The Mitis River ( French : Rivière Mitis ) is a salmon river in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It flows to the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River . There are two hydroelectric dams on the river at a point where a waterfall used to prevent salmon from going further upstream. A system to capture and transport salmon upstream was installed in 1965, and the river now has a healthy salmon population along its whole length.
25-587: The Mitis River originates in Lake Mitis in the Notre Dame Mountains , at an elevation of 305 metres (1,001 ft). Lake Mitis is a large reservoir 25 kilometres (16 mi) long formed from the Superior, Croix and Inferior lakes. The Mitis dam and the hamlet of Lac-Mitis are at the source of the river. The river is swelled by many tributaries as it flows north for 74 kilometres (46 mi). Towards its mouth, in
50-539: A ZEC ( zone d'exploitation contrôlée : controlled use zone), Zec de la Rivière-Mitis , managed by the Mitis River Sport Fishing Management Corporation. There are three fishing areas, one private and the other two open to the public, with 33 pools, mostly fished with waders. The ZEC de la rivière Mitis covers about 20 kilometres (12 mi) of the river. Lake Mitis has a large population of lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ). Brook trout
75-753: A dozen camping sites beside the Saint Lawrence. The river is one of 22 salmon rivers in the Gaspé Peninsula . Historians think that the Malécites / Maliseet Indians fished for eel and salmon at the mouth of the river, although they may not have had permanent villages. Fish are numerous, and include Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ), longnose dace ( Rhinichthys cataractae ), Eastern blacknose dace ( Rhinichthys atratulus ), slimy sculpin ( Cottus cognatus ), American eel ( Anguilla rostrata ) and brook trout ( Salvelinus fontinalis ). George Stephen , co-founder of
100-696: A location in Vermont is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Zec de la Rivi%C3%A8re-Mitis Zec de la Rivière-Mitis is a " zone d'exploitation contrôlée " (controlled harvesting zone) (zec) located in the municipality of parish of Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc (La Mitis) , in La Mitis Regional County Municipality , in administrative region of Bas-Saint-Laurent , in Québec , in Canada . The course of Mitis River and Mistigougèche River have
125-593: A series of four lakes continues in form of a crescent turned to the southwest: "lac Inférieur" (Lower Lake), "lac à la Croix" (Lake of the Cross), Mitis Lake and "lac Supérieur" (Superior Lake). The latter being the southernmost receives water from the Patapédia East River which defines a segment of boundary between the Quebec and New Brunswick . This series of lakes is located in the administrative region of Gaspésie , on
150-514: Is French for "Our Lady," a Catholic term referring to the Virgin Mary . While on an expedition on 15 August 1535, Jacques Cartier wrote: Le landemain jour Notre Dame d'aoust XVe ... eusmes cognoissance de terres qui nous demouroient vers le su qui est une terre à haultes montaignes à merveilles The jour Notre Dame d'aoust XVe refers to the feast of the Assumption of Mary , commemorated in
175-613: Is found in Lake Mitis and in several water bodies and streams in the region. In May 2015 the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks of Quebec announced a sport fishing catch-and-release program for large salmon on sixteen of Quebec's 118 salmon rivers. These were the Mitis, Laval , Pigou , Bouleau , aux Rochers , Jupitagon , Magpie , Saint-Jean , Corneille , Piashti , Watshishou , Little Watshishou , Nabisipi , Aguanish and Natashquan rivers. The Quebec Atlantic Salmon Federation said that
200-567: The Canadian Pacific Railway , established the first fishing camp on the river in 1886. His niece Elsie Reford converted the camp into the Jardins de Métis. At that time salmon could only reach 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) upstream, where they were stopped by a 35 metres (115 ft) waterfall. Salmon were also affected until 1979 by logs being floated downstream. The river was opened to the public for salmon fishing in 1977. In 1993 it became
225-624: The New Brunswick . The entrance station of Zec de la Rivière-Mitis is located in Sainte-Angèle-de-Mérici near the route 132 . In Quebec, salmon populations have been identified in 109 rivers and five tributaries in Quebec. Since July 23, 2014 data, the law requires fishermen to apply the thought to water all large salmon caught. This policy aims to preserve the great sires for sustainable development. Mitis River has 33 salmon pools, between
250-621: The Price municipality near Mont-Joli , the river meanders before being crossed by the Mitis-1 and Mitis-2 dams. It ends in the Baie Mitis on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence. Its mouth is near Sainte-Flavie , about 32 kilometres (20 mi) east of Rimouski . The Mitis River is between the Matane and Rimouski rivers. It gives its name to La Mitis Regional County Municipality . The main tributaries are
275-473: The Catholic Church on 15 August. The following autumn, maps he authored carried the name " haultes montaignes de Honguedo." However, it was the title of "Notre Dame" that would propagate quickly throughout the 16th century, with French navigator Jean Alfonse referring to them as the " montz Nostre Dame " in his 1544 work Cosmographie , followed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The Notre Dame Mountains are
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#1732851469173300-493: The Elsie Reford Falls and had a dam built above the falls. On 22 October 1922 the 2.75 MW turbine came into service. It was formally inaugurated in a ceremony on 1 July 1923 attended by various notables. The company grew into the largest power supplier in the region with a network of transmission lines serving Matane, Mont-Joli, Rimouski and beyond. A 3 MW turbine was added in 1930. The second dam, now called Mitis-2,
