Lake Saint-Louis

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Lake Saint-Louis
Lac Saint-Louis  (French)
St. Louis Lake shore - panoramio.jpg
Lake St. Louis at St-Anne-de-Bellevue looking towards Île Perrot
Canada Quebec relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Lake Saint-Louis
Lac Saint-Louis  (French)
Lake st-louis.png
Location map
Location Montérégie region, southwestern Quebec
Coordinates 45°24′05″N73°48′51″W / 45.40139°N 73.81417°W / 45.40139; -73.81417 Coordinates: 45°24′05″N73°48′51″W / 45.40139°N 73.81417°W / 45.40139; -73.81417
Type Natural
Primary inflows Beauharnois Canal, Saint Lawrence River, Ottawa River, Saint-Charles River
Primary outflows Saint Lawrence River
Basin  countriesCanada
Surface elevation21 m (69 ft)
Settlements Montreal

Lake Saint-Louis is a lake in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The Saint Lawrence Seaway passes through the lake.

Lake St. Louis is a widening of the St. Lawrence River in the Hochelaga Archipelago. It is also fed by the Ottawa River via the Lake of Two Mountains at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, the Beauharnois Canal, the Soulanges Canal, the Saint-Louis River, and the Châteauguay River.

The lake is bounded to the north and the east by the Island of Montreal, by Beauharnois-Salaberry, Roussillon, and Vaudreuil-Soulanges. The town of Beauharnois with its power-dam and canal lie to the south.

The West Island shore is mostly built up with private houses, but it includes some parks and clubs such as the Pointe-Claire Canoe Club, and the Pointe-Claire Yacht Club. Islands in the lake include Dorval and Dowker Islands. Lake St. Louis is the second of three fluvial lakes on the St. Lawrence River; upstream of it is Lake Saint Francis, and downstream is Lake Saint Pierre. Lake St. Louis has an average flow of 8,400 cubic metres per second (300,000 cu ft/s). [1]

The lake has many species of fish, including yellow perch.

A small map by Samuel Champlain of 1611 names the lake. The same year, Champlain reported that a young man named Louys was drowned in what is now known as the Lachine Rapids, and in 1870 Charles-Honoré Laverdière stated that the rapids, and later the lake, were named in honour of the drowned man. A 1656 Jesuit account describes a crossing «Lac Saint Louys». [2]

In 2014 there was a report of fecal coliform flowing into the lake from a Beaconsfield creek, [3] and of PCBs flowing into it from a Pointe-Claire industrial site. [4]

Related Research Articles

St. Lawrence River Major river in eastern Canada and the United States, flowing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence

The St. Lawrence River is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. The St. Lawrence flows in a roughly north-easterly direction, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean and forming the primary drainage outflow of the Great Lakes Basin. It traverses the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is part of the international boundary between Ontario, Canada, and the U.S. state of New York. This river provides the basis for the commercial St. Lawrence Seaway.

Island of Montreal Island in the St. Lawrence River, site of a number of cities including most of the city of Montreal, Quebec

The Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelaga Archipelago at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers.

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec City in Quebec, Canada

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is an on-island suburb located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703. The oldest, Dorval, was founded in 1667.

Lake Saint Pierre

Lake Saint Pierre is a lake in Quebec, Canada, a widening of the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel-Tracy and Trois-Rivières. It is located downstream, and northeast, of Montreal; and upstream, and southwest, of Quebec City. The end of the lake delimits the beginning of the estuary of Saint Lawrence.

Rivière des Prairies

The Rivière des Prairies is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The indigenous inhabitants of what's now known as the Island of Montreal called it Skowanoti, meaning "River behind the island". The river separates the cities of Laval and Montreal.

Lachine Rapids

The Lachine Rapids are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore. They are located near the former city of Lachine. The Lachine Rapids contain large standing waves because the water volume and current do not change with respect to the permanent features in the riverbed, namely its shelf-like drops. Seasonal variation in the water flow does not change the position of the waves, although it does change their size and shape. The rapids are about 3 miles (4.8 km) in length. In the past these represented a considerable barrier to maritime traffic. Until the construction of the Lachine Canal through Montreal, the rapids had to be portaged. Even with the canal, the difficulty was such that it was usually more convenient to ship goods by rail to Montreal, where they could be loaded at the city's port. Montreal remains a major rail hub and one of Canada's largest ports for that reason.

West Island Place in Quebec, Canada

The West Island is the unofficial name given to the cities, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the municipalities of Dorval, Pointe-Claire, Kirkland, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Beaconsfield, Baie-D'Urfé, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, the village of Senneville, and two boroughs of the city of Montreal: Pierrefonds-Roxboro and L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève.

Pointe-Claire Suburban municipality of Montreal, Canada

Pointe-Claire is a municipality on the Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. The population is about 31,380 as of the 2016 Census.

Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality Regional county municipality in Quebec, Canada

Vaudreuil-Soulanges is a regional county municipality in Quebec, Canada. It is located on a triangular peninsula in the western Montérégie region of Quebec, formed by the confluence of the Ottawa River to the north, and the St. Lawrence River to the south. Ontario is located west of here.

The 2000–2006 municipal reorganization in Quebec resulted in large-scale amalgamation of smaller municipalities in Quebec into larger cities. It was undertaken by one administration, and modified and partially undone by its successor.

Beauharnois Canal

The Beauharnois Canal is located in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The canal is part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

Lake of Two Mountains

Lake of Two Mountains is part of the river delta widening of the Ottawa River in Quebec, Canada, at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River.

Coteau-du-Lac canal

Coteau-du-Lac Canal is an 18th-century military canal in Canada located at the junction of the Delisle and Saint Lawrence Rivers in Quebec. The canal was the first work of its kind in North America, and is a National Historic Site of Canada, which also includes the remains of a fort and reconstructed blockhouse. It is located in the town of Coteau-du-Lac in Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality.

Soulanges Canal

The Soulanges Canal is an abandoned shipping canal in Quebec, Canada. It follows the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River between Pointe-des-Cascades and Coteaux-Landing, bypassing the rapids between Lake Saint-Louis and Lake Saint-Francis. In between, it passes through the towns of Les Cèdres and Coteau-du-Lac. It superseded the first Beauharnois Canal which was on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence. It is 23 kilometers (14 mi) long and had a 4.3-meter (14.1 ft) draught. Five locks measuring 85.3 m × 14 m give a total rise of 25 meters (82 ft).

Pointe-des-Cascades, Quebec Village municipality in Quebec, Canada

Pointe-des-Cascades is a village municipality in Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on a spit of land where the Saint Lawrence River flows into Lake Saint-Louis. The river has here a significant drop, forming several cascades which give the village its name.

Saint Charles River (Valleyfield)

The Saint Charles River is a branch of the Saint Lawrence River that starts in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada. The river divides the Grande-Île and the Island of Salaberry, which are located approximately 50 km east of Montreal. The river is 8 km long, and drops 24m over its course from Lake Saint Francis east to Lake Saint-Louis.

The Saint-Louis river is a tributary of the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. This river flows through the municipalities of Sainte-Barbe, Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka, Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois and Beauharnois, in the Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Montérégie, in the Southwest of province of Quebec, in Canada.

References

  1. Environment Canada - fluvial lakes of the St. Lawrence Archived 2014-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Lac Saint-Louis". Commission de toponymie. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  3. "Beaconsfield residents had no idea backyard creek was polluted with fecal coliform". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  4. "Pointe-Claire pays $435,000 cleanup bill at PCB site on Hymus". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2016-04-09.