| Rivière du Milieu | |
| 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: | Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality |
| Subdivision Type5: | Municipalities |
| Subdivision Name5: | Belle-Rivière |
| Length: | 23.2km (14.4miles) |
| Discharge1 Location: | Belle-Rivière |
| Source1: | Lac Morelle |
| Source1 Location: | Belle-Rivière |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 48.072°N -71.7422°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 444 |
| Mouth: | la Belle Rivière |
| Mouth Location: | Belle-Rivière |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 48.2303°N -71.7292°W |
| Mouth Elevation: | 346m (1,135feet) |
| Tributaries Left: | (from the mouth) Discharge of lac Loriset, discharge of lac Binet, Serpentin and Lavimaudière, discharge of lac Barré, décharge du lac Marsanne. |
| Tributaries Right: | (from the mouth) Discharge of lac des Vermisseaux. |
The Rivière du Milieu is a tributary of Lac de la Belle Rivière, flowing the unorganized territory of Belle-Rivière, in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. The course of this river is located in the northwestern part of the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve.
The middle river valley is located between route 155 (connecting La Tuque to Chambord) and route 169 (connecting Quebec (city) to Alma). This valley is served by some secondary forest roads, especially for forestry and recreational tourism activities.[1]
Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism, second.
The surface of the Middle River 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 neighboring the Rivière du Milieu are:
The Rivière du Milieu takes its source from non-Morelle lake (length: 0.6km (00.4miles); altitude: 444m (1,457feet)) in the forest zone in the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve. This source is located at:
From its source, the "rivière du Milieu" flows over 23.2km (14.4miles) with a drop of 98m (322feet) entirely in the forest zone, according to the following segments:
The Middle River pours into the bottom of a bay on the east shore of Lac Saint-Jean. This confluence is located at:
From the mouth of the Middle river on the shore on the lac de la Belle Rivière, the current crosses this lake on 5.4km (03.4miles) towards the west, then descends the course of the Belle Rivière north-west on 33.8km (21miles), then crosses the eastern part of Lac Saint-Jean north on 15.4km (09.6miles), follows the course of the Saguenay river via the Petite Discharge on 172.3km (107.1miles) until Tadoussac where it merges with the Saint Lawrence estuary.[2]
The toponym "Rivière du Milieu" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[3]