika River rises at the mouth of Pika Lake (altitude: 557 km (346 mi)). The mouth which is on the north shore of this head lake is located at:
- 0.3 km (0.19 mi) west of Hocquart Lake (formerly known as "Petit lac Pika");
- 2.1 km (1.3 mi) north-west of Lac du Panache (slope of rivière aux Canots);
- 5.3 km (3.3 mi) southeast of Lac Morin;
- 6.4 km (4.0 mi) north-west of the confluence of rivière aux Canots and Rivière aux Canots Est;
- 7.9 km (4.9 mi) south-west of route 169;
- 13.5 km (8.4 mi) south of the confluence of the Pika and Pikauba rivers;
- 11.3 km (7.0 mi) east of rivière aux Écorces.[1]
From the mouth of Pika Lake, the course of the Pika River flows over 20.5 km (12.7 mi) entirely in the forest zone, with a drop of 147 m (482 ft), according to the following segments :
- 2.7 km (1.7 mi) first towards the east, bending towards the northeast crossing Hocquart Lake (length: 2.3 km (1.4 mi); altitude: 555 m (1,821 ft)) to the dike at its mouth;
- 4.7 km (2.9 mi) towards the north, first by forming a loop towards the west, then a hook of 0.8 km (0.50 mi) towards the northeast, up to a stream (coming from the east);
- 1.4 km (0.87 mi) towards the north by forming a small hook towards the west at the end of the segment, up to the south shore of lac Custeau;
- 1.5 km (0.93 mi) towards the north crossing Lake Custeau (altitude: 513 m (1,683 ft)) over its full length and bending towards the east in the bay north of the lake, to its mouth. Note: Lac Custeau receives on the north side the outlet from Lac Scott, Lac de la Niche, Lac Clarence-Gagnon and Lac du Merle;
- 2.0 km (1.2 mi) eastward, bending northwards around a mountain whose summit reaches 619 m (2,031 ft), up to route 169;
- 2.2 km (1.4 mi) towards the north by collecting the Savard stream (coming from the south-east) to the outlet (coming from the west) of Lac Janvry;
- 6.0 km (3.7 mi) towards the north by forming a hook towards the east, then towards the north, until its mouth.[1]
Toponymy
The course of the Pika River crosses route 169 (connecting the town of Quebec (city) and Lac Saint-Jean) a little south of the Gîte-du-Berger. By the end of the 19th century, this forest road was already used, well before the construction of the current road; it was then dotted with relays for travelers traveling on foot on a route called "Chemin du Gouvernement". In 1869, a camp known as Abri Pika was established there.
The name "Pika" is of Innu origin and to which the word "Apica" is attached. This appellation appears on a map of the Laurentides Park in 1942. "Pik" has the meaning of "small", "menu", "delicate" which is well suited to the size of the river.[3]
The toponym "Rivière Pika" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[2]
See also
- Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality
- Lac-Achouakan, a TNO
- Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality
- Lac-Ministuk, a TNO
- Hocquart Lake
- Pikauba River
- Kenogami Lake
- Chicoutimi River
- Saguenay River
- St. Lawrence River
- List of rivers of Quebec
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d "Atlas of Canada from the Department of Natural Resources Canada - Characteristics extracted from the map, database and instrumentation of the site". 12 September 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
- ^ a b [http:/ www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=49143 Commission de toponymie du Québec - Rivière Pika]
- ^ 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.