France River

The France River is a tributary of Chibougamau Lake, flowing into the Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Eeyou Istchee Baie-James and in the city of Chibougamau, in Jamésie, in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

France
Watershed of Nottaway River
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionNord-du-Québec
Physical characteristics
SourceUnidentified lake
 • locationEeyou Istchee Baie-James, Nord-du-Québec, Quebec
 • coordinates50°08′04″N 73°52′56″W
 • elevation424 m (1,391 ft)
MouthChibougamau Lake
 • location
Chibougamau, Nord-du-Québec, Quebec
 • coordinates
49°58′58″N 74°06′13″W
 • elevation
379 m (1,243 ft)
Length32.2 km (20.0 mi)[1]
Basin features
Tributaries 
 • leftDischarge of Ida Lake (via France Lake)
 • right
  • (in upstream order)
  • Discharge of a set of lakes including: Michaux, Lévesque, Lavoie Lepage, Lefebvre and Courtois
.

The course of the river flows into the townships of Bignell, McCorkill and Roy.

The hydrographic slope of the "France River" is accessible by the junction of a forest road (East-West direction) serving the north side of Chibougamau Lake; the latter is connected to route 167 which also serves the south side of Waconichi Lake and the Waconichi River. This last road comes from Chibougamau, going north-east to the south-eastern part of Mistassini Lake.

The surface of the "France River" is usually frozen from early November to mid-May, however traffic Ice safety is usually from mid-November to mid-April.

Geography
The main hydrographic slopes near the "France River" are:

The "France River" originates from an unidentified lake (elevation: 424 metres (1,391 ft)) in the canton of Bignell. This source is located at:

From its source (unidentified lake), the France River flows over 32.2 kilometres (20.0 mi) generally towards the Southwest, according to the following segments:

Upper part of the river France (segment of 16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi))

  • 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) southerly crossing on lake Cesia (elevation: 419 metres (1,375 ft)), to its mouth;
  • 3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi) southwesterly crossing on an unidentified lake 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) (length: 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi); altitude: 417 metres (1,368 ft) to its mouth;
  • 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) to the south, crossing the western part of Lake Éva on 0.9 kilometres (0.56 mi) (length: 5.0 kilometres (3.1 mi); altitude: 414 metres (1,358 ft) to its mouth;
  • 8.3 kilometres (5.2 mi) to the south, crossing on Lake France (length: 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi); altitude: 412 metres (1,352 ft) to its mouth Note: The boundaries of McCorkill and Bignell Townships are at the entrance of the bay at the mouth of the lake;

Lower part of the river France (segment of 16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi))

  • 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) southwesterly in McCorkill township, to the limit of the town of Chibougamau;
  • 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) southwesterly in the town of Chibougamau, cutting the branch of a forest road to the eastern limit of the township of Roy;
  • 8.8 kilometres (5.5 mi) westward in the township of Roy winding, collecting the dump (coming from the North-East) of a set of lakes (in particular: Michaux, Lévesque, Lavoie Lepage, Lefebvre and Courtois) and forming a hook to the north at the end of the segment, to its mouth.[2]

The France River flows on the northeast shore of "Baie des Rapides" which is an extension of McKenzie Bay, north-east of Chibougamau Lake. From this mouth, the current crosses this bay to the southwest, takes the McKenzie Pass, which is crossed by a road bridge, before crossing it to the southwest on Chibougamau Lake bypassing the island of Portage. Chibougamau Lake is the main head lake of Chibougamau River.

From the mouth of Chibougamau Lake, the current crosses the Lac aux Dorés, then descends generally to the southwest (except the large S of the upper part of the river) by taking the Chibougamau River, to its confluence with the Opawica River. From this confluence, the current flows generally southwesterly through the Waswanipi River to the east shore of Goéland Lake (Waswanipi River). The latter is crossed to the northwest by the Waswanipi River which is a tributary of Matagami Lake. Finally, the current flows along the Nottaway River and empties into Rupert Bay, south of James Bay.

The mouth of the "France River" located at:

Toponymy

The toponym "rivière France" was made official on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec, i.e. at the founding of this commission.[3]

References
  1. "Atlas of Canada". atlas.nrcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  2. Distances measured from the Atlas of Canada (published on the Internet) of the Department of Natural Resources Canada.
  3. "Commission de toponymie du Québec – Banque de noms de lieux (Bank of places names) - Toponym: "Rivière France"". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 2017-12-24.

See also
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