Lake Ouareau

Lake Ouareau
Lake Ouareau
Location	Saint-Donat / Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci, Matawinie Regional County Municipality, Quebec
Coordinates	46°17′03″N 74°08′34″W
Primary outflows	Ouareau River
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	13 kilometres (8.1 mi)
Max. width	4 kilometres (2.5 mi)
Surface area	14.9 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi)
Average depth	54 metres (177 ft)
Surface elevation	384 metres (1,260 ft)

Lac (Lake) Ouareau is a fairly large lake located near the town of Saint-Donat, in Matawinie Regional County Municipality, Quebec, in administrative region of Lanaudière, in the province of Quebec, Canada.

It is approximately 100 minutes by car north of downtown Montreal in the Laurentian Highlands and is located on the outskirts of Saint-Donat. Celine Dion currently owns a summer house on Lac Ouareau.

Today, Archambault and Ouareau lakes receive thousands of vacationers who enjoy the many outdoor activities available in the region.

The southwest shore of Lake Ouareau is served by the route 125 South which runs along the shore. The eastern part of the lake is served by the Saint-Guillaume path. The northern part (including the Baie de la Dame is served by the Ouareau North path.[1] Recreational and tourist activities, notably vacationing, are the main economic activities in this area.

The surface of Lake Ouareau is generally frozen from mid-December to the end of March; safe circulation on the ice is generally done from the end of December to the beginning of March.

Geography

This lake is about 70 minutes from Montreal. The V-shaped lake has a length of 13 kilometres (8.1 mi), a width of 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), an area of 14.9 square kilometres (5.8 sq mi) and an average depth of 54 metres (177 ft).[2]

Lake Ouareau includes the Baie de la Dame which sinks 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) on the north shore to the mouth of the lake. The entrance to the bay is 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) wide. The lake also includes Leguerrier Bay (length: 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi); width at its entrance: 0.76 kilometres (0.47 mi)), located southeast of the lake. The Saint-Loup creek pours there at the bottom of the bay. The two main islands are: Cave Island (located near the southwest shore) and Rupert Island (located in the western area).

Flora and fauna

The lake is home to many ideal freshwater sport fish such as largemouth bass, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, and, in some areas, muskellunge. The lake is also home to many microorganisms that have been known to thrive in very clean, or "nutritious" Northern lakes. The temperature of the water is 55 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

Camp

An all-girls camp is located on the borders of this lake, hence its name, "Camp Ouareau". Camp Ouareau was established in 1922 by two women who after a disagreement decided to part ways. One of the women remained at Ouareau & the other went on to be a founder of an all-girls camp in Ontario, Camp Oconto.

Allegedly, while Camp Ouareau & Camp Oconto are structurally & fundamentally different they are said to have similar traditions (i.e., opening & closing traditions, which are candle lit ceremonies complete with classical music & poetry).

Originally an English camp, in the 1970s the director at the time decided to start accepting 50% francophone campers. Each individual age group has 50% anglophone & 50% francophone enrolment in order to ensure an exchange of the language & cultures while experiencing the different areas of camp life: activities, dining room, in cabins/tents, etc.

Toponymy

The term "Ouareau" is of Algonquin origin meaning far or distant. This term is part of the toponym of the river and its head lake. The term Ouareau has been known since the end of the 18th century. This term appears on the plan of the surveyor William Rankins (1789) under the spelling: "The river Lac Ouareau". Joseph Bouchette also mentions this term in his Topographic Description of the Province of Lower Canada (1815). The toponym "Lake Ouareau" is also noted on the map of Francis P. Quinn, drawn up in 1858. The lake and the Ouareau river were used to transport logs by floating at the turn in the second half of the 19th and the first half from the 20th century.[3]

The toponym Lac Ouareau was formalized on December 5, 1968.[4]

Notes and references

Open Street Map - Accessed May 1, 2020
Navigation Québec: Lac Ouareau
Source: Names and places of Quebec, work of the Commission de toponymie published in 1994 and 1996 in the form of a printed illustrated dictionary, and in that of a CD-ROM produced by the company Micro-Intel, in 1997, from this dictionary.
Commission de toponymie du Québec - Lac Ouareau