Gouin Reservoir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gouin Reservoir | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | Mauricie |
| Coordinates | |
| Lake type | Artificial |
| Primary outflows | Saint-Maurice River |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Max length | 100 km (60 miles) |
| Max width | 48 km (30 miles) |
| Surface area | 1570 km² (606 miles²) |
| Average depth | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Shore length1 | 5650 km (3500 miles) |
| Surface elevation | 404 m (1325 ft) |
| 1 Shore length is an imprecise measure which may not be standardized for this article. | |
The Gouin Reservoir (in French: Réservoir Gouin) is a man-made lake in central Quebec, Canada. It is not one contiguous body of water, but the collective name for a series of connected lakes separated by innumerable bays, peninsulas, and islands with highly irregular shapes. It has therefore a relative long shoreline of over 5,600 km (excluding islands) compared to its surface area of 1,570 km².[1] It is the source of the Saint-Maurice River.
The reservoir is named after Jean Lomer Gouin, who was Premier of Quebec when, in 1918, the Shawinigan Water and Power Company impounded the reservoir for hydroelectric development.[2] The Gouin Reservoir has no generating station at its dam, but is used to control the flow of the St-Maurice River for the stations down-stream (all operated now by Hydro-Québec).[3]
There are no paved roads to the Gouin Reservoir, but it is accessible by several unpaved forest roads and by bush plane. The reservoir is a popular fishing destination with numerous commercial outfitters and private lodges along its shores.
[edit] Fauna
Fish species present include the walleye, northern pike, and sauger.
Waterfowl present in the region include the American Black Duck (Anas rubripes), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Common Merganser (Mergus merganser), Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), Common Loon (Gavia immer), Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).
