La Grande River
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La Grande River (French: La Grande Rivière; Cree: Chisasibi, both meaning "great river") is a river in northwestern Quebec, Canada, which rises in the highlands of north central Quebec and flows roughly 900 km west to drain into James Bay. It is the second largest river in Quebec, surpassed only by the Saint Lawrence River. Originally, the La Grande River drained an area of 97,400 km², although the Eastmain and Caniapiscau water diversions have increased the total catchment area to about 175,000 km².
At one time, this river was known as the "Fort George River". The Hudson's Bay Company operated a trading post on the river at Big River House from 1803 to 1824. In 1837, a large trading post was established at Fort George on an island at the mouth of the river. In the early 20th century, this trading post became a village as the Crees of the James Bay region abandoned their nomadic way of life and settled nearby. The modern Cree village of Chisasibi, which replaced Fort George in 1980, is situated on the southern shore of the La Grande River, several kilometers to the East.
The river has been extensively developed as a source of hydroelectric power by Hydro-Québec. An area of 9,900 km² was flooded and almost all of the flow of the Eastmain River was diverted into the La Grande watershed. The following generating stations are on the La Grande River and its tributaries in upstream order:
- La-Grande-1 (LG-1)
- Robert-Bourassa
- La Grande-2A (LG-2A)
- La Grande-3 (LG-3)
- La Grande-4 (LG-4)
- Laforge-1 (LF-1)
- Laforge-2 (LF-2)
- Brisay
As a result of the development projects, the Cree people of the region lost some parts of their traditional hunting and trapping territories (about 10% of the hunting and trapping territories used by the Cree of Chisasibi. Organic mercury levels increased in the fish, which forms an important part of their diet, as the organic material trapped by the rising waters in the new reservoirs began to filter into the food chain. Careful follow-up by Cree health autorities since the 1980s have been largely successful and they continue to promote the regular consumption of fish, with the notably exception of the predatory species living in the reservoirs, which still show high levels of mercury.
