McSweeney Lake

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McSweeney Lake
McSweeney Lake is located in Quebec
McSweeney Lake
McSweeney Lake
LocationLa Tuque, Mauricie, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates48°38′34″N 74°46′11″W / 48.64278°N 74.76972°W / 48.64278; -74.76972Coordinates: 48°38′34″N 74°46′11″W / 48.64278°N 74.76972°W / 48.64278; -74.76972
TypeReservoir lake
Primary inflows, Magnan Lake.
Primary outflows, Nevers Lake, .
Max. length34.7 kilometres (21.6 mi)
Max. width6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi)
Surface elevation402 metres (1,319 ft) (altitude varying according to the water management of the Gouin dam)

The Lake McSweeney is a freshwater body located in the Center-East part of Gouin Reservoir, in the territory of the town of La Tuque, in the administrative region of the Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

This lake in the middle of the Center-East part of the Gouin reservoir straddles the townships of McSweeney, Magnan, Marmette and Brochu.

Recreational tourism activities constitute the main economic activity of the sector because of its strategic position for navigation, being located between , Magnan Lake and Nevers.

The hydrographic slope of Lake McSweeney is served indirectly on the north side by route 212 connecting the village of Obedjiwan to the east shore of the Gouin Reservoir; this road provides access to and to the various bays on the northeast shore of the Gouin Reservoir. A few secondary forest roads have been built on the North-North shore of the Gouin Reservoir for logging and recreational activities.

The surface of McSweeney Lake is usually frozen from mid-November to the end of April, however safe traffic on the ice is generally from the beginning of December to the end of March. Water management at the Gouin dam can cause significant variations in the water level, particularly at the end of winter when the water is lowered in anticipation of the spring melt.

Geography[]

Before the construction of La Loutre Dam was completed in 1916, thus creating Gouin Reservoir, lake McSweeney had a smaller dimension. After the second raising of the waters of the Gouin reservoir in 1948 due to the development of the Gouin Dam, Lake McSweeney took on its current form.

The main neighboring watersheds of Lake McSweeney are:

With a length of 34.7 kilometres (21.6 mi) and a maximum width of 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi), the lake McSweeney is bounded by:

  • North-West side (from the South):
    • by a peninsula (length: 13.9 kilometres (8.6 mi)) going north along more or less the limit of the townships of Lemay and Marmette;
    • by an archipelago of the Kaoskiskanikak Islands whose longest island stretches 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi);
    • by a large island (length: 6.2 kilometres (3.9 mi));
    • through the Piripohonan pass, separating the previous island with the next island;
    • by a large misshapen island delimiting at its southwest the , at its northwest side by and at its east side the ;
  • South-East side (from the North):
    • by an island (length: 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi)) forming the eastern shore of the ;
    • by a second island (length: 21.4 kilometres (13.3 mi)) comprising in particular the outlet of Lake Duchet from Lake Kamoskosoweskak;
    • by a third island (length: 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi)) forming the west shore of Lac Fou (length: 4.7 kilometres (2.9 mi) (North–south direction) ending in the South with a hook facing east where it joins a bay in Nevers Lake;
    • by a peninsula on the eastern shore starting at the mouth of , which extends northeastward to a strait constituting the entrance to ;
    • by a peninsula containing the outlet of which is fed by the ; the latter has its source at .
  • southwest side: by (length: 8.7 kilometres (5.4 mi)) supplied to the south in particular by the outlet of Lake Kawacekamik and bordered to the east by a peninsula which separates it from (east side of the bay).[1]

The mouth of Lake McSweeney is located south of the lake, either at:

From the mouth of McSweeney Lake, the current flows over 75.1 kilometres (46.7 mi) to the south-east, to the Gouin Dam, in the following segments:

  • 25.7 kilometres (16.0 mi) towards the South-East, crossing ;
  • 7.3 kilometres (4.5 mi) north, then southeast, bypassing Île à la Croix, to Kanatawatciwok Pass (near Île aux Femmes); this pass connects and ;
  • 41.1 kilometres (25.5 mi) passing south of Kaminictikotanak Island and bypassing to the north a large peninsula attached to the south shore of Gouin reservoir. Then descending into the south-eastern arm of ; and east through Kikendatch Bay to Gouin Dam.[1]

From this dam, the current follows the Saint-Maurice River to Trois-Rivières where it flows onto the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.

Toponymy[]

The lake, which is part of the Gouin Reservoir, owes its name because it is the largest body of water in the Township of . The name appears on a map in 1940.[2] As for the canton, it owes its name, as for the neighboring cantons of , and , to a former teacher at the in Quebec. Daniel McSweeney made a career as a teacher at the École normale Laval between 1864 and 1887. He had married Brigit O'Byrne in 1857 in Quebec.[3]

The lake also known as Baie Marmette Nord.[2]

See also[]

  • , a body of water
  • List of lakes in Canada

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Atlas of Canada from the Department of Natural Resources Canada – Characteristics extracted from the geographic map, database and site instrumentation". Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  2. ^ a b "McSweeney lake". Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved May 26, 2018. Quebec place name bank.
  3. ^ "McSweeney - Bank of place names in Quebec". Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
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