| Manicouagan River | |
| Map: | Manicouagan map.png |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | Canada |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Quebec |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Côte-Nord |
| Length: | 200km (100miles) |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 1020m3/s |
| Source1: | Manicouagan Reservoir |
| Source1 Location: | Rivière-aux-Outardes |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 50.6481°N -68.7278°W |
| Mouth: | Gulf of Saint Lawrence |
| Mouth Location: | Pointe-Lebel |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 49.1761°N -68.1944°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 0m (00feet) |
| Basin Size: | 45800km2[1] |
| Tributaries Right: | Toulnustouc River |
The Manicouagan or Manicuagan River, often clipped to Manic, is a river in Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. The river originates in the Manicouagan Reservoir and flows approximately south, emptying into the Saint Lawrence River near Baie-Comeau.[1] The reservoir, also known as Lake Manicouagan, lies within the remnant of an ancient eroded impact crater (astrobleme). It was formed following the impact of a 5km (03miles) diameter asteroid which excavated a crater originally about 100km (100miles) wide, although erosion and deposition of sediments have since reduced the visible diameter to about 72km (45miles). The Manicouagan impact structure is the sixth-largest confirmed impact crater known on earth.[2]
The river's name is believed to come from a Montagnais name meaning "Place where Tree Bark is Found". However the Innu of Betsiamites call it Menukuanistuk Shipu, meaning "River of the Cup".[3]
The major tributaries of the Manicouagan River are in upstream order:
At the end of August 1535, Jacques Cartier, while sailing south, noted the mouth of this large river but gave it no name. In June 1664, Jesuit Henri Nouvel was the first missionary to travel upstream of the "Grand Manikouaganistikou River that the French call rivière Noire because of its depth". The next year, he "returned to the mouth of the Manicoüagan in June." The river's spelling has remained fairly constant from then on.[3]
In the early 1950s, the Manicouagan River attracted Hydro-Québec's attention for hydro-electric development because of the deep and fast running waters. In 1956, a dam was built at the mouth of Lake Sainte-Anne to regulate the Toulnustouc River, the main left tributary that empties in the Manicouagan between the Manic-2 and Manic-3 dams. Four years later, the main construction work began on the dams and power stations of the Manicouagan River and its neighbor to the west, the Outardes River. By 1978, this project, with a total power supply 4672 MW, was completed.[3]
There are a number of hydroelectric power plants on the Manicouagan, part of the Manic-Outardes Project:[4]