Malbaie River

Malbaie River Rivière Malbaie (in French)
Malbaie River in Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Capitale-Nationale
Physical characteristics
Source	Petit lac Tristan
• location	Lac-Jacques-Cartier (unorganized territory), Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, Canada
• coordinates	47°28′38″N 70°08′50″W / 47.47713°N 70.14722°W / 47.47713; -70.14722
• elevation	893 m (2,930 ft)
Mouth	Saint Lawrence Estuary
• location	La Malbaie, Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, Canada
• coordinates	47°39′18″N 70°08′50″W / 47.65500°N 70.14722°W / 47.65500; -70.14722
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	161 km (100 mi)[1]
Basin size	2,059 km2 (795 sq mi)[2]
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	(upstream) Côte du Pontage Creek, Bouliane Waterway, Comporté River, Dufour Creek, Villeneuve Creek, Desbiens Creek, Jacob River, Snigole River, Lac des Hay, Castors Creek, American Creek, Pont Creek, Scott Creek, Flat Lake Discharge, ruisseau à John (Malbaie River), Amie Lake Discharge, Cran Rouge Creek, Crouch River], Brooks Creek Cows, discharge of Lac Du Lac and Bigras Lake, Chemin des Canots River, dump of Joinville Lake, dump of Lac Pigeon, du Lac du Fond dump, L'Enfer River, dump Lake Saturday, lake discharge (Sunday to Friday), Jack Creek, Silenus Pond outlet, Lac Carrot outlet, Lac Lamfort outlet.
• right	(upstream) Mailloux River, Lake Nairn outlet, Lake Long dump, Pied des Monts stream, Rouille creek, Foulon stream, Larouche creek, Érables creek, Des Martres River, Du Nord Creek, Caribou Creek, Moreau Lake and Petit Lac des Bouleaux outlet, Porc-Épic River, Froid Creek, Barley River, Faguet Lake outlet, Lake Craine outlet, Petite rivière Malbaie, Duberger Lake outlet, Kimear Lake outlet, Lac des Frelons outlet.

The Malbaie River in the Charlevoix region empties into the Saint Lawrence River at La Malbaie. Until 1985 the river was used to transport logs downstream. It flows through a steep valley known as Les Hautes Gorges. A sugar maple and American elm forest grows in the gorge and has remained largely undisturbed for hundreds of years.

Its course successively crosses Grands-Jardins National Park, Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, Zec des Martres, Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park and Zec du Lac-au-Sable. It winds first towards the north-east, towards the east, then towards the south-east, in a narrow and deep glacial valley, for 161 kilometers and a drop of 820 meters.

Its course forms a semicircle stretching towards the north and completely encircling in its center the hydrographic slope of the Rivière du Gouffre. For example, there is a distance of 17.1 kilometres (10.6 mi) between the mouth of the rivières des Martres and the mouth of a stream flowing on the east bank of the upper part of the Malbaie River; at the height of this imaginary line, the course of the Malbaie river stretches north to 10.9 kilometres (6.8 mi). While there is a distance of 48.9 kilometres (30.4 mi) between the mouth of the Malbaie river and the mouth of the Petite rivière Malbaie which flows onto the east bank of the upper part the Malbaie River; at the height of this imaginary line, the course of the Malbaie river stretches north to 32.9 kilometres (20.4 mi).^[3] Its watershed and that of the rivière du Gouffre form the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve.

Le Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park is home to Eastern Canada's tallest rock-faced cliffs. Designated a national park (of the province of Québec) in 2000, the 233-km² Hautes-Gorges is the centrepiece of the UNESCO Charlevoix biosphere reserve.