| Barley River | |
| Pushpin Map: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Capitale-Nationale |
| Subdivision Type4: | Regional County Municipality |
| Subdivision Name4: | Charlevoix |
| Subdivision Type5: | Municipalities |
| Subdivision Name5: | Lac-Pikauba |
| Length: | 16.4km (10.2miles) |
| Source1: | Wabano Lake |
| Source1 Location: | Lac-Pikauba |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 47.8072°N -70.6261°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 884m (2,900feet) |
| Mouth: | Malbaie River |
| Mouth Location: | Lac-Pikauba |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 47.8289°N -70.7789°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 630m (2,070feet) |
| Tributaries Left: | (Upward from the mouth) . |
| Tributaries Right: | (Upward from the mouth) . |
The Barley River is a tributary of the eastern bank of the upper part of the Malbaie River, flowing in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in the Charlevoix Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This watercourse successively crosses zec des Martres, then the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve.
The lower part of this valley is served by the route 381. The upper part is served by the forest road R0305 which passes on the south shore of Barley Lake for the needs of forestry. Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism, second.
Because of the altitude, the surface of the Barley River is generally frozen from the end of November until the beginning of April; however, safe circulation on the ice is generally from the beginning of December until the end of March. The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood generally occurs in April.
The Barley River originates from Lake Wabano (length: ; altitude:) landlocked between mountains, located in a forest area in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba in the zec des Martres. The mouth of Lake Wabano is located to the southwest, at:
From its source, the course of the Barley River descends on in a generally deep valley, with a drop of, according to the following segments:
The Barley River flows onto the west bank of the Malbaie River, in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. This mouth is located at:
From the mouth of the Barley River, the current descends on with a drop of following the course of the Malbaie river which flows into La Malbaie in the St. Lawrence River.[1]
During the history the spelling of this toponym knew the variants: Berly, Berley and in Berley. In 1927, the current Barley spelling was finally fixed. This toponym evokes the life work of Pierre Berly, Amerindian of Abenaki origin who camped in the region. He operated at the outlet of the lake a trout pit known as "Trou à Berly". The toponym "Lac Barley" appears under the spelling "Lac Berley", named after an old Abenaki, Pierre Berley, in the work of Thomas Fortin, The last of the coureurs de bois, by Damase Potvin, 1945, page 211. This toponymic denomination was approved on 1963-07-03 by the Commission of geography of Quebec.[2]
The toponym "Rivière Barley" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[3]