The lower and middle portions of the Obatogamau River hydrographic slope can be reached by route 113 which connects Lebel-sur-Quévillon to Chibougamau and the railway; while the northeast side of Obatogamau Lakes is accessible via route 167 and the railway. This road follows in part the valley of the Obatogamau River.
The surface of the Obatogamau River is usually frozen from early November to mid-May, however, safe ice circulation is generally from mid-November to mid-April.
Geography
The main hydrographic slopes near the Obatogamau River are:
The Obatogamau River rises at the mouth of the Obatogamau Lakes (length:19.6 kilometres (12.2 mi), altitude: 365 metres (1,198 ft)). This lake is located on the East side of a forest road (North-South direction), West of Lake Verneuil (link through the Verneuil pass) and Lake Royer. Complex in shape, the Obatogamau lakes has about a hundred islands, many bays (the largest of which is Anderson Bay) and peninsulas. The mouth of this lake is located at:
29.3 kilometres (18.2 mi) Southeast of the village center of Chapais, Quebec;
34.1 kilometres (21.2 mi) South of downtown Chibougamau;
364 kilometres (226 mi) Southeast of the mouth of the Nottaway River;
From its source (mouth of Obatogamau Lakes), the Obatogamau River flows over 130.7 kilometres (81.2 mi) according to the following segments:
Upper part of the Obatogamau River (segment of 34.1 kilometres (21.2 mi))
Townships crossed: Fancamp, Haüy, Brongniarat and Brochant.
5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) North in Fancamp Township, then Haüy Township by cutting a forest road to a river bend;
4.0 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwesterly in Haüy Township, then returning to Fancamp Township to a bay Southeast of Muscocho Lake;
10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) North, then South-West, crossing Muscocho Lake (altitude: 365 metres (1,198 ft)) on its full length;
2.9 kilometres (1.8 mi) southwesterly, crossing Keith Lake (length: 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi); altitude: 365 metres (1,198 ft));
11.4 kilometres (7.1 mi) to the West, crossing the “Lac à l’Eau Jaune” (English: lake of Yellow Water) (length: 18.6 kilometres (11.6 mi); altitude: 365 metres (1,198 ft));
Intermediate part of the Obatogamau River (segment of 53.8 kilometres (33.4 mi))
Townships crossed: De Brochant and D'Anville.
6.8 kilometres (4.2 mi) passing South of the major peninsula advancing from Northeast shore, then West through Presqu'île Lake (Nord-du-Québec) (length: 5.7 kilometres (3.5 mi); altitude: 354 metres (1,161 ft));
20.0 kilometres (12.4 mi) Westwards in the canton of Brochant forming two large curves towards the North, the first of which makes a passage in the canton of Lévy and the second in the canton of Daubrée, until a stream (coming from the South);
19.0 kilometres (11.8 mi) at first North to Daubrée Township, then southwesterly returning to Brochant Township, crossing marsh areas and along (on the South side) the railway to Dickson Creek (from the South) draining the waters of Dickson Lake;
Lower part of the Obatogamau River (segment of 42.8 kilometres (26.6 mi))
Townships crossed: D'Anville, Dolomieu and Saussure.
22.5 kilometres (14.0 mi) Westerly to the outlet of Lake Society, which receives on the North side the waters of Lac des Miserables and the Deux Orignaux River (English: Two Mooses River);
1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) Southwesterly in a marsh zone to the mouth of Lake Mechamego whose current crosses the Northern part at 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi);
7.6 kilometres (4.7 mi) Westerly, forming a curve to the North, to the mouth of “Lac du Coeur” (English: Lake Heart) while the current flows through the North on 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi);
11.3 kilometres (7.0 mi) Westward forming three curves to the North to its mouth.[2]
30.2 kilometres (18.8 mi) Northeast of the village center of Waswanipi;
82.4 kilometres (51.2 mi) Southeast of downtown Chibougamau.
Toponymy
This hydronym is indicated on a map of 1941. Of Cree origin, the term "Obatogamau" means "tightened by wood, vegetation". This hydronym is indicated in the "Fifth Report of the Geographic Board of Canada 1904", published in Ottawa in 1905, page 46: "Obatogamau; South Lake Chibougamau Lake, Abitibi District, Que.[3]
The toponym "Obatogamau River" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Quebec, i.e. at the creation of this commission[4]
^Distances measured from the Atlas of the
Canada (published on the Internet) of the Department of Natural Resources Canada.
^Source: Names and Places in Quebec, a work of the “Commission de toponymie du Québec”, published in 1994 and 1996 in the form of a printed illustrated dictionary, and under that of a CD-ROM produced by the Société Micro-Intel, in 1997, from this dictionary.
