Betsiamites River

Catchment area of ​​the Rivière Betsiamites

The Rivière Betsiamites (including Bersimis or English Betsiamites River) is a river in the Canadian province of Québec. It is located in the Côte -Nord and flows into the estuary of the St. Lawrence River. The length of the river is 444 km, its catchment area covers 18,700 km ², its average discharge is 340 m³ / s

Geography

The river is located between the Rivière Saguenay and the Rivière aux Outardes. It starts at the Lac Manouanis and flows at settlement Betsiamites, which is inhabited by the First Nation Innu and about 300 km northeast of the provincial capital of Quebec is. The 978 km ² reservoir Réservoir Pipmuacan, dammed up by the Bersimis -1 Dam, located about halfway of the river. 30 km downstream follows the Réservoir Bersimis -2, dammed up by the Bersimis -2 Dam.

In the Boreal Shield ecozone located, the hinterland presented as a heavily wooded area with different types of conifers. These include black spruce (Picea mariana ), balsam fir (Abies balsamea ) and white spruce (Picea glauca ). The valley is described as "a paradise for hunters and anglers ," in which " fish, elk, bear and other wildlife abundant " are.

Hydropower

There are two hydroelectric power plants on the Rivière Betsiamites, operated by Hydro-Québec:

• Bersimis -1: 8 Francis turbines 1,178 MW; built 1953-1956
• Bersimis -2: 5 Francis turbines, 869 MW; built 1956-1959

History

The word Betsiamites or Pessamit comes from the Innu language and means " meeting place of lampreys ". The term Bersimis was known neither the Innu or the French or French Canadians, but was first used in 1837 in the written by him hydrography of the St. Lawrence River from the British Admiral Henry Wolsey Bayfield. The Hudson 's Bay Company took over the name, as she opened a trading post in 1855, six years later, the Canadian Post. After two decades of efforts succeeded residents and the provincial government in 1919 to convince the federal government from using the name Betsiamites. But actually misnomer Bersimis held in the impact persistent in official documents and Hydro-Québec used them for the new hydropower plants in the region.