| Montmorency River | |
| Name Other: | Rivière Montmorency |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Capitale-Nationale |
| Subdivision Type4: | RCM |
| Subdivision Name4: | La Jacques-Cartier Regional County Municipality, La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality and Quebec (city) |
| Length: | 103.7km (64.4miles) |
| Discharge1 Min: | 2.2m3/sMarch |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 35.6m3/s |
| Discharge1 Max: | 580m3/sMay |
| Source1: | Moran Lake |
| Source1 Location: | Lac-Jacques-Cartier Unorg. Terr. |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 47.5783°N -71.0792°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 845m (2,772feet) |
| Mouth: | Saint Lawrence River |
| Mouth Location: | Boischatel |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 46.885°N -71.1433°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 4m (13feet) |
| Basin Size: | 1150km2 |
| Tributaries Left: | (upward from the mouth) Le Grand Ruisseau, Ferrée River, discharge from an unidentified lake, Verret stream, Brebel stream, Castor stream, Rouge River, Jos-Bédard stream, Smith River, discharge from 4 unidentified lakes, Turcotte stream, Cauchon stream, unidentified stream, rivière des Neiges, discharge from two unidentified lakes, unidentified stream, unidentified stream, Blanche River, Noire River, Laflamme lake outlet, unidentified stream, unidentified stream, discharge from Lake Élois, discharge from Lake Provençal (via Mare du Sault), Creek from Murphy, discharge from Lake Absolon, discharge from Lac Lachance, unidentified stream, unidentified stream, discharge from Lake Alyse. |
| Tributaries Right: | (upward from the mouth) Unidentified stream (via Lac du Délaissé), rivière du Lac, unidentified stream, unidentified stream, Lac Lamarre outlet, Euclide stream, unidentified stream, rivière aux Pins, Richelieu River, rivière à l'Île, Déboulis stream, Swain stream, unidentified stream, discharge from a non-dentified lake, stream Boutet, North stream, unidentified stream, Aulnaies stream, outlet of Piché lake, outlet of Pasquin lake, outlet of Forestier lake, Brûlés stream, unidentified stream, unidentified stream, outlet of a small unidentified lake, unidentified stream, discharge from a group of lakes including Maltais, Montmorency and Ancolies, unidentified stream. |
The Montmorency River is a tributary of North-East bank of St. Lawrence river, flowing in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The course of the river successively crosses the regional county municipality of:
It drains into the Saint Lawrence River, about 9km (06miles) downstream from Quebec City. It is especially known for the impressive Montmorency Falls near its mouth.
It has an average flow of 35.6m³/s. Typical average summer flow is about 25m³/s, whereas during spring run-off, the river could swell anywhere from 130m³/s650m³/s. Above 770m³/s is considered an exceptional flood condition, and the Montmorency experienced a record flow of 1100m³/s in November 1966.[1]
The Montmorency River flows from Lake Montmorency in a southerly direction through the undeveloped Canadian Shield of the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. Reaching the northern part of the municipality of Château-Richer, it flows between high rocky cliffs that in some places are more than 600m (2,000feet) high. Thereafter, it passes through the municipalities of Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval, Beauport, and Boischatel, where the course of the river is characterized by the presence of numerous rapids before plunging 83m (272feet) over the Montmorency Falls.
