The Moncouche River (French: rivière Moncouche) is a tributary of the east bank of the Métabetchouane River, crossing the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, flowing in the province from Quebec, to Canada. The course of this river crosses the: unorganized territory of Belle-Rivière, in the Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean; unorganized territory of Lac-Jacques-Cartier, in the MRC of La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale.
Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism, second.
The surface of the Moncouche River (except the rapids zones) is usually frozen from the end of November to the beginning of April, however the safe circulation on the ice is generally done from mid-December to the end of March.
Geography The main watersheds near the Moncouche river are: north side: Métabetchouane River, Huard lake and rivière à la Carpe; east side: rivière aux Écorces, rivière aux Montagnais, ruisseau Contourné; south side: Métabetchouane River; west side: Métabetchouane River, Métabetchouane Lake.
The Moncouche River rises at the mouth of Starr Lake (length: ; altitude: ). This misshapen lake looks like a big X or a star; it has two large bays to the north, two in the center and two to the south.
From its source (mouth of Lake Starr), the course of the Moncouche River descends on with a drop of , according these segments: southward, to the northeast shore of Saint-Véran Lake; to the southwest crossing Saint-Véran (altitude: ) over its full length; to the southwest crossing Moncouche Lake (altitude: ) over its full length. Note: Saint-Véran Lake and Moncouche Lake are interconnected, thus providing for pleasure boating. to the south, until the confluence of the rivière aux Montagnais (coming from the east); to the southwest, in particular by bypassing an island and crossing Lake Méandre, until it meets the Métabetchouane River.Atlas of Canada from the Department of Natural Resources Canada - Characteristics extracted from the geographic map, the database and the site instrumentation - consulted on January 2, 2020.
From the confluence of the Moncouche river, the current descends the Métabetchouane River northward on to the south shore of lac Saint-Jean; thence, the current crosses the latter on towards the northeast, then follows the course of the Saguenay River via La Petite Décharge on to Tadoussac where it merges with the Saint Lawrence estuary.
Toponymy The toponym "rivière Moncouche" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.Commission de toponymie du Québec - Rivière Moncouche
Notes and references
See also Belle-Rivière, an unorganized territory. Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality Lac-Jacques-Cartier, an unorganized territory. La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality Laurentides Wildlife Reserve Rivière aux Montagnais Métabetchouane River Lac Saint-Jean, a body of water Saguenay River St. Lawrence River List of rivers of Quebec