Gens de Terre River - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Gens_de_Terre_River

Coordinates: 46°52′6″N 75°57′18″W

Gens de Terre River

The Gens de Terre River (in French: Rivière Gens de
Terre, literal meaning: "people of the land") is a river in
Gens de Terre River
central Quebec, Canada. It is located on the eastern edge of Rivière Gens de Terre
the La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve in the La Vallée-de-la-
Gatineau Regional County Municipality in the Outaouais
region. Its source is the Cabonga Reservoir from where it
flows in a mostly southern direction for 115 km and drains
into the Gens de Terre Bay of the Baskatong Reservoir.[1]

Tributaries include:

Bélinge River
Wapus River
Serpent River

The section of the river between the Wapus River and the
iron bridge downstream runs through a gorge with 25
meters (82 ft) cliffs on both sides. This 25 kilometers
(16 mi) section is marked by continuous class II-IV
whitewater, and should only be paddled by expert
canoers.[2] The flow of the river depends greatly on the
Location
water level management in the Cabonga Reservoir.
Country Canada
State Quebec
History Region Outaouais
Physical characteristics
The name of the river may be attributed to Louis Antoine de
Bougainville (1729-1811), aide-de-camp to Marquis de Source Cabonga Reservoir
Montcalm. In 1757, he wrote in his journal: "Têtes-de-Boule • coordinates 47°18′34″N 76°28′6″W
brought by the Nipissings. Those savages are also called • elevation 355 m (1,165 ft)
people of the land (gens des terres), live in the woods, are
Mouth Baskatong Reservoir
great hunters, mediocre warriors, neither have police nor
politics, trade more with the English at the Hudson Bay • coordinates 46°52′6″N 75°57′18″W
than with us". And in a memo from 1759, Bougainville • elevation 235 m (771 ft)
wrote: "The nations that deal there are the Têtes-de-Boules Length 115 km (71 mi)
(Atikamekw) or people of the land and the Namcosakio who
come from towards the Hudson Bay."[1]

The name "Gens de Terre" was probably assigned by voyageurs or fur traders as a reminder of this
native American nomadic tribe, whose territory stretched between the upper basins of the Saint-
Maurice, Gatineau, and Ottawa Rivers. It has been used in official documents since at least 1867.[1]

In the early twentieth century, the river was called Bark River by the English.[1]

The river was used for a long time by loggers for log driving. The log drivers were nicknamed La
Maline (the malignant) because of the obstacles and difficulties that were found along the route.[1]

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Gens de Terre River - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gens_de_Terre_River

References
1. "Rivière Gens de Terre" (http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/topos/carto.asp?Speci=25023&La
titude=46,8875&Longitude=-76,01944&Zoom=1700) (in French). Commission de toponymie du
Québec. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
2. "Rivers PaddleFoot Trips Travel" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090118073231/http://paddlefo
ot.ca/rivers.htm). Paddlefoot Inc. Archived from the original (http://www.paddlefoot.ca/rivers.ht
m) on 2009-01-18. Retrieved 2008-04-04.

External links
Canoeing description and map (https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193648/http://192.77.51.
34/~cleduc/Canot/04/GensDeTerreLeduc.pdf) (in French)

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This page was last edited on 25 December 2019, at 20:30 (UTC).

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