Bouleau River facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bouleau River |
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| Native name | Rivière au Bouleau |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Côte-Nord |
| RCM | Sept-Rivières, Minganie |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Main source | 792 metres (2,598 ft). |
| River mouth | Gulf of Saint Lawrence 0 metres (0 ft) 50°16′55″N 65°30′53″W / 50.281944°N 65.514722°W |
| Length | 87 kilometres (54 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Basin size | 684 square kilometres (264 sq mi) |
The Bouleau River (which means Birch River in French) is a special river in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It's known for its Atlantic salmon.
This river flows through a part of the Canadian Shield, which is a huge area of old, tough rock. It eventually empties into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The land around the river has lots of bare rocks and forests filled with black spruce and balsam fir trees.
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Where is the Bouleau River?
The Bouleau River starts high up on the Laurentian Plateau. It then flows south for about 80 kilometres (50 mi) before reaching the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. This is about 68.5 kilometres (42.6 mi) east of a city called Sept-Îles.
The river begins at a height of 670 metres (2,200 ft). Its source is north of Lake Bigot and west of Lake Nipisso. The entire area that the river drains, called its watershed, covers 684 square kilometres (264 sq mi). The river's mouth is in the town of Rivière-au-Tonnerre.
What Does "Bouleau" Mean?
The name "Bouleau" comes from the French word for "birch." A birch is a type of tree with white bark and small leaves. Its wood is often used to make furniture and paper. The river was officially given this name on December 5, 1968.
What is the Land Like?
Most of the land around the Bouleau River is part of the rugged Laurentian Plateau. This area has high elevations, usually between 400 and 800 metres (1,300 and 2,600 ft). The very highest point is in the northeast, reaching 906 metres (2,972 ft).
The plateau has hills with steep sides and deep valleys, some over 350 metres (1,150 ft) deep! As you go further south, the land becomes a bit lower, forming a "piedmont" area. This section is about 24 kilometres (15 mi) wide and has elevations from 150 to 400 metres (490 to 1,310 ft). Here, the hills are more rounded, and the valleys are wider.
Close to the sea, there's a flat coastal plain, only about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) wide. It gently slopes down towards the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The shoreline itself is a steep cliff, almost 100 metres (330 ft) high.
The rocks in this area are very old, mostly made of magmatic rocks (formed from molten rock). In the north, you'll find rocks like gabbro and amphibolite. In the south, there's granite. Some of these rocks are covered by a thin layer of glacial till, which is material left behind by glaciers. Near the coast, you can also find marine clay and sand left by an ancient sea.
What is the Environment Like?
The area around the Bouleau River has a cool climate. The average temperature for the year is about 1.5 °C (34.7 °F), and it gets about 1,020 millimetres (40 in) of rain each year.
The forests here are mainly made up of black spruce and balsam fir trees. Black spruce trees are more common near the coast and in the northern parts of the watershed. In the middle section, you'll find a mix of both spruce and fir trees.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was a large outbreak of hemlock looper moths. These insects caused a lot of damage to the fir trees in the area.
How Does the River Flow?
The Bouleau River's watershed is long and narrow, stretching about 75 kilometres (47 mi) from north to south. At its widest point in the middle, it's about 20 kilometres (12 mi) across. About 6.85% of the basin is covered by water, with the largest being Lake Bigot in the north, which is 9.1 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi) big.
The river itself is 87 kilometres (54 mi) long and drops 792 metres (2,598 ft) in height from its source to its mouth. The Chiskal River is the most important river that flows into the Bouleau River.
Near its mouth, the Bouleau River flows straight through coastal sediments in a narrow valley with sides over 100 metres (330 ft) high. It empties into a 250 metres (820 ft) wide estuary, which is where the river meets the sea and the water is a mix of fresh and salt water.
The ocean tides can reach about 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) inland from the mouth of the river. About 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) upstream from where the tides stop, there are strong rapids. These rapids can make it hard for Atlantic salmon to swim further upstream. Below these rapids, the river drops quickly over gravel, large rocks, and bare rock.
On average, the river carries about 22 cubic metres per second (780 cu ft/s) of water, but this can change from 5 to 52 cubic metres per second (180 to 1,840 cu ft/s) depending on the season.
What Fish Live Here?
The Bouleau River is home to several types of fish. The most famous is the Atlantic salmon, which swims from the ocean up the river to lay its eggs. You can also find brook trout, American eel, and three-spined stickleback. Other fish include alewife, Atlantic tomcod, and rainbow smelt.
The upper parts of the river are a great place for young salmon to grow. However, the big rapids near the mouth of the river make it hard for adult salmon to swim all the way upstream.
To help protect the salmon, the government has put rules in place for fishing. For example, in May 2015, Quebec announced a program where anglers had to catch and release large salmon on some rivers, including the Bouleau. This means you catch the fish, but then you have to let it go.
In 2017, rules became even stricter for the Bouleau River and several others. All salmon, no matter their size, had to be released. This shows how important it is to protect these amazing fish for the future.
