The Rivière à l'Ours Ouest () is a tributary of the rivière à l'Ours, flowing through the municipality of Havre-Saint-Pierre, in the Minganie Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Côte-Nord, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.
Except for the route 138 serving the lower part of the Bear River, this valley is served by winter snowmobile routes.Open Street Map - Accessed July 3, 2020
The surface of the West Bear River is usually frozen from the beginning of November to the end of April, except the rapids areas; however, traffic on the ice is generally safe from late November to early April.
Geography The West Bear River takes its source from an unidentified lake (length: ; altitude: ) located in Havre-Saint-Pierre. This head lake is surrounded by a set of small lakes. The mouth of this head lake is located on the northeast shore. This mouth is located at: north-east of downtown Havre-Saint-Pierre; north-west of the mouth of the Bear River.
From the mouth of the head lake, the West Bear River flows over with a drop of , especially in forest areas, according to following segments:
towards the north-east by crossing four small lakes, then towards the south-east by crossing the fourth lake, to its mouth; south-east across Lake Cormier (length: ; altitude: ), to its mouth; south-east across Lake Mannier (length: ; altitude: ), to its mouth; south-east crossing Little Uatnakantuk lake (length: ; altitude: ), up to its mouth; south-east, up to the outlet of the detour stream (coming from the south-west); first towards the south-east, then towards the east by forming a few loops, crossing areas of marsh, up to a river (coming from the north-west); to the east, forming a hook towards the north, to its mouth.
The West Bear River flows onto the southwest bank of the Rivière à l'Ours, in an area where there are several marsh areas. This confluence is located at:
north of route 138; north-west of the mouth of Rivière à l'Ours; south-west of Baie-Johan-Beetz; north-east of the village center of Havre-Saint-Pierre.
From the mouth of the West Bear River, the current follows the course of the Bear River on towards the south-east, then crosses on east of Victor Bay until bypassing Victor Island, which is part of the north shore of the Estuary of Saint Lawrence.
Toponymy The toponym "Rivière à l'Ours Ouest" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.Commission de toponymie du Québec - Rivière à l'Ours Ouest
See also
List of rivers of Quebec
References