Lake Magpie

Lake Magpie (Lac Magpie) is a lake in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It forms the middle part of the Magpie River.

Location
Lake Magpie is in the unorganized territory of Lac-Jérôme in the Minganie Regional County Municipality. It can only be reached by float plane. A map of the ecological regions of Quebec shows the lake in sub-region 6j-S of the east spruce/moss subdomain. The lake is named for the Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis), a bird closely related to the magpie.

Description
The lake is about 80 km long. It is large, narrow and very deep, and is fed from the east and west by several streams. The West Magpie River flows into the lake 50 km above the south end. The catchment area is 7201 km2. Average discharge from the lake varies from about 40 m3/s in March to about 1000 m3/s in early June.

According to the Dictionnaire des rivières et lacs de la province de Québec (1914), Lake Magpie is 34 mi from the mouth of the Magpie River. It is about 53 mi long, very deep and full of large pike. It is bordered on each side by capes and mountains.

The lake and surrounding area have been protected against logging, mining or hydroelectric projects since 19 June 2003, with plans to make it a biodiversity reserve. The Pourvoirie du Lac Magpie provides non-exclusive outfitting services from a camp at the north end of the lake. Fish include lake trout, landlocked salmon and northern pike. Hunters may shoot black bear and moose.