Vachon River (French: Rivière Vachon, Inuktitut: Ikkatujaaq (seemingly shallow) or Qarnatulik (unknown meaning) or Avaluko (unknown meaning)) is a river in the Arctic tundra of Nunavik, Quebec. It originates on Lac Laflamme at 61°21′49″N 73°45′36″W / 61.36361°N 73.76000°W / 61.36361; -73.76000 just north of Pingualuit crater and finishes at 60°4′43″N 71°8′59″W / 60.07861°N 71.14972°W / 60.07861; -71.14972 where it joins Arnaud/Payne River. It was named after bishop Alexander Vachon (1885–1953), rector of Laval University in 1939 and from 1940 to 1953, archbishop of the diocese of Ottawa.
Despite the access and paddling difficulties (long rapids and ledges) and extreme climatic conditions, river is occasionally paddled by canoeists:
- in 1978, 4 canoeists from Quebec, Canada, paddled Vachon upstream as access route to Puvirnituq River
- in 1985, the group of 4 canoeists (Pascal Dorémus, Jacques Lavoué, Olivier Barbier and Philippe Zanni) from Lyon, France coming from Puvirnituq, upstream Puvirnituq river
- in 2009, solo canoeist Eric Leclair from Quebec
- in 2010, the group of 4 canoeists (Lynette Chubb and Lester Kovac from Ontario and Curt Gellerman and Wesley Rusk from USA)
River is inhabited by an important arctic char population harvested for subsistence by the Inuit of Kangirsuk.
Famous quotes containing the word river:
“If a walker is indeed an individualist there is nowhere he can’t go at dawn and not many places he can’t go at noon. But just as it demeans life to live alongside a great river you can no longer swim in or drink from, to be crowded into safer areas and hours takes much of the gloss off walking—one sport you shouldn’t have to reserve a time and a court for.”
—Edward Hoagland (b. 1932)