| Rivière des Roches | |
| 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: | La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality |
| Subdivision Type5: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name5: | Lac-Jacques-Cartier, Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges |
| Length: | 112km (70miles) |
| Source1: | Little mountain lake |
| Source1 Location: | Lac-Jacques-Cartier |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 47.1868°N -70.87°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 474 m |
| Mouth: | Sainte-Anne River (Beaupré) |
| Mouth Location: | Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 47.1208°N -70.8352°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 161 m |
| Tributaries Left: | (Upward from the mouth) Unidentified stream, outlet (coming from the east) from Lac de la Colline, outlet from an unidentified small lake, outlet from two small lakes. |
| Tributaries Right: | (Upward from the mouth) Prairie stream, Saint-Nicolas stream, discharge from an unidentified lake, discharge from Lac des Trois Castors, mountain stream. |
The Rivière des Roches (English: River of rocks) is a tributary of the west bank of the Sainte-Anne River, on the north bank of the Saint Lawrence River. This river flows in the unorganized territory of Lac-Jacques-Cartier and in the municipality of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, in the La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.
The upper part of this valley is mainly served by the rang Saint-Nicolas road which passes on the northeast side. The lower part is served by avenue Royale and by the chemin du rang Saint-Nicolas which passes on the southwest side. Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism activities, second; agriculture, third.
The surface of the Rivière des Roches is generally frozen from the beginning of December until the end of March; however, safe traffic on the ice is generally from mid-December to mid-March. The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood occurs in March or April.
The Rivière des Roches rises at the confluence of three mountain streams, on the west side of Mont Bleu, in the unorganized territory of Lac-Jacques-Cartier. This source of the eastern flank of Mont Raoul-Blanchard, is located at:
From its source, the course of this river descends on, with a drop of, according to the following segments:
The Roches river flows on the west bank of the Sainte-Anne River (Beaupré), in the municipality of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, at downstream of Les Sept Chutes. This confluence is located northwest of the northwest shore of the St. Lawrence River, north from the mouth of the Sainte-Anne river and south-west of the village center of Saint-Tite-des-Caps.
From the confluence of the "rivière des Roches", the current flows over generally towards the southwest by the course of the Sainte-Anne River, which crosses downtown Beaupré, to the northwest shore of the Saint Lawrence River.[1]
In 1815, the geographer Joseph Bouchette listed the main rivers in the seigneury of Côte-de-Beaupré, including "La Rivière Ste. Anne, who receives the small Rivers at the Rose and the Rocks".[2] The origin of the toponymic designation "Rivière des Roches" derives from the nature of the bottom of the river where many rocks disturb its course. The center of the hamlet designated "Rivière-des-Roches" is located in Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, about 2 km from the mouth of the river, at the level of avenue Royale and the Roches river. The post office which served this hamlet from 1907 to 1954 also bore this name.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a group of citizens and religious leaders thought of building a church in the hamlet of Rivière-des-Roches, near the site of an old butter factory. The Séminaire de Québec had even donated land for this purpose, from the farm it operated in Rivière-des-Roches, but the construction project never came to fruition. Nowadays, the Rivière des Roches welcomes holidaymakers on its banks. There are three other watercourses officially named Rivière des Roches, including two from the very region of Quebec, located at Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures and Charlesbourg.[3]
The toponym "Rivière des Roches" was formalized on December 5, 1968 at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[4]