Ha! Ha! River (Gros-Mécatina)
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| Ha! Ha! River | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Côte-Nord |
| Regional County Municipality | Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality |
| Municipality | Gros-Mécatina |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Petit lac Plamondon |
| • location | Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent |
| • coordinates | 50°59′56″N 59°03′46″W / 50.99894°N 59.062660°W |
| • elevation | 61 m (200 ft) |
| Mouth | Monger Lake |
• location | Gros-Mécatina |
• coordinates | 50°59′53″N 59°02′43″W / 50.99805°N 59.04528°W |
• elevation | 3 m (9.8 ft) |
| Length | 3.1 km (1.9 mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Gros-Mécatina |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Décharge d'un petit lac non identifié |
The Ha! Ha! River (from ha-ha, unexpected obstacle on a road) constitutes the outlet of the Plamondon Lake reservoir, flowing in the municipalities of Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent and Gros-Mécatina, in the Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Côte-Nord, in Quebec, in Canada.
A carriage road connecting route 138 goes north from Saint Lawrence estuary shore to the dam at the head of the Ha! Ha! River. The economy of the sector is mainly dependent on hydroelectricity thanks to this dam.
The surface of the Ha! Ha! River is usually frozen from the beginning of November to the beginning of May, however the safe circulation on the ice is generally done from the end of November to the end of April.
The term "Ha! Ha!" would not be a matter of onomatopoeia but rather a derivation of the term French ha-ha which means unexpected obstacle on a path.[1]
In the province of Quebec, certain places also use this expression in their toponymy, in particular:
- another Ha! Ha! River in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
- the Baie des Ha! Ha!
- the Lake Ha! Ha!
- the Petit lac Ha! Ha!
