Rupert River

Rupert River (Rivière Rupert)
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Jamésie
Source	Lake Mistassini
- coordinates	50°57′0″N 73°42′0″W / 50.95°N 73.7°W / 50.95; -73.7
Mouth	Rupert Bay off James Bay
- location	Waskaganish
- coordinates	51°29′0″N 78°46′0″W / 51.48333°N 78.76667°W / 51.48333; -78.76667
Length	763 km (474 mi) [1]
Basin	43,400 km2 (16,800 sq mi)
Discharge
- average	900 m3/s (31,800 cu ft/s)
Rupert River basin in yellow

The Rupert River is one of the largest rivers in Quebec, Canada. From its headwaters in Lake Mistassini, the largest natural lake in Québec, it flows 600 kilometres (373 mi) west into Rupert Bay on James Bay. The Rupert drains an area of 43,400 square kilometres (16,757 sq mi). There is some extremely large whitewater on the river, but paddlers can avoid much of it by portage routes on the side. The most impressive falls, which cannot be avoided except by portaging, are the "Oatmeal Rapids" right at the James Bay Road (a set of cascades dropping 18 m (59 ft)) and "The Fours" near the end of the river (a 24 m (79 ft) drop).

The Rupert has long been an important river for the Cree of the area. Every year, a group of Cree youth from the village of Waskaganish, at the mouth of the Rupert, travel up the river to Lake Nemiscau.

Major tributaries of the Rupert are the Marten River (Rivière à la Marte) and the Nemiscau River (Rivière Nemiscau).

History

In 1668, an expedition led by Médard des Groseilliers came to the mouth of the Rupert River in order to bypass French controlled areas along the St. Lawrence River and in doing so, trying to break the French hold on the fur trade. They named the river after the sponsor of the expedition, Prince Rupert. A fort was established at the mouth of the river, which later became the trading post Rupert House, the oldest trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company. From then on, the Rupert River played a vital role in supplying inland trading posts (such as Nemiscau and Mistissini) with regular canoe brigades, right until the beginning of the twentieth century when supplies started to come from the south via rail and later road.

While having lost its importance as a trade route, the Rupert River has long been a popular destination for recreational canoe camping and whitewater canoeing.

The Oatmeal Rapids on the Rupert River.

Hydroelectric development

The Rupert, together with the Nottaway and Broadback Rivers, was initially considered to be dammed and diverted as part of the James Bay Project. But in 1972, hydro-electric development began on the more northerly La Grande and Eastmain Rivers, and the NBR Project was shelved.

The plan to divert the Rupert's headwaters into the La Grande hydroelectric complex was revived in 2002 when a landmark agreement between the Government of Quebec and the Grand Council of the Crees was signed. In this agreement, known as La Paix des braves (literally "Peace of the Brave"), the two parties agreed to authorize the completion of a long-delayed hydroelectric project on the Eastmain River, just to the north of the Rupert River. A subsequent agreement in April 2004 put an end to all litigation between the two parties and opening the way to the joint environmental evaluation of the diversion of about 50% of the total water flow of the Rupert River (and 70% at the diversion point) northwards to the Eastmain River and into the La Grande hydroelectric watershed. The Grand Chief of the Crees, Matthew Mukash[1], elected in late 2005, opposed the Rupert diversion project, preferring the development of wind turbines in the region.

In late 2006, the Governments of Quebec and Canada authorized the diversion and construction of hydroelectric installations on the Rupert River after undergoing joint environmental assessments by the Cree, Québec and Canadian authorities. This work is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2009.^[2]

Image gallery

Rupert River at the Route du Nord

The Rupert River lookout

The Rupert River at the James Bay Road.

Close-up of the Oatmeal Rapids

References

1. ^ Measured to the head of Rivière Témiscamie; source: Atlas of Canada
2. ^ Hydro-Quebec

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rupert River

• The Rupert River website
• The James Bay Road website - the James Bay region of Quebec
• Save the Rupert
• Rupert Reverence
• The Rupert Hydroelectric Diversion (Hydro-Québec)
• Environmental assessment process and documents (Ministry of the Environment of Québec) (fr)
• Environmental assessment process and documents (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency)
• "Hydro-Electric Project to Reshape Wilderness" July 14, 2008 NPR radio report
• Rezmutt's Flickr.com Rupert River Archive
• The Rupert River (YouTube Video)