Vachon River
River in Canada
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vachon River (French: Rivière Vachon, Inuktitut: Ikkatujaaq (seemingly shallow) or Qarnatulik (unknown meaning) or Avaluko (unknown meaning)[1]) is a river in the Arctic tundra of Nunavik, Quebec. It originates on Lac Laflamme at 61°21′49″N 73°45′36″W just north of Pingualuit crater and finishes at 60°4′43″N 71°8′59″W where it joins Arnaud/Payne River. It was named after bishop Alexander Vachon (1885–1953), rector of Laval University in 1939 and from 1940 to 1953, archbishop of the diocese of Ottawa, Ontario.[1]
| Vachon River | |
|---|---|
| |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Lac Laflamme (a.k.a. Manarsulik Lake), Nunavik, Quebec |
| • elevation | 487.5 m (1,599 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Arnaud/Payne River |
• elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Length | 266 km (165 mi) (measured from north-west end of Lac Laflamme) |
Despite the access and paddling difficulties (long rapids and ledges) and extreme climatic conditions,[2] river is occasionally paddled by canoeists:
- in 1978, 4 canoeists from Quebec, Canada, paddled Vachon upstream as access route to Povungnituk River (French: Rivière Puvirnituq);
- in 1985, the group of 4 canoeists (Pascal Dorémus, Jacques Lavoué, Olivier Barbier and Philippe Zanni) from Lyon, France[3] coming from Puvirnituq, upstream Povungnituk River (French: rivière Puvirnituq);
- in 2009, solo canoeist Eric Leclair from Quebec;[4][5]
- in 2010, the group of 4 canoeists (Lynette Chubb and Lester Kovac from Ontario and Curt Gellerman and Wesley Rusk from the United States).[6]
River is inhabited by an important Arctic char population harvested for subsistence by the Inuit of Kangirsuk.[7]