Rivière des Vases (Nicolet River tributary) explained

Rivière des Vases
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:	Arthabaska
Length:	12.9km (08miles)
Source1:	La Montagne (Appalachian Mountains)
Source1 Location:	Ham-Nord
Source1 Coordinates:	45.8561°N -71.617°W
Source1 Elevation:	336m (1,102feet)
Mouth:	Nicolet River
Mouth Location:	Ham-Nord
Mouth Coordinates:	45.8867°N -71.6967°W
Mouth Elevation:	173m (568feet)
Progression:	Nicolet River, St. Lawrence River
Tributaries Left:	(upstream) ruisseau Demers, ruisseau Grimard, ruisseau Guertin, ruisseau Richer
Tributaries Right:	(upstream)

The rivière des Vases (in English: river of vases) is a tributary of the Nicolet River which empties on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The Rivière des Vases flows through the municipalities of Ham-Nord and Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens, in the regional county municipality (MRC) of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality, in the region from Centre-du-Québec, to Quebec, to Canada.

Geography

The neighboring hydrographic slopes of the Vases river are:

• north side: Bulstrode River;
• east side: Blanche River;
• south side: Aunière stream, lake Nicolet;
• west side: Nicolet River.

The "rivière des Vases" has its source north of "La Montagne" in the township municipality of Ham-Nord, almost at the limit of the municipality of Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens.

From its source, the "Rivière des Vases", the river flows over in the following segments:

• eastward, up to the limit of the municipality of Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens;
• first east, then north, crossing the municipality of Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens, to the limit of Ham-Nord;
• west, in Ham-Nord, to the confluence of the Grimard stream (coming from the north);
• westward, to the route 161 bridge;
• towards the west, until its mouth.^[1]

The Rivière des Vases flows on the east bank of the Nicolet River in Ham-Nord, downstream from the hamlet "village-des-Chutes" and upstream from the hamlet "Notre-Dame-de- Ham".

Toponymy

The hydronym "Rivière des Vases" originates from a zone of mud near the confluence of the Demers stream and the "Rivière des Vases".

The term vase refers to the siltation of a place by:

• a silt which consists of a sediment composed of very fine earthy particles and organic matter found at the bottom of water tables and streams (ponds, lakes, rivers and others);
• mud which constitutes a soil soaked by water (e.g.: during floods, spring thaws or heavy rains) making it difficult to drive or slippery roads or paths that are not stony or rocky.

The toponym "rivière des Vases" was made official on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.^[2]

See also

• List of rivers of Quebec

Notes and References

1. Web site: Atlas of Canada from the Department of Natural Resources Canada. Features extracted from the map geographic, database and site instrumentation. December 30, 2020.
2. http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=65116 Commission de toponymie du Québec - Bank of place names - Toponym: "Rivière des Vases".