Peribonka River
| Peribonka River | |
| Rivière Péribonka | |
 |
|
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean |
| Source | Unnamed wilderness |
| - location | Just west of the Otish Mountains |
| - elevation | 800 m (2,625 ft) |
| - coordinates | 52°16′17″N 70°48′38″W / 52.27139°N 70.81056°W |
| Mouth | Lac Saint-Jean |
| - location | Town of Péribonka |
| - elevation | 99 m (325 ft) |
| - coordinates | 48°44′49″N 72°06′13″W / 48.74694°N 72.10361°WCoordinates: 48°44′49″N 72°06′13″W / 48.74694°N 72.10361°W |
| Length | 451 km (280 mi) |
| Basin | 28,200 km2 (10,900 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| - average | 635 m3/s (22,420 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge elsewhere (average) | |
| - Peribonka Power Station | 438 m3/s (15,470 cu ft/s) |
The Peribonka River (French: Rivière Péribonka) is a river in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area in Quebec, Canada. It is 451 kilometres (280 mi) long and drains an area of 28,200 square kilometres (10,900 sq mi). It drains into Lac Saint-Jean at Pointe-Taillon National Park and is the largest tributary of this lake. The town of Péribonka is located on the north shore of Lac St-Jean at the river's mouth.
The name is derived from the Montagnais word pelipaukau, meaning "river digging through the sand" or "where there is moving sand".
The Peribonka River springs a short distance west of the Otish Mountains in a swampy area on the granite and muskeg of the Canadian Shield. From there it flows south until Lamarche, forming the boundary between the Maria-Chapdelaine and Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional Counties. From Lamarche, it flows west to Lac Saint-Jean. Its basin of 28,200 square kilometres (10,900 sq mi) comprises about one-third of the entire Saguenay River basin.
The major tributaries of the Peribonka are (in upstream order):
Historically the Innu indigenous people lived in this area and traveled the river by canoe. By the second half of the 17th century, the river was used by Europeans as an access route to James Bay. The first official reference to the river is from April 16, 1679, in the Register of missions, stating "juxtà fluvium Perib8ka ad lacum Peok8agami" (near the river Peribouka at Lake Peokouagami (old name of Lac Saint-Jean)) priest François de Crespieul baptized two children. In October of that year, after investigating the state of English positions on Hudson Bay, Louis Jolliet returned to Quebec City via this route and called it Périboca in his manuscript. The spelling changed to Periboaka on Laura's map of 1731 and Periboac on Nicolas Bellin's map of 1755. In 1825, Pascal Taché identified it as Péribonka and subsequently this name, together with Peribonca, came in general use.
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