The river's watershed basin is sparsely populated, 92% of it is forested and dotted with 424 lakes. The largest lake, with an area of 7.53km2, is Lac des Neiges (English: Lake of Snow) which is the source of rivière des Neiges (English: River of Snow), Montmorency's largest tributary. Urban and agricultural land makes up only 2% and 1% of the basin respectively, and is mostly confined to a small section in the far south of the Saint Lawrence lowlands.[2] [3]
The municipalities and unorganized territories that cover the Montmorency basin are:[2]
| Municipality | Area within basin (km2) | Proportion of basin (%) | Population within basin | Proportion of basin (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boischatel | 16.96 | 1.47 | 3508 | 12.47 | |
| Château-Richer | 108.33 | 9.42 | 1541 | 5.06 | |
| L'Ange-Gardien | 28.31 | 2.46 | 1574 | 5.17 | |
| Lac-Beauport | 6.43 | 0.56 | 583 | 1.91 | |
| Lac-Jacques-Cartier | 822.09 | 71.50 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lac-Pikauba | 2.46 | 0.21 | 0 | 0 | |
| Quebec City | 22.16 | 1.93 | 19,213 | 63.07 | |
| Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval | 110.59 | 9.62 | 3492 | 11.46 | |
| Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury | 32.44 | 2.82 | 262 | 0.85 | |
| Totals | 1149.77 | 100 | 30,173 | 100 |
The larger tributaries of the Montmorency River are (downstream default sorting order):[2]
| Name | Length (km) | Size of sub-basin (km2) | Left or right tributary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noire | 24.5 | 68.3 | Left | |
| des Neiges | 36.6 | 372.8 | Left | |
| de la Décharge/Smith | 15.5 | 63.9 | Left | |
| de l'Île | 11.0 | 81.8 | Right | |
| aux Pins | – | – | Right | |
| Ferrée | 16.8 | – | Left |
From Moran Lake (length: ; altitude:), the course of the Montmorency River descends on, with a drop of, according to the following segments:
Upper course of the Montmorency river (segment of of which in Laurentides Wildlife Reserve and in Montmorency Forest)
Intermediate course of the Montmorency river, downstream of the Black river (segment of of which in the Montmorency Forest)
Intermediate course of the Montmorency river, downstream from the Rivière des Neiges (segment of)
Lower course of the Montmorency river (segment of)
The Montmorency River flows on the northwest bank of the Saint-Laurent River via the Île d'Orléans Channel. This confluence is located opposite the Île-d'Orléans Bridge and downstream from Old Quebec.[4]
In 1608, Samuel de Champlain visited the falls at the mouth of the river and named it le grand saut de Montmorency ("the great falls of Montmorency") in honour of Charles de Montmorency (1537–1612), to whom Champlain had dedicated his explorations. The name of the falls came to be applied to the whole river, as the 1641 map by Jean Bourdon showed it as "Saut de Montmorency".[5]
French colonization along the Montmorency River initially occurred at the mouth and falls only. The town of Boischatel was settled circa 1664.
In 1759, the Montmorency River formed a major obstacle to English General James Wolfe that prevented him from invading Quebec City from the east and subsequently forced him to scale the cliffs west of the city and battle the French on the Plains of Abraham. Remnants of an earthen fort built by Wolfe can still be found on the east side of the falls.[2]
In the 19th century, colonization and logging of the interior really took off, and settlers came to the Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval area in 1830. The river was used for log driving and its shores became industrialized when a hydro-electric dam and sawmill were built at the top and foot of the Montmorency Falls respectively. After the logging period ended, textile industry developed at the mouth of the river.[2]
In 1992, the area surrounding the falls and mouth of the river was made into a park and developed for tourism with new viewing platforms, stairs, pedestrian bridge, aerial tram, restaurant, and visitor's centre.
There are 48 dams in all on the Montmorency River and its tributaries. Of these, 14 are used to regulate water flow, five to provide drinking water, and only one is used exclusively for hydro-electric power generation.[3] The Hydro-Québec power station at the Montmorency Falls is no longer in operation, but not far upstream is the Marches-Naturelles Hydro-electric Power Station. It has an installed capacity of 4.16 MW.[2]
All municipalities along its course rely on the Montmorency or tributaries for its drinking water supply. Only Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval treats its waste waters before pumping it back into the Montmorency. Boischatel and Beauport put their waste water into the Saint Lawrence River. The municipalities of L’Ange-Gardien, Château-Richer, Lac-Beauport, Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury do not impact the water quality of the Montmorency since their population centres lie outside the rivers basin, and therefore the water quality is very good.[3]
A total of 76 bridges cross the Montmorency River. Of these, only 3 are public road bridges: Quebec Route 40, Avenue Royale between Beauport and Boischatel, and one at Enchanteresse Island.[2]
The four most dominant fish species within the Montmorency basin are the rainbow trout, lake trout, Arctic char, and especially brook trout. Other species include the longnose sucker, white sucker, slimy sculpin, and pearl dace.[2]
There are two species of reptiles: common garter snake and red-bellied snake. In addition, there are eight species of amphibians: American toad, wood frog, green frog, spring peeper, red-backed salamander, dusky salamander, northern two-lined salamander, and eastern newt.[2]
The explorer Samuel de Champlain named the fall located near the mouth of this watercourse "le grand saut de Montmorency" (English: "the big jump of Montmorency") on his map of 1608. Subsequently, the name of this fall attributed to the river. The map of Jean Bourdon, dated approximately 1641, indicates / Rivière Saut de Montmorency ". This toponymic designation evokes the memory of a member of the illustrious house of Montmorency, Charles de Montmorency (1537-1612), lord of Méru, Duke of Damville and admiral of France and Brittany, to whom Champlain had dedicated his exploration account of 1603.[6]
The toponym "Montmorency river" was formalized on December 5, 1968 at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[7]