| Rivière à Mars North-West | |
| 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: | Charlevoix Regional County Municipality |
| Subdivision Type5: | Unorganized territory |
| Subdivision Name5: | Lac-Pikauba |
| Length: | 26.6km (16.5miles)[1] |
| Discharge1 Location: | Lac-Pikauba |
| Source1: | Lac à Mars |
| Source1 Location: | Lac-Pikauba |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 47.8292°N -71.0468°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 858m (2,815feet) |
| Mouth: | Rivière à Mars |
| Mouth Location: | Lac-Pikauba |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 47.9719°N -70.9672°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 579m (1,900feet) |
| Tributaries Left: | (from the mouth) Discharge of "lac des Écores", unidentified stream, discharge of lac Marchand, discharge of "Petit lac Cloc-Cloc" and of "lac Cloc-Cloc". |
| Tributaries Right: | (from the mouth) Unidentied stream, discharge of lac Potvin. |
The Rivière à Mars Nord-Ouest is a tributary of the rivière à Mars flowing in the unorganized territory of Lac-Pikauba, in the Charlevoix Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, Canada. The "rivière à Mars North-West" crosses the central-western part of the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve.
Upstream of the port, industrial and urban area, the "rivière à Mars" valley is mainly served by the "Consol Paper road". The "rivière à Mars North West" is served by a few other secondary forest roads for forestry and recreational tourism activities.[2]
Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism, second.
The surface of the "rivière à Mars North-West" is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, however the safe circulation on the ice is generally made from mid-December to mid-March.
The main watersheds adjacent to the "rivière à Mars North-West" are:
The "rivière à Mars North-West" rises at the mouth of lac à Mars (length: 2.3km (01.4miles); altitude: 858m (2,815feet)) in the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. This source is located at:
From its source, the "rivière à Mars North-West" flows on 26.6km (16.5miles) generally towards the north, with a drop of 279m (915feet) entirely in the forest zone, according to the segments following:
The "rivière à Mars North-West" flows in a river loop on the west bank of the rivière à Mars. This confluence is located at:
From the confluence of the "rivière à Mars North-West", the current descends the course of the rivière à Mars on 66km (41miles) generally towards the north, crosses the Baie des Ha! Ha! on 11km (07miles) northeast, then follows the course of the Saguenay River on 99.5km (61.8miles) east to Tadoussac where it merges with the Saint Lawrence Estuary.
The toponym “Rivière à Mars Nord-Ouest” is associated with its tributary “Rivière à Mars”. These two names evoke the first pioneer Mars Simard to settle around the 1870s near the rivière à Mars, on the Baie des Ha! Ha!. The toponym “Rivière à Mars Nord-Ouest” appeared on the draft map of Lac Pikauba, 1961-09-15, item 75 and on the draft map of Baie-St-Paul, 1961-06-30, item 251.
The toponym "Rivière à Mars Nord-Ouest" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[4]