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21-455: Great Whale River also has a branch originating from Caniapiscau Reservoir . For canoeists , this is the easiest access (a bridge on the Trans-Taiga Road at Lac Montausier 54°43′53.41″N 70°11′45.24″W  /  54.7315028°N 70.1959000°W  / 54.7315028; -70.1959000 ). Both the northern village of Kuujjuarapik , whose inhabitants are mostly Inuit , and

42-708: A depression in the highest part of the Laurentian Plateau of the Canadian Shield, covering 4,318 square kilometres (1,667 sq mi), or about four times the size of the natural lakes prior to impoundment. Since August 1985, the Caniapiscau River was partially diverted to the west into the Laforge River of the La Grande River watershed, flowing west to James Bay . Many new islands were created as

63-477: A result of the lake's impoundment, and in 1997 Quebec's Commission de toponymie published a map naming those islands for significant works of Québécois literature. The names of the islands attracted controversy not only because they predominantly used French-language works, but also because Cree and Inuit First Nations leaders claimed that the sites already had native names prior to becoming islands, which were ignored and overwritten. The Caniapiscau Reservoir

84-497: A temporary landing strip was cleared on a nearby frozen lake, by an ice road from James Bay from 1977 to 1979 and, since late 1979, by the 666 kilometres (414 mi) long gravel Trans-Taiga Road (French: Route Transtaïga ) which branches off the James Bay Road (French: Route de la Baie James ). The 84 kilometres (52 mi) between Caniapiscau and Brisay is only recommended for four-wheel drive vehicles due to large rocks on

105-628: Is a small community without a permanent population, just north of the Caniapiscau Reservoir . It was formed as a temporary worksite in 1974 for workers involved in the construction of the dams and floodgates of this reservoir. The reservoir was built as part of the James Bay Project that gave rise to the La Grande hydroelectric complex. The worksite was closed after construction ended towards 1984. Accessible only by air from 1974 to 1976, when

126-414: Is in the zone of discontinuous permafrost . The area surrounding the reservoir is vegetated entirely with taiga , or boreal forest, characterized by widely spaced Black Spruce with a thick underlayer of yellow-grey lichen and interspersed with muskeg and bogs. In the more moist areas, some closed coniferous forest stands may appear. On the more exposed land, a forest-tundra transition zone occurs where

147-410: Is the largest reservoir in surface area of the James Bay Project . As headpond, it feeds the power plants of the La Grande complex in the winter and provides up to 35% of their production. Its total catchment area is about 36,800 square kilometres (14,200 sq mi). The reservoir was named after Lake Caniapiscau that was flooded during the formation of the reservoir. The name is an adaptation of

168-467: The Cree or Innu toponym kâ-neyâpiskâw , which means "rocky point". Albert Peter Low had noted in 1895 that "a high rocky headland jutts into the lake." He probably referred to the northwest facing peninsula that gives the reservoir the shape of an arc as we currently know it. The Caniapiscau Reservoir is accessible by bush plane and, since 1981, by a gravel road from James Bay (the Trans-Taiga Road ). At

189-535: The Cree village of Whapmagoostui are situated at the mouth of the river, near the site of the former RCAF Station Great Whale River . The villages were formerly known collectively as "Great Whale River" and "Poste-de-la-Baleine." The portion between Lake Bienville and the mouth of the Coats River has also been called Abchigamich River, but this name was dropped in 1946 by the Commission de géographie du Québec. Also,

210-559: The Kaniapiskau Post in 1870. In 1976, Société d'énergie de la Baie James , a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec , began construction on the Caniapiscau Reservoir, designed to feed the hydro-electric generating stations of the James Bay Project . Filling the reservoir began on October 25, 1981, and over the next three years it flooded numerous lakes such as Lakes Caniapiscau, Delorme, Brisay, Tournon, and Vermouille. It now fills

