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The Gravel River (French: Rivière Gravel) is a river in Quebec, Canada, to the north of the lower St. Lawrence River. It is a tributary of the Aux Rochers River in the Lac-Walker territory of Côte-Nord.

Location

The Gravel River is in Lac-Walker, Sept-Rivières in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec.[1] The name of the river, Rivière Gravel, was made official by the Commission de toponymie du Québec on 25 February 1976. For most of its length the river flows south through the Port-Cartier–Sept-Îles Wildlife Reserve.[2]

A map of the proposed Lake Walker National Park shows the river entering the park near Lake Goéland and flowing south with a meandering course to the north end of Lake Walker, roughly parallel with the Schmon River.[3]

Course

The Gravel is one of the main tributaries of the Aux Rochers River, the others being the MacDonald, Pasteur and Schmon.[4] It drains a basin of 939.3 km2 (362.7 sq mi).[5] During deglaciation the ice in the Schmon and Gravel river valleys was probably slow to melt, then poured their water into Lake Walker.[6] The high waters of this period were the source of much of the material in the meanders of the river, although other material comes from erosion of the valley slopes, banks and bed.[7]

Within the proposed park, the river's valley flows north northeast-south southwest for about 12 km (7.5 mi) before entering Lake Walker.[8] It has a trough-shaped cross-section.[9] The valley has an irregular profile along its length, with some glacial locks, or riegels. Upstream of the locks are glacial umbilicals filled with glaciofluvial sediments.[8] In the Lake Ulysse-Morin sector the river is fed by a series of parallel tributaries down to the point where it meets the Petite Gravel River, after which the valley broadens out and the river flows quietly, with many meanders. This is an area of great natural beauty.[8]

Environment

A map of the Ecological regions of Quebec shows the river rising and flowing south through the eastern spruce/moss domain of the boreal zone.[10]

Lakes

Some of the lakes in the Gravel River basin are:

Lake Coordinates Reference
Lac Trouvé 51°05′06″N 67°17′22″W / 51.08500°N 67.28944°W / 51.08500; -67.28944 (Lac Trouvé) [11]
Lac aux Chiens 50°59′21″N 67°15′57″W / 50.98917°N 67.26583°W / 50.98917; -67.26583 (Lac aux Chiens) [12]
Grand lac du Nord 50°54′12″N 67°05′18″W / 50.90333°N 67.08833°W / 50.90333; -67.08833 (Grand lac du Nord) [13]
Petit lac du Nord 50°49′41″N 67°08′42″W / 50.82806°N 67.14500°W / 50.82806; -67.14500 (Petit lac du Nord) [14]
Lac Harbour 50°50′48″N 67°12′44″W / 50.84667°N 67.21222°W / 50.84667; -67.21222 (Lac Harbour) [15]
Lac Hervieux 50°45′32″N 67°07′56″W / 50.75889°N 67.13222°W / 50.75889; -67.13222 (Lac Hervieux) [16]
Lac du Rat Musqué 50°40′02″N 67°10′14″W / 50.66722°N 67.17056°W / 50.66722; -67.17056 (Lac du Rat Musqué) [17]
Petit lac des Noyés 50°38′21″N 67°09′28″W / 50.63917°N 67.15778°W / 50.63917; -67.15778 (Petit lac des Noyés) [18]
Lac Ulyesse-Morin 50°33′57″N 67°10′31″W / 50.56583°N 67.17528°W / 50.56583; -67.17528 (Lac Ulyesse-Morin) [19]
Petite rivière Gravel (50°31′29″N 67°09′27″W / 50.52472°N 67.15750°W / 50.52472; -67.15750 (Petite rivière Gravel)[20])
Lake Coordinates Reference
Lac Adams 50°47′46″N 67°01′23″W / 50.79611°N 67.02306°W / 50.79611; -67.02306 (Lac Adams) [21]
Lac Large 50°43′07″N 66°56′45″W / 50.71861°N 66.94583°W / 50.71861; -66.94583 (Lac Large) [22]
Lac Travers 50°42′33″N 67°03′28″W / 50.70917°N 67.05778°W / 50.70917; -67.05778 (Lac Travers) [23]
Lac Bouchard 50°39′12″N 67°04′20″W / 50.65333°N 67.07222°W / 50.65333; -67.07222 (Lac Bouchard) [24]
Lac Goéland 50°34′53″N 67°08′18″W / 50.58139°N 67.13833°W / 50.58139; -67.13833 (Lac Goéland) [25]

Notes

  1. ^ Rivière Gravel, Ressources naturelles.
  2. ^ Rivière Gravel, Commission de toponymie.
  3. ^ Projet de parc national du Lac-Walker (carte).
  4. ^ Portrait du bassin versant aux Rochers, p. 76.
  5. ^ Bellavance 2018, p. 47.
  6. ^ Bellavance 2018, p. 54.
  7. ^ Bellavance 2018, p. 35.
  8. ^ a b c Bellavance 2018, p. 46.
  9. ^ Bellavance 2018, p. 36.
  10. ^ Saucier et al. 2011.
  11. ^ "Lac Trouvé". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Lac aux Chiens". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Grand lac du Nord". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Petit lac du Nord". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Lac Harbour". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Lac Hervieux". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Lac du Rat Musqué". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Petit lac des Noyés". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Lac Ulyesse-Morin". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Petite rivière Gravel". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  21. ^ "Lac Adams". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Lac Large". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Lac Travers". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Lac Bouchard". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Lac Goéland". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 19 May 2021.

Sources