The rivière aux Iroquois is a tributary of lac Saint-Jean, flowing the municipality of Sainte-Hedwidge and Saint-Prime, in the Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. The upper part of the Iroquois river valley is served by the Chemin de la Lièvre, the Chemin du Lac-à-la-Loutre and the Chemin de la Rexfor; the intermediate part, via Chemin du Lac-du-Dix, Chemin du 9e rang and chemin du 8e rang; the lower part via Chemin du 3e rang, Route Marcel-Auclair and Rue Principale. Forestry is the main economic activity in the middle part of this valley; agriculture, in the lower part. The surface of the Iroquois River is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, except the rapids areas; however, traffic on the ice is generally safe from mid-December to mid-March.
Geography
The Rivière aux Iroquois takes its source from Lac aux Iroquois in Sainte-Hedwidge. This deformed lake has two parts separated by a peninsula which face each other: one of attached to the north shore and the other of, attached to the south shore. The mouth of Lac aux Iroquois is located at:
south-west of the village center of Sainte-Hedwidge;
south-west of the mouth of the Iroquois river..
From the mouth of Lac aux Iroquois, the Iroquois river flows over with a drop of, according to the following segments:
generally towards the north, forming many very small coils, collecting three streams, three others and the discharge from Lac à la Loutre, to the outlet from Lac aux Outardes;
towards the northwest by forming several small streamers, then turning west, until the outlet of the Lac de la Savane;
towards the north by skirting a mountain on the west side, then curving towards the northeast, until the outlet of Lac du Dix;
first towards the east, then towards the north by forming numerous small streamers and crossing several series of rapids at the end of the segments, until the confluence of the Second Bras de l'Iroquois;
towards the north first in the forest zone in a deep valley, zigzagging while entering the plain, then entering agricultural by forming numerous streamers, up to a bend in the river;
to the east, winding heavily in an agricultural area, cutting the route 169, collecting the Perron stream and cutting the railway at the end of the segment, to its mouth.
The Rivière aux Iroquois flows onto the southwest shore of lac Saint-Jean. This confluence is located between the villages of Saint-Prime and Pointe-Bleue, either:
west of the center of the village of Pointe-Bleue;
From the mouth of the Iroquois River, the current crosses Lake Saint-Jean east on northeast, follows the course of the Saguenay River on eastwards to Tadoussac where it merges with the Estuary of Saint Lawrence.. The area of the Iroquois River watershed is..
Toponymy
The toponym "Rivière aux Iroquois" is linked to that of the head lake and that of the main arm designated "Second arm to the Iroquois". The toponym "Rivière aux Iroquois" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec..
