Lake Mistassini

Lake Mistassini
Location	Baie-James, Jamésie Territory, Quebec
Coordinates	50°57′N 73°42′W
Lake type	Oligotrophic
Primary inflows	various rivers
Primary outflows	Rupert River
Catchment area	1,813 km² (700 mile²)
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	161 km (100 mi)
Max. width	19 km (12 mi)
Surface area	2,335 km² (902 mile²)
Max. depth	183 m (600 ft)
Water volume	150 km³ (36 mile³)
Surface elevation	372 m (1,220 ft)
Islands	Pahipanouk Tchapahipane

Lake Mistassini (in French: Lac 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 (water surface area only) of 2,164 km². It is located in the Jamésie region of the province, approximately 360 kilometers (220 mi) east of James Bay. The Cree town of Mistissini is located on Watson Peninsula in the south-east corner of the lake, which separates Baie du Poste from Abatagouche Bay.

Extensive forests of Spruce, Birch, Pine, and Fir trees, which support a booming forestry industry, surround the lake. The region is also noted to be one of Canada's largest agricultural producers of blueberries.

Significant tributaries flowing into the lake include:

• Chalifour
• Pépeshquasati
• Takwa
• Témiscamie
• Wabissinane

Other nearby lakes include Lake Troilus.

Etymology

The name Mistassini came from the Cree mista assini or Montagnais mishta ashini, and means large rock; it probably refers a large glacial erratic stone, about 3 meters (9.8 ft) high, located near the outlet of Lake Mistassini into the Rupert River.

Over the centuries, it went through many name changes and different spellings. In 1664, on a map by Ducreux, this lake was known as Outakgami. On maps by Jolliet (1684), Jaillot (1685) and Franquelin (1688), the lake was identified as Timagaming. In 1703, the cartographer Guillaume Delisle used the same name, along with the name Mistasin. Laure (1731) and Bellin (1744) showed on their maps the name Lake Mistassins. Other spelling variations of this Native American designation included: Mistacinnee, Mistacsinney, Mistasinne, Mistasinia, etc..

In 1808, James McKenzie of the North West Company used the name Lake Mistassini in his writings, the first use of the name in its current form. Nevertheless, other variants persisted still long after: for instance, the explorer James Clouston inscribed Mistassinnie in his diary of 1820, while the geologist Robert Bell mentioned in 1880 the name Misstissinny. Yet, thereafter Mistassini became the accepted form, as evidenced by the map of the province of Quebec drawn in 1880 by Taché, and the expedition report published by Albert Peter Low in 1885, and in his Annual Report of 1900, Bell also adopted the current spelling.

History

The existence of this large lake was known to French explorers for a long time before actually reaching it. Even Samuel de Champlain knew of it in 1603. Lake Mistassini was finally discovered by Europeans in 1663 as part of an expedition ordered by Governor D'Avaugour and led by Guillaume Couture (first settler of Pointe-Lévy (Lévis) and hero of New-France). He was accompanied by Pierre Duquet and Jean Langlois, as well as by native American guides; the whole group consisting of a fleet of 44 canoes. They went up the Saguenay River, reached Lake Mistassini and continued on the Rupert River which flows to the Hudson Bay.

Thereafter, Lake Mistassini became an important step along the route from the Saguenay to James Bay. In 1672, Charles Albanel crossed the lake in an official mission. On June 18, 1672, he wrote: "we entered the great Lake Mistassirinins [...]; this Lake is named for the rocks with which it abounds, which are of prodigious size." That same year, a fur trading post was established on the lake, the location of which shifted from time to time until 1821 when it was established at the present site of the village Mistissini.

See also

• Cree Hunters of Mistassini
• Mistassini dike swarm