Du Mâle Lake (Gouin Reservoir)

Last updated
Du Mâle Lake
Stmauricerivermap.png
Watershed of Saint-Maurice River
Canada Quebec relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Du Mâle Lake
Location La Tuque
Coordinates 48°35′05″N75°08′24″W / 48.58472°N 75.14000°W / 48.58472; -75.14000 Coordinates: 48°35′05″N75°08′24″W / 48.58472°N 75.14000°W / 48.58472; -75.14000
Type Lake of dam
Primary inflows
Primary outflows Bourgeois Lake (Gouin Reservoir)
Basin  countriesCanada
Max. length36.6 kilometres (22.7 mi)
Max. width14.1 kilometres (8.8 mi)
Surface elevation402 metres (1,319 ft)

The Male Lake is a freshwater body located in the western part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of the Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Contents

This lake extends mainly in the cantons of Lacasse (northern part of the lake), Toussaint (north-east), Hanotaux (west), Crémazie (center west), Lemay (center east), Poisson (South-West) and Evanturel (South-Central).

Recreotourism activities are the main economic activity of the sector. Forestry comes second. Recreational boating is particularly popular on this water, especially for sport fishing.

The hydrographic slope of the "Du Mâle Lake" is served on the side:

The surface of Male Lake is usually frozen from mid-November to the end of April, however, safe ice circulation is generally from early December to late March. Water management at the Gouin Dam can lead to significant variations in the water level, particularly at the end of the winter when the water is lowered.

Geography

Before the completion of the construction of the La Loutre Dam in 1916, creating the Gouin Reservoir, the "Du Mâle Lake" was close to 30 kilometres (19 mi) in length and was the main body of water of the head of the Saint-Maurice River. After the second raising of the waters in 1946 with the development of the Gouin Dam, the "Du Mâle Lake" took its present form, forming numerous bays through marshy banks. This body of water has several bays that once formed neighboring lakes: Plamondon Bay (Gouin Reservoir) in the West, Mattawa Bay in the Southwest, Saraana Bay in the South and Aiapew Bay to the Northeast.

The main hydrographic slopes near the Male Lake are:

With a length of 36.6 kilometres (22.7 mi), from the mouth of Mattawa Bay, the Male Lake stretches northeast to Aiapew Bay in the northern part of Bourgeois Lake. Deformed in nature, the "Du Mâle Lake" has several dozens of islands, peninsulas and bays. The "Du Mâle Lake" narrows to only 1.0 kilometre (0.62 mi) at its center, forming the Kaopatinak Pass (length: 2.1 kilometres (1.3 mi)), because of a peninsula advancing on 5.7 kilometres (3.5 mi) towards the North-West and opposite a peninsula advancing on 4.1 kilometres (2.5 mi) towards the South-East.

Northeast part of the lake

The northeastern part of the lake stretches over 16.4 kilometres (10.2 mi) by 9.4 kilometres (5.8 mi), forming several secondary bays, such Miller Lake (Gouin Reservoir). Its main tributaries are the Piponisiw River and the De la Rencontre Creek (coming from the North).

Northeast of the lake, an archipelago delineates the "Du Mâle Lake" with the Bourgeois Lake. The largest of these islands has a length of 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) and a width of 2.9 kilometres (1.8 mi); it straddles the townships of Toussaint and Lemay. Delimited in its southern side by the "Bay of Eagles", this island is located at 6.0 kilometres (3.7 mi) west of the village center of Obedjiwan, Quebec. Southwest of Bourgeois Lake, Thibodeau Bay also extends behind this archipelago.

Southwest part of the lake

The southwestern part of the lake stretches on 10.7 kilometres (6.6 mi) by 12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi), until the Kaopatinak Pass which is located at the center of the lake. This southwestern part includes the following main bays: Saraana, Mattawa Bay, Adolphe-Poisson, Hanotaux and Plamondon.

The largest island of this part of the lake has a length of 8.0 kilometres (5.0 mi); it delineates the Matci Rock Bay, located on the east side of the southeastern part of the lake.

The mouth of "Du Mâle Lake" is located northeast of the lake, at:

From the mouth of "Du Mâle Lake", the current flows over 89.5 kilometres (55.6 mi) to Gouin Dam, according to the following segments:

From this dam, the current flows along the Saint-Maurice River to Trois-Rivières where it flows onto the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River.