231-506: The coarse-gravel surface. The site is now used by an outfitter ( fishing and caribou hunting ) and the commercial Lac Pau Seaplane Base allows floatplanes to launch, subject to seasonal conditions. Caniapiscau is accessible by car via the Trans-Taiga Road . Located approximately 75 km south of Radisson, the Trans-Taiga highway is an unpaved gravel road. Along the road there are several campgrounds where users are able to spend

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252-511: The name has often been wrongly translated into French as Rivière de la Grande Baleine (not until 1962 did the Commission de géographie du Québec officially adopt the current Grande rivière de la Baleine ). The Great Whale River was a place favored by the Cree and Inuit for hunting beluga long before the arrival of Europeans. Even though both were nomadic, the mouth of the river was often an encampment site and served as unofficial border. The name of

273-612: The north, the region began to drain northward into the Caniapiscau River, a tributary of the Koksoak River , and ultimately into Ungava Bay . Prior to impoundment, Lake Caniapiscau covered about 470 square kilometres (180 sq mi) and was frequented by hunters and fur traders in the 19th century. In 1834, the Hudson's Bay Company opened an outpost there to link its facilities in the James Bay region with those of Ungava Bay , but closed

294-689: The project was suspended indefinitely. However, the project may still be revived in the future. Caniapiscau Reservoir The Caniapiscau Reservoir ( French : Réservoir de Caniapiscau ) is a reservoir on the upper Caniapiscau River in the Côte-Nord administrative region of the Canadian province of Quebec . It is the largest body of water in Quebec and the second largest reservoir in Canada. The Caniapiscau Reservoir, formed by two dams and forty-three dikes,

315-523: The region were formed about nine thousand years ago as glaciers left Quebec after having scoured the Canadian Shield for ninety thousand years. The prototype of these lakes was an ice dam lake that drained southwards into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at a time when areas further north ( Nunavik ) were still glaciated. As post-glacial rebound elevated the southern part of the Canadian Shield more rapidly than

336-522: The river was recorded in 1744 in the logbooks of Hudson's Bay Company employees Thomas Mitchell and John Longland, while exploring the bay's coast. The entry for July 25 made the first mention of the "Great White Whail [ sic ] River". It may have come from the Cree Whapmagoostui , meaning River of the Whale, and referring to the hunting of white whale or beluga there. In the early 1970s,

357-437: The shape of an arc as we know it now. In the 19th century, Lake Caniapiscau was frequented by hunters and fur traders. In 1834, the Hudson's Bay Company opened there an outpost to link its facilities in the James Bay region with those of Ungava Bay . The Kaniapiskau Post closed in 1870. Caniapiscau ( 54°52′4.1″N 69°50′10.5″W  /  54.867806°N 69.836250°W  / 54.867806; -69.836250 )

378-711: The state-owned provincial power utility Hydro-Québec planned to construct three hydroelectric power stations on the Great Whale River as a part of the James Bay Project . Although detailed planning for the project was only begun in 1986, opposition from Crees, Inuit, environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the Friends of the Earth and other activists led the Premier of Quebec, Jacques Parizeau , to announce in November 1994, that

399-547: The very end of this road, near the Duplanter spillway, is the former worksite of the Société d'énergie de la Baie-James, named Caniapiscau . There is no permanent human habitation at the reservoir, but it is used by outfitters for seasonal hunting and fishing expeditions and by some Cree for subsistence fishing and trapping. It is isolated from society and there are very few gas stations or other services nearby. The natural lakes of

420-448: The woodland is replaced by lichen dominated tundra . Caniapiscau, Quebec Caniapiscau ( English: / ˌ k æ n i ə ˈ p ɪ s k oʊ / ) is a vast unorganized territory in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada, part of Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality . The territory is home to the huge Caniapiscau Reservoir , the largest body of water in Quebec and the second-largest reservoir in Canada. The reservoir

441-407: Was named after Lake Caniapiscau that was flooded in 1981 during the formation of the reservoir. The name comes from the Cree or Innu term kaniapiskau or kaneapiskak which means "rocky point" or "place where there is a rocky point". Albert Peter Low had noted in 1895 that "a high rocky headland jutts into the lake." He probably referred to the northwest facing peninsula that gives the reservoir

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