- Caniapiscau Reservoir
Infobox_lake
lake_name = Caniapiscau Reservoir
image_lake =
caption_lake =
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location =Quebec
coords = coord|54|40|N|69|59|W|type:waterbody_region:CA|display=inline,title
type = Artificial
inflow =Caniapiscau River
outflow =Laforge River
catchment = 36,800 km² (14,210 mile²)
basin_countries = Canada
length =
width =
area = 4,318 km² (1667 mile²)
depth =
max-depth = 49 m (161 ft)
volume = 34.25 km³ (8.2 mile³)
shore =
elevation = 535 m (1755 ft)
islands =
cities = The Caniapiscau Reservoir (in French, "Réservoir de Caniapiscau") is a reservoir on the upperCaniapiscau River in theCôte-Nord administrative region of the Canadian province ofQuébec . It is the largest reservoir in surface area of theJames Bay Project , feeding theBrisay generating station , and the second largest reservoir in Canada.The natural lakes of the region were formed about nine thousand years ago as
glacier s left Québec after having scoured theCanadian Shield for ninety thousand years. The prototype of these lakes was anice dam lake that drained southwards into theGulf of Saint Lawrence at a time when areas further north (Nunavik ) were still glaciated. Aspost-glacial rebound elevated the southern part of the Canadian Shield more rapidly than the north, the region began to drain northward into the Caniapiscau River, a tributary of theKoksoak River , and ultimately intoUngava Bay . Since 1984, most of its waters are diverted to the west into theLa Grande River watershed andJames Bay .Prior to impoundment, Lake Caniapiscau covered about 470 km² (181 mile²). Now Caniapiscau Reservoir, which fills a depression in the highest part of the
Laurentian Plateau of the Canadian Shield, covers 4,318 km², or about four times the size of the natural lakes it flooded during impoundment from 1981 to 1984. The total catchment area is about 36,800 km².The area surrounding the reservoir is vegetated entirely with
taiga , or boreal forest. It is in the zone of discontinuouspermafrost and is accessible bybush plane and, since 1981, by a gravel road from James Bay ("theRoute Transtaïga "). At the very end of this road, near the Duplanter spillway, is the former worksite of the Société d'énergie de la Baie-James, namedCaniapiscau .ee also
*
Hydro-Québec
*James Bay Project
*List of Quebec rivers External links
* [http://www.hydroquebec.com/generation/hydroelectric/la_grande/ La Grande hydroelectric complex]
* [http://www.hydroquebec.com/sustainable-development/repertoire/pop/doc_specialise_06.html HAYEUR, Gaëtan. 2001. Summary of Knowledge Acquired in Northern Environments from 1970 to 2000. Montreal: Hydro-Québec]
* [http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/nam/nam-35.html World Lakes Database]
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