Toponymy

Formerly, this body of water was designated in the Innu language "Ayamba Sacahigan", as noted in 1871 by the surveyor John Bignell, meaning "lake to the male". In 1980, a survey carried out in Attikamek territory lists the name "Aiapew Sakahikan", which translates as "male moose lake". The form "Acohonan", meaning "lake where we can cross" is also known to Attikameks. Officially, until 1945, this body of water was designated "Grand lac du Mâle". [2]

The southern part of "Du Mâle Lake" includes a bay designated "Petit lac du Mâle" (English: "Little Male Lake") which includes the "Sandbank". This bay is located on the north shore between Plamondon Bay (Gouin Reservoir) and Kaopatinak Pass. This toponymic designation dates from the early 1980s.

The toponym "Lac du Mâle" was formalized on December 18, 1986, by the Commission de toponymie du Québec. [3]

Notes and references

  1. Distances measured from the Atlas of Canada (published on the Internet) of the Department of Natural Resources Canada.
  2. "Names and Places of Quebec" work, published by the Commission de toponymie du Québec, published in 1994 and 1996 in the form of a printed illustrated dictionary, and under that of a CD-ROM produced by the company Micro-Intel, in 1997, from this dictionary.
  3. Commission de toponymie du Québec - Bank of place names – French toponym: "Lac du Mâle".

See also

Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap  
Download coordinates as: KML  ·  GPX

Related Research Articles

Gouin Reservoir reservoir in Haute-Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

The Gouin Reservoir is a man-made lake, in La Tuque, in Mauricie, in the central portion of the Canadian province of Quebec, fully within the boundaries of the City of La Tuque. It is not one contiguous body of water, but the collective name for a series of connected lakes separated by innumerable bays, peninsulas, and islands with highly irregular shapes. It has therefore a relative long shoreline of over 5,600 km (3,500 mi) compared to its surface area of 1,570 km2 (610 sq mi). It is the source of the Saint-Maurice River.

The Flapjack River is a tributary of the Mattawa Bay of the Southwest of Gouin Reservoir, flowing into the town of La Tuque, into the administrative area of the Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.

Mattawa Bay Gouin Reservoir Bay, in La Tuque (Quebec, Canada)

Mattawa Bay is a freshwater body of the southwestern part of the Gouin Reservoir in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the Mauricie administrative region, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Saraana Bay is a freshwater body of the southwestern part of Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Tessier Lake lake on South slope of Gouin Reseroir, La Tuque, Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

The Tessier Lake is a freshwater body located on the south side of the southwestern part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Bignell Creek is a tributary of the Adolphe-Poisson Bay located on the southwestern side of the Gouin Reservoir. This stream runs entirely in forest zone in the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.

Adolphe-Poisson Bay Gouin Reservoir Bay, in La Tuque, Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

The Adolphe-Poisson Bay is a freshwater body located south of the southwestern part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Hanotaux Bay Southwest Gouin Reservoir Bay, in La Tuque, Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

The Hanotaux Bay is a freshwater body located in the south-west part of Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Plamondon Bay Gouin Reservoir Bay, in La Tuque, Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

Plamondon Bay is a body of freshwater located in the western part of Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of the Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

The Plamondon Creek is a tributary of the Plamondon Bay located in the western part of the Gouin Reservoir. This stream runs entirely in forest zone in the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.

The De la Rencontre Creek is a tributary of the Du Mâle Lake located in the western part of the Gouin Reservoir, flowing entirely into forest area in the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, Quebec, Canada.

Bourgeois Lake Lac du Reservoir Gouin, in La Tuque, Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

The Bourgeois Lake is a freshwater body located in the north central part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of the Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Thibodeau Bay part of the Gouin Reservoir, in La Tuque, Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

Thibodeau Bay is a freshwater body located in the north central part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of the Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

The Piponisiw River is a tributary of Simard Lake located in the western part of the Gouin Reservoir, flowing entirely into the forest zone in the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, Quebec, Canada.

Simard Lake (Gouin Reservoir) lake in Quebec, Canada

The Simard Lake is a freshwater body located in the northwestern part of Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Saveney Lake lake in La Tuque, Quebec, Canada

The Saveney Lake is a freshwater body attached to the Adolphe-Poisson Bay, located in the western part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the City of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This lake extends in the cantons of Hanotaux and Poisson.

Piciw Minikanan Bay Gouin Reservoir Bay, in La Tuque, Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

Piciw Minikanan Bay is a body of freshwater located in the western part of Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative area of the Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Miller Lake (Gouin Reservoir) lake in La Tuque, Quebec, Canada; ; latitude 48.66, longitude -75.15

Miller Lake is a body of freshwater located in the western part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of the Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Du Poète Lake lake crossed by the Mégiscane River, Mauricie (Quebec, Canada)

Du Poète Lake is a freshwater lake that has become the "Du Poète Reservoir", located west of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the city of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. This lake extends entirely in the canton of Poisson.

Provancher Creek is a tributary of the upper part of the Mégiscane River located to the west of Gouin Reservoir, flowing entirely into forest area in the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada.