| Dorval River | |
| Pushpin Map: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Type4: | Regional County Municipality |
| Subdivision Name4: | Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality |
| Subdivision Type5: | City and municipality |
| Subdivision Name5: | Saguenay (city) and Larouche |
| Length: | 10.6km (06.6miles) |
| Discharge1 Location: | Larouche |
| Source1: | Les Trois Lacs |
| Source1 Location: | Saguenay (city) |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 48.4175°N -71.3842°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 185 |
| Mouth: | Saguenay River |
| Mouth Location: | Larouche |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 48.5258°N -71.5356°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 68m (223feet) |
The "Dorval river" is a tributary of the Saguenay River, flowing in the city of Saguenay and in the municipality of Larouche, in the Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This river flows in the eastern part of the canton of La Barre.
The Dorval river valley is mainly served by the route 170 (boulevard du Royaume), for forestry and recreational tourism activities.[1]
Forestry is the main economic activity in the Dorval River area; recreational tourism, second.
The surface of the Dorval River is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, however safe circulation on the ice is generally done from mid-December to mid-March.
The main watersheds adjacent to the Dorval River are:
The Dorval River rises at Les Trois Lacs (length: 0.8km (00.5miles); altitude: 185m (607feet)) surrounded by marshes. This source is located at:
From its source (small unidentified lake), the Dorval river flows over 10.6km (06.6miles) with a drop of 117m (384feet) generally in forest area, sometimes agricultural, depending on the segments following:
The course of the Dorval River flows to the bottom of a bay (stretching 0.7km (00.4miles) to the southeast) on the south shore of the Saguenay River. This confluence is located at:
From the mouth of the Dorval River, the current follows the course of the Saguenay River on 123km (76miles) east to Tadoussac where it merges with the Saint Lawrence estuary.[2]
The toponym “Dorval River” evokes the memory of Urbain Dorval, foreman at the first site on Gervais Creek around 1846. Urbain Dorval worked as site manager for Peter McLeod. His work site was apparently located "by the Dorval river /.../ a short distance from Alma's territory".[3] This name is also present in Langelier, Jean-Chrysostome. The Lac Saint-Jean region, 1888, page 18 (extract from the report of the surveyor Du Tremblay, possibly dating from 1883). The name appears on the map of the canton of La Barre (1st impression of 1892, last impression of 1943).
The river Dorval toponym was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[4]