| Rivière aux Vaches | |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Centre-du-Québec |
| Subdivision Type4: | Regional County Municipality |
| Subdivision Name4: | Drummond Regional County Municipality and Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality |
| Length: | 339km (211miles) |
| Source1: | Various agricultural streams |
| Source1 Location: | Drummondville |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 45.8961°N -72.5292°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 86m (282feet) |
| Mouth: | Saint-François River |
| Mouth Location: | Saint-François-du-Lac |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 46.035°N -72.7728°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 69m (226feet) |
| Tributaries Left: | (Upstream) ruisseau Pékasso, cours d'eau Georges-Côté, décharge des Vingt, ruisseau Labonté, ruisseau Allard. |
| Tributaries Right: | (Upstream) cours d'eau Crevier, ruisseau Turmel, ruisseau Thibault-Salvas, ruisseau des Seize Arpents, ruisseau Léopold-Joyal, décharge des Dix. |
The rivière aux Vaches is a tributary of the Saint-François River. It flows northwest in the administrative region of Centre-du-Québec, on the South Shore of the Saint Lawrence River, in Quebec, Canada, crossing the municipalities of:
The main hydrographic slopes near the Vaches River are:
The Vaches River originates from agricultural streams draining the area north of highway 20 and north of the highway Interchange 55, west of the city of Drummondville. This headland is located in the "Grantham-Ouest" sector, north of highway 20 and west of the town of Drummondville.
From autoroute 20, the rivière aux Vaches flows mainly in agricultural zones on:
The Vaches River flows on the southwest bank of the Saint-François River, facing "La Grande Île" and at the foot of the "Rapides Pôltegok". The mouth is located upstream of the Blondin bridge which connects Saint-François-du-Lac (southwest side) and Pierreville (north-east side).[1]
The course of the river being mainly in agricultural zone, the cattle (especially cows) come to drink there during all the grazing season (usually from May to November for this region). The river was also used as a grazing limit because the cattle are bad swimmers. Given the relatively uneven relief of this hydrographic slope, the "Vaches River" is aptly named.
The toponym "Rivière aux Vaches" was officially registered on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[2]