Rupert River
Encyclopedia
The Rupert River is one of the largest rivers in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. From its headwaters in Lake Mistassini
Lake Mistassini
Lake Mistassini is the largest natural lake by surface area in the province of Quebec, Canada, with a total surface area of approximately 2,335 km² and a net area of 2,164 km². It is located in the Jamésie region of the province, approximately east of James Bay...

, the largest natural lake in Québec, it flows 600 kilometres (372.8 mi) west into Rupert Bay on James Bay
James Bay
James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...

. The Rupert drains an area of 43400 square kilometres (16,756.8 sq mi). There is some extremely large whitewater on the river, but paddlers can avoid much of it by portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...

 routes on the side. The most impressive falls, which cannot be avoided except by portaging, are the "Oatmeal Rapids" right at the James Bay Road (a set of cascades dropping 18 m (59.1 ft)) and "The Fours" near the end of the river (a 24 m (78.7 ft) drop).

The Rupert has long been an important river for the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...

 of the area. Every year, a group of Cree youth from the village of Waskaganish
Waskaganish, Quebec
Waskaganish is a Cree village of about 2000 people at the mouth of the Rupert River on the south-east shore of James Bay in the Eeyou Istchee territory in Northern Quebec, Canada...

, at the mouth of the Rupert, travel up the river to Lake Nemiscau
Lake Nemiscau
Lake Nemiscau is a lake in north-western Quebec, Canada, on the Rupert River. The abandoned settlement of Nemiscau is on the north shore, but in recent years, Cree people have been re-establishing Nemiscau as a summer residence. The nearest village is the town of Nemaska, about 60 km northeast....

.

Major tributaries of the Rupert are (in downstream order):
  • Natastan River (Rivière Natastan)
  • Lemare River (Rivière Lemare) - 1290 km² (498.1 sq mi) subbasin
  • Marten River
    Marten River
    See also Marten River, OntarioThe Marten River is a short river in central Alberta. The Marten is one of the major inflows of Lesser Slave Lake, which drains through the Lesser Slave River, a major tributary of the Athabasca River. Significant debate exists regarding the origin of the river's name...

     (Rivière à la Marte) - 4505 km² (1,739.4 sq mi) subbasin
  • Nemiscau River (Rivière Nemiscau) - 3015 km² (1,164.1 sq mi) subbasin

History

In 1668, an expedition led by Médard des Groseilliers
Médard des Groseilliers
Médard Chouart des Groseilliers was a French explorer and fur trader in Canada. He is often paired with his brother-in-law Pierre-Esprit Radisson who was about 20 years his junior...

 came to the mouth of the Rupert River in order to bypass French controlled areas along the St. Lawrence River and in doing so, trying to break the French hold on the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...

. They named the river after the sponsor of the expedition, Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness , commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, FRS was a noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century...

. A fort (originally called Fort Charles) was established at the mouth of the river, which later became the trading post Rupert House
Waskaganish, Quebec
Waskaganish is a Cree village of about 2000 people at the mouth of the Rupert River on the south-east shore of James Bay in the Eeyou Istchee territory in Northern Quebec, Canada...

, the oldest trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

. From then on, the Rupert River played a vital role in supplying inland trading posts (such as Nemiscau
Nemiscau, Quebec
Nemiscau is a semi-permanent Cree settlement in northern Quebec, Canada, on Lake Nemiscau. There is no road or airplane access.Nemiscau is the former site of a Hudson's Bay Company post until 1970...

 and Mistissini
Mistissini, Quebec
Mistissini is a Cree town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini . The town is inside the boundaries of the Baie-James Municipality, and is the largest Cree community with a population of around 4000 people...

) with regular canoe brigades
Fur brigade
The Fur brigade were convoys of Canadian Indian fur trappers who traveled between their home trading posts and a larger HBC post in order to supply the inland post with goods and supply the HBC post with furs. Travel was usually done on the rivers by canoe or, in certain prairie situations, by horse...

, right until the beginning of the twentieth century when supplies started to come from the south via rail and later road.

While having lost its importance as a trade route, the Rupert River has long been a popular destination for recreational canoe camping
Canoe camping
Canoe camping is a combination of canoeing and camping. It is similar to backpacking, but canoe campers travel by canoes or kayaks...

 and whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

 canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....

.

Hydroelectric development

The Rupert, together with the Nottaway
Nottaway River
The Nottaway River is a river in Quebec, Canada. The river drains Lake Matagami and travels north-west before emptying into Rupert Bay at the south end of James Bay. Its drainage basin is and has a mean discharge of 1190 m³/s...

 and Broadback River
Broadback River
The Broadback River is a river in northern Quebec, Canada. It drains into Rupert Bay , just south of the Rupert River and Cree community Waskaganish...

s, was initially considered to be dammed and diverted as part of the James Bay Project
James Bay Project
The James Bay Project is a series of hydroelectric development with a combined installed capacity of over 16,000 megawatts built since 1974 for Hydro-Québec by the on the La Grande and other rivers of Northern Quebec....

. But in 1972, hydro-electric development began on the more northerly La Grande
La Grande River
La Grande River is a river in northwestern Quebec, Canada, which rises in the highlands of north central Quebec and flows roughly west to drain into James Bay. It is the second largest river in Quebec, surpassed only by the Saint Lawrence River....

 and Eastmain River
Eastmain River
The Eastmain River is a river in northwestern Quebec which rises in north central Quebec and flows 800 km west to drain into James Bay. 'East Main' is an old name for the east side of James Bay. This river drains an area of 46,400 km²...

s, and the NBR Project was shelved.

The plan to divert the Rupert's headwaters into the La Grande hydroelectric complex
James Bay Project
The James Bay Project is a series of hydroelectric development with a combined installed capacity of over 16,000 megawatts built since 1974 for Hydro-Québec by the on the La Grande and other rivers of Northern Quebec....

 was revived in 2002 when a landmark agreement between the Government of Quebec and the Grand Council of the Crees
Grand Council of the Crees
The Grand Council of the Crees , or the GCC, is the political body that represents the approximately 16,357 Crees or “Iyyu” / “Iynu” of the Eeyou Istchee territory in the James Bay and Nunavik regions of Northern Quebec, Canada...

 was signed. In this agreement, known as La Paix des braves (literally "Peace of the Brave"), the two parties agreed to authorize the completion of a long-delayed hydroelectric project on the Eastmain River, just to the north of the Rupert River. A subsequent agreement in April 2004 put an end to all litigation between the two parties and opening the way to the joint environmental assessment of the diversion of about 50% of the total water flow of the Rupert River (and 70% at the diversion point) northwards to the Eastmain River and into the La Grande hydroelectric watershed. The Grand Chief of the Crees, Matthew Mukashhttp://www.radio-canada.ca/actualite/v2/dimanchemag/niveau2_5256.shtml, elected in late 2005, opposed the Rupert diversion project, preferring the development of wind turbines in the region.

After completion of the joint environmental assessments by the Cree, Quebec and Canadian authorities, the Governments of Quebec and Canada authorized the diversion and construction of hydroelectric installations on the Rupert River in late 2006. The diversion of water from the river began in November, 2009. 29600 square kilometres (11,428.6 sq mi) or 68% of its basin will be diverted through a 2.9 kilometres (1.8 mi) long transfer tunnel from the Rupert Forebay to the Rupert Tailbay in the Nemiscau basin and then onward to the Eastmain 1 Reservoir. The remaining work is scheduled to be complete in 2012.

External links

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