325-619: The Mitis Bay, protected by a headland, named the "Pointe aux Cennelles" in Sainte-Flavie . La Mitis River and upper lakes pass through the territories of municipalities of (from the mouth): Sainte-Flavie , Saint-Joseph-de-Lepage , Sainte-Angele-de-Mérici , Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc (La Mitis) , La Rédemption , Saint-Charles-Garnier , Lac-Alfred , Lac-à-la-Croix (La Mitis) , unorganized territoryof Rivière-Vaseuse , unorganized territory of Lac-des-Eaux-Mortes , Ruisseau-Ferguson and northeast of
350-473: The Neigette and Mistigougèche rivers. The average flow is 16 cubic metres per second (570 cu ft/s), a steady rate due to the two dams built in the first half of the 20th century. The river can be accessed from a path that runs along its length. The river bed has fairly large rocks and red clay, but little gravel. The clay gives the clear river water a slightly reddish tinge after a heavy rainfall. The name
375-501: The Quebec Sépaq and New Brunswick: This Quebec location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This New Brunswick location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Maine state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This New Hampshire state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about
400-450: The border of the region of Bas-Saint-Laurent . The Mitis dam is built at the mouth of "lac inférieur" (Lower Lake), located at the west end, near the hamlet of Lac-Mitis. Mitis River begins at the mouth of "lac Inférieur". Going down the river gets water from several tributaries, increasing its flow. Those tributaries are: Mitis River flows from south to north in a narrow valley surrounded by mountains, up to Sainte-Angèle-de-Merici . Then
425-604: The measures did not go nearly far enough in protecting salmon for future generations. In view of the rapidly declining Atlantic salmon population catch-and-release should have been implemented on all rivers apart from northern Quebec. Notre Dame Mountains The Notre Dame Mountains are a portion of the Appalachian Mountains , extending from the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec to the Green Mountains of Vermont . The range runs from northeast to southwest, forming
450-484: The mouth of the Neigette River. With this change the salmon population grew rapidly from an estimated 20 fish in 1965 to 1,200 by 1992. The river is used for fishing, canoeing and swimming. Inflatable boats can be used to descend the river from the lake. The Parc de la Rivière Mitis is opposite the historical Jardins de Métis . The regional park has just over 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of hiking trails. It also provides
475-735: The primary subranges of the Notre Dame Mountains. They are located in the northeastern part of the Gaspé Peninsula and are home to the tallest mountain in the range, Mont Jacques-Cartier , with an elevation of 1,268 m (4,160 ft). The other major subsection of the Notre Dame Mountains is the Massif du Sud , which is found in the southern part of the range, southeast of Quebec City , and reaches an elevation of 915 m (3,002 ft). The Notre Dame Mountains are protected by several parks, both federally by Parks Canada and provincially by
500-571: The principal subrange of the Appalachian Mountains in Quebec. Within Quebec, the range parallels the St. Lawrence River until its terminus at the eastern end of the Gaspé Peninsula. However, the southern limit of the range is the subject of some debate, though some sources consider either Lake Memphremagog or the US border as the southern edge of the Notre Dame Mountains. The Chic-Choc Mountains are one of
525-453: The river flows through agricultural and forest environments. Mitis River continues its course winding through the municipality of Price . Dams of "Mitis-One" and "Mitis-Deux", located on the border of the municipalities of Sainte-Flavie and Grand-Métis near Mont-Joli harness the river near its mouth. After a descent of 74 kilometres (46 mi), the river flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence in
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#1732851469173550-704: The southern edge of the St. Lawrence River valley, and following the Canada–United States border between Quebec and Maine . The mountainous New Brunswick "panhandle" is located in the Notre Dame range as well as the uppermost reaches of the Connecticut River valley in New Hampshire . As the mountains are geologically old , they have eroded to an average height of around 600 m (2,000 ft). Notre Dame
575-482: The status de zec de la Rivière-Mitis . This salmon river is administered by "La corporation de gestion de la pêche sportive de la rivière Mitis (CGPSRM)", which was established in 1993. The mandate was assigned to this Association by the Government of Quebec . The mission of the zec is oriented to exploitation and conservation of salmon of Atlantique. Mitis rivers takes it source from a large body of water consisting of
600-409: Was completed in 1947 below the first dam. In 1963 the government of Quebec nationalized the production of electricity and created Hydro-Québec as a public utility, which took over management of the Mitis-1 and Mitis-2 dams. In 1965 a salmon capture station was installed at the foot of Mitis-2, with a system to transport the fish above the dams to a point about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) upstream near
625-641: Was given by the Listuguj Miꞌgmaq First Nation of Restigouche , who used to use it as a route to the Saint Lawrence. It appears in the title deed of the Seigneurie de Mitis , dated 6 May 1675. In the early 20th century Jules-André Brillant (1888–1973), a local entrepreneur, formed the Compagnie de Pouvoir du Bas-Saint-Laurent (Lower Saint Lawrence Power Company). He found investors in Rimouski, purchased
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