Chécatica River

The Chécatica River is about 30 kilometres (19 mi) long, and runs from north to south. In some sections it widens into lakes, including Lake Chécatica. It enters Jacques-Cartier Bay on the Saint Lawrence about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Blanc-Sablon. The bay is a waterbody with an irregular outline, containing many points, inlets and islands. Chécatica Island is at the entrance to the bay. Along the coast to the west, near one of the inlets, there is a small hamlet named Shekatika.^[1] The mouth of the Chécatica River is in the municipality of Saint-Augustin in Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality.^[2]

The Innu call the river Netshikatikau Hipis or Netsheskatakau Shipis. According to Father Georges Lemoine the name comes from shikatikau and means there are bushes beside the water. Variants include Ouescatacou and Ouescatacouau.^[1] On his first voyage in 1534 Jacques Cartier went by shallop to Chécatica, which he called Port de Jacques-Cartier. He found indigenous people in quite large numbers.^[3]

Cartier himself did not comment on the number of people he encountered saying only:

"There are people on this coast whose bodies are fairly well formed but they are wild and savage folk. They wear their hair tied up on the top of their heads like a handful of twisted hay, with a nail or something of the sort passed through the middle, and into it they weave a few bird’s feathers. They clothe themselves with the furs of animals, both men as well as women; but the women are wrapped up more closely and snuggly in their furs; and have a belt about their waists. They [all] paint themselves with certain tan colours. They have canoes made of birchbark in which they go about, and from which they catch many seals. Since seeing them [the Indians], I have been informed that their home is not at this place but that they come from warmer countries to catch these seals and to get other food for their sustenance." ^[4]

The river basin covers 193 square kilometres (75 sq mi). It lies between the basins of the Coxipi River to the west and the Napetipi River to the east.^[5] It is partly in the unorganized territory of Petit-Mécatina and partly in the municipality of Saint-Augustin.^[6]

A map of the ecological regions of Quebec shows the river in sub-regions 6o-T, 6n-T and 6m-T of the east spruce/moss subdomain.^[7] In 2002 the northern part of the river, to the east of Lake Tooker, was in territory that was seriously affected by hemlock looper moths (Lambdina fiscellaria).^[8] The river is recognized as an Atlantic salmon river.^[9] There are also brook trout in the river.^[10]