Leaf River (Quebec)

Leaf River
Rivière aux Feuilles
Country Canada
Province Quebec
Region Nord-du-Québec
Source Lake Minto
 - location Nunavik
 - elevation 181 m (594 ft)
 - coordinates
Mouth Leaf Bay (off Ungava Bay)
 - location Tasiujaq
 - elevation 0 m (0 ft)
 - coordinates
Length 480 km (300 mi) (includes Lake Minto)[1]
Basin 42,500 km2 (16,400 sq mi) [1]
Discharge
 - average 590 m3/s (20,840 cu ft/s) [1]

Leaf River (French: Rivière aux Feuilles; Inuktitut: Kuugaaluk (the large river) or Itinniq (where there are spring tides)[2]) is a river in northern Quebec, Canada, at the northern limit of the tree line. It flows from Lake Minto northeast through the Ungava Peninsula into Leaf Bay off Ungava Bay over a distance of 480 kilometres (300 mi).[3] At the head of Leaf Bay is the Inuit community of Tasiujaq.

The Leaf River herd of Barren-ground Caribou is one of the world's largest, estimated at close to a half-million animals.

It is possible to paddle the whole length of the Leaf River (with caution) without portaging - it doesn't contain impassable waterfalls or non-navigable rapids.[4][5][6][7] The length of the river measured from Charpentier Bay to Tasiujaq is 320 kilometres (200 mi); if measured from first descernable current, it is 288 kilometres (179 mi).[8]

The ice-free period on the river is short: about sixty days. That implies a quite low average daily temperature in the summer (approx. 10°C) generally accompanied by rain (or snow) and wind. In short, it is an environment where hypothermia can easily occur.[2]

Contents

Tributaries

The significant tributaries of the Leaf River are:[8]

History

Since at least the late 19th century, the river has been known by its English name "Leaf River", which was probably derived from the arctic willow and birch trees that grow sparsely along its banks.[2] The Hudson's Bay Company fished there for salmon and porpoises and even opened a trading post at the mouth of the river circa 1905. In the early 20th century, the French name Rivière des Feuilles was assigned, standardized to its current form Rivière aux Feuilles in 1925.[3]

First known explorers:[9]
1898 - Albert Peter Low
1912 - Robert J. Flaherty
1976 - Bob Davis

References

  1. ^ a b c Natural Resources Canada, Atlas of Canada - Rivers
  2. ^ a b c FQCK (2000). Guide des parcours canotables du Quebec, Tome II. p. 233. ISBN 2-89000-504-6. 
  3. ^ a b "Rivière aux Feuilles" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=22397. Retrieved 2010-12-13. 
  4. ^ a b Lester Kovac and Lynette Chubb. "Charpentier/Leaf 2007". http://sites.google.com/site/landltrips/Trips/Leaf2007. 
  5. ^ a b Bassi, Brad. "Northern Ungava Canoe Expedition". http://www.bassioutdoors.com/NUCE.html. 
  6. ^ a b Kunin, Tim. "Pakboats on the Leaf River". http://www.pakboats.com/exper6.html. 
  7. ^ Lange, Willem. "Pakboats on the Rivière aux Feuilles". http://www.pakboats.com/exper44.html. 
  8. ^ a b "Quebec Canoe Maps". http://www.cartespleinair.org/. 
  9. ^ Bruce W. Hodgins & Gwyneth Hoyle (1997). Canoeing North into the Unknown (A Record of River Travel: 1874-1974). pp. 216–217. ISBN 0-920474-93-4. 

External links