Richelieu
Richelieu is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 45.59°, -73.21°
About Richelieu
The Richelieu River (French: [ʁiʃ(ə)ljø] ) is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly known by the French as the Iroquois River and the Chambly River, and was named for Cardinal Richelieu, the powerful minister under Louis XIII.
This river was a key route of water transport for trading, first by indigenous peoples, and then for cross-border trade between Canada and the United States. With 19th-century construction of the Champlain Canal (1823) south of Lake Champlain and the Chambly Canal (1843) to the north, the Richelieu provided a direct route from the Saint Lawrence River to New York via Lake Champlain, the canals, and the Hudson River. The construction of rail transport in the mid-19th century competed with such river/canal routes and ultimately succeeded them, because of faster service with greater freight capacity.
Because of the river's strategic position between New France and New England, several military fortifications were erected on its course.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Richelieu River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Richelieu in Depth
Geography and hydrography
The Richelieu River has a drainage basin of 23,720 square kilometres (9,160 mi2) – including those of Lake Champlain 19,925 km2 (7,693 mi2) and Missisquoi Bay (1,289 km2 (498 mi2)). Of this, 19,600 km2 (7,600 mi2) are in the United States, originating in the western slopes of the Green Mountains and the eastern slopes of the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. The Champlain Valley makes up most of the drainage basin.
With a length of 124 km (77 mi), the Richelieu River takes its source at the north end of Lake Champlain, now on the border between Canada (Quebec) and the United States (Vermont and New York state).
History
The Richelieu River was territory of the Iroquois and Abenaki, confederacies whose peoples were primarily based to the west and south, and the east and north, respectively.
In 1535, the French explorer Jacques Cartier discovered the mouth of Richelieu River, during his second voyage in New France (Canada). Samuel de Champlain and his team reached the mouth of the river in 1603. Champlain returned to the river in 1608 and in 1609, exploring upriver and through Lake Champlain to modern-day Albany, New York.
The river was formerly known as "Masoliantekw", which means "water where there is plenty of food" in Abenaki. Because of their encounters with the Iroquois nations along this way, the French called it the Riviere Iroquois at the beginning of the colony.
Geology
The valley of the Richelieu river is based on sedimentary rocks formed during the Cambrian of the Paleozoic era around 450 million years ago. The bedrock consists of shale clay and sandstone. The shales are sedimentary rocks from the mechanical disintegration of preexisting rocks. The sandstones are composed of quartz grains joined together and are always the result of deposition of shoreline.
The Utica shale usually contain an abundance of mica flakes and important content of quartz. The Utica shale is especially conducive to shale gas exploitation. Those of Lorraine group are dark gray color, and contain also sandstone lenses up to 5 cm (2.0 in) thick. These are the rocks of the Lorraine Group (sub-formation Breault) that cover most of the area.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Richelieu River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Richelieu: Key Facts
| Length | 124 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 23,720 km² |
| Source | Lake Champlain |
| Mouth | St. Lawrence River |
| Drainage system | Richelieu River basin |
| Tributaries | L'Acadie River, Chambly Canal, Rivière des Hurons, Rivière Lacolle, Saint-Ours Canal, Rivière Amyot, Rivière Bernier, Rivière des Iroquois |
Facts from Wikidata Q1809877 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Richelieu: Quick Answers
- Where is Richelieu?
- Richelieu is located in Canada, at 45.5885° N, 73.2097° W.
- Are there dams on the Richelieu?
- No dam on the Richelieu is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.