- Saguenay River
The Saguenay River (French: "rivière Saguenay") is a major
river ofQuebec ,Canada . It drainsLac Saint-Jean in theLaurentian Highlands , leaving at Alma and running east, and passes at the city of Saguenay. It drains into theSaint Lawrence River at Tadoussac.The river has a very high flow rate and is bordered by steep
cliff s.Tide waters flow in itsfjord upriver as far as Chicoutimi (about 100 kilometres). Many Beluga whales breed in the cold waters at its mouth, making Tadoussac a popular site forwhale watching and sea kayaking; in these waters, you may also encounter theGreenland shark . The confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence is protected by theSaguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park , one of Canada's national parks.It was an important trade route into the interior for the
First Nations people of the area, and during theFrench colonization of the Americas was a major route for thefur trade . Tadoussac, France's first trading post in Canada, was established in 1600. The river takes its name from the legendaryKingdom of Saguenay and is the namesake ofSaguenay Herald at theCanadian Heraldic Authority .The river was exploited for the
logging and pulp and paper industries beginning in the 19th century, and is also used forhydroelectricity generation, both for commercial power and to operate analuminum smelter at Arvida.Severe flooding of its tributary rivers from July 18-21, 1996, devastated the region and proved one of Canada's costliest natural disasters, now referred to as the
Saguenay Flood . [ [http://sts.gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/tsd_dcp/index_saguenay1996_e.asp] ]ee also
*
List of Quebec rivers
*List of National Parks of Canada Notes
External links
* [http://www.ccge.org/ccge/english/Resources/rivers/tr_rivers_saguenayRiver.asp Canadian Council for Geographic Education page with a series of articles on the history of the Saguenay River] .
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