Bouzanquet Bay

The Bouzanquet Bay is a vast freshwater body of the south-eastern part of the Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in Haute-Mauricie, in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

Bouzanquet Lake
Watershed of Saint-Maurice River
Bouzanquet Lake
LocationLa Tuque
Coordinates48°20′46″N 74°28′28″W
TypeNatural
Primary inflows
  • (clockwise)
  • Leblanc River (Gouin Reservoir);
  • outlet of Lake Delage;
  • outlet of "Lac des Cinq Milles ».
Primary outflowsBrochu Lake (Gouin Reservoir)
Basin countriesCanada
Max. length15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi)
Max. width3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi)
Surface elevation402 metres (1,319 ft)

This bay extends into the cantons of Nevers (northern part), Delage (southern part) and Leblanc (eastern part). Following the erection completed in 1948 of the dam Gouin, the current form of "Baie Bouzanquet" was shaped by the raising of the waters of Gouin reservoir.

Recreotourism activities are the main economic activity of the sector. Forestry comes second.

The route 400, connecting the Gouin Dam to the village of Parent, Quebec, serves the southern part of Bouzanquet Bay, as well as the river valleys Jean-Pierre and Leblanc; this road also serves the peninsula which stretches north in the Gouin reservoir on 30.1 kilometres (18.7 mi). Some secondary forest roads are in use nearby for forestry and recreational tourism activities.

The surface of Baie Bouzanquet is usually frozen from mid-November to the end of April, however, safe ice circulation is generally from early December to the end of March.

Geography
Bouzanquet Bay is mainly fed by the Leblanc River (Gouin Reservoir), the De La Galette River (Gouin Reservoir), the Delâge Lake and the Lac des Cinq Milles.

With a length of 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi), this bay looks like a banana open to the west. The current of the De La Galette River crosses De La Galette River over 7.8 kilometres (4.8 mi) towards the North-East to its mouth; then the current continues on 8.0 kilometres (5.0 mi) northwesterly to the mouth of the bay.

On the north side, the "Bouzanquet Pass" (length: 0.7 kilometres (0.43 mi)) separates this bay with the Southwest arm of Brochu Lake.

The water level of Bouzanquet Bay is dependent on the Gouin Dam erected in 1948. The confluence between the southwest arm of Brochu Lake and Bouzanquet Bay is located at:

The surrounding hydrographic slopes of Baie Bouzanquet are:

Main islands of Bouzanquet Bay: Main Island, Boar Island.

From the "Bouzanquet Pass", the current flows across the Gouin Reservoir on 34.8 kilometres (21.6 mi), including:

From this dam, the current flows along the Saint-Maurice River to Trois-Rivières.

Toponymy

This toponym evokes the work of life of Gaston Bouzanquet, officer of the Legion of Honor and corresponding member of the Society of Geography of Quebec. Bouzanquet published in the Bulletin of the latter (volume 22, numbers 1 and 2, 1928), a text dedicated to the history of New France and to Monsieur de Montcalm in particular. Bouzanquet served as delegate of the committee of Vauvert at the inauguration of the monument of Montcalm, in 1911, in Quebec City.

The toponym "Baie Bouzanquet" was formalized on December 5, 1968, by the Commission de toponymie du Quebec, i.e. at its creation.[2]

Notes and references
  1. Distances measured from the Atlas of Canada (published on the Internet) of the Department of Natural Resources Canada.
  2. Commission de toponymie du Québec - Bank of place names - Toponym: "Baie Bouzanquet".

See also
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