| Pika 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: | Unorganized territory and a city |
| Subdivision Name5: | Lac-Achouakan and Lac-Ministuk |
| Length: | 20.5km (12.7miles) |
| Discharge1 Location: | Lac-Ministuk |
| Source1: | Pika Lake |
| Source1 Location: | Lac-Achouakan |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 48.0122°N -71.5671°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 557 |
| Mouth: | Pikauba River |
| Mouth Location: | Lac-Ministuk |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 48.1169°N -71.48°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 410m (1,350feet) |
| Tributaries Left: | (from the mouth) Décharge du lac Janvry, décharge du lac Scott, du lac Clarence Gagnon, du lac du Merle et du lac de la Niche, décharge (via Pika Lake) du lac Audubon, décharge (via Pika Lake) des lacs Neptune et Pluton. |
| Tributaries Right: | (from the mouth) Ruisseau Savard, ruisseau Gobeil (via Hocquart Lake), décharge (via Hocquart Lake) du lac Larivière. |
The Rivière Pika is a freshwater tributary of the Pikauba River, flowing in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This watercourse successively crosses the regional county municipalities of:
The upper part of the Pika River valley is accessible by route 169 (route d'Hébertville); other secondary forest roads have been developed in the sector for forestry and recreational tourism activities.
Forestry is the primary economic activity in the sector; recreational tourism, second.
The surface of the Pika River is usually frozen from late November to early April, however safe circulation on the ice is generally from mid-December to late March.
Draining small lakes in the northern part of the Laurentides wildlife reserve, the Pika river, a small tributary of the left bank of the Pikauba river, flows over approximately 16.37 km from Little Pika lake and Pika Lake.
The main watersheds neighboring the Pika River are:
The Pika River rises at the mouth of Pika Lake (altitude: 557km (346miles)). The mouth which is on the north shore of this head lake is located at:
From the mouth of Pika Lake, the course of the Pika River flows over 20.5km (12.7miles) entirely in the forest zone, with a drop of 147m (482feet), according to the following segments :
The course of the Pika River crosses route 169 (connecting the town of Quebec (city) and Lac Saint-Jean) a little south of the Gîte-du-Berger. By the end of the 19th century, this forest road was already used, well before the construction of the current road; it was then dotted with relays for travelers traveling on foot on a route called "Chemin du Gouvernement". In 1869, a camp known as Abri Pika was established there.
The name "Pika" is of Innu origin and to which the word "Apica" is attached. This appellation appears on a map of the Laurentides Park in 1942. "Pik" has the meaning of "small", "menu", "delicate" which is well suited to the size of the river.[2]
The toponym "Rivière Pika" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[3]