Rivière du Premier Rang

The Rivière du Premier Rang (English: First Row River) is a tributary of the west bank of the Jean-Noël River flowing on the north bank of the Saint Lawrence River, in the municipalities of Saint-Hilarion and Les Éboulements, in the MRC of Charlevoix Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale, in the province of Quebec, in Canada.

The southern part of this small valley is accessible by the chemin du 1er Rang de Saint-Hilarion and the chemin du rang Saint-Nicolas (south side of the river) of Les Éboulements. The upper part is served by Chemin Principal de Saint-Hilarion and chemin des Pins. Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; recreational tourism, second.

The surface of the Premier Rang river is generally frozen from the beginning of December until the end of March; however, safe traffic on the ice is generally from mid-December to mid-March. The water level of the river varies with the seasons and the precipitation; the spring flood occurs in March or April.

Geography
The Premier Rang river originates from Lac aux Bois Verts (length: 0.6 km; altitude: 347 m), located on the south side of route 138, in a forest area. This lake has two large islands which divides it in two, forming almost a large U open to the west. This small lake is located at:
 * 3.0 km northeast of the village center of Saint-Hilarion;
 * 4.4 km north-west of the mouth of the Premier Rang river.
 * 12.5 km west of Saint-Irénée town center;
 * 14.2 km north-west of Anse de la Grosse Roche on the north-west bank of the St. Lawrence River;
 * 17.8 km south-west of La Malbaie town center;
 * 19.7 km north of downtown Baie-Saint-Paul.

From this source, the course of the Premier Rang river descends on 9.3 km on an agricultural and forestry plateau, with a drop of 37 m, according to the following segments :


 * 1.3 km to the south by forming a hook towards the west, to a stream (coming from the west);
 * 1.1 km to the east by crossing the Principal road, collecting a stream (coming from the southwest) forming a hook towards the north to a stream (coming from the northeast);
 * 2.1 km south-east, up to Chemin du Premier Rang;
 * 4.8 km to the south, winding greatly at the start of the segment, collecting a stream (coming from the west), curving towards the south-east, then going up towards the north-east by winding in end of segment, to its mouth.

The Premier Rang river flows on the west bank of the Jean-Noël River into a forest area. This mouth is located at:
 * 4.8 km east of the village center of Saint-Hilarion;
 * 17.9 km south-west of La Malbaie town center;
 * 18.1 km north of downtown Baie-Saint-Paul.

Toponymy
The origin of this toponymy refers to the fact that this river flows largely in the territory of the Premier Rang of Saint-Hilarion.

The toponym "Rivière du Premier Rang" was formalized on March 29, 1989 at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.

Related articles

 * Charlevoix Regional County Municipality
 * Saint-Hilarion, a municipality
 * Les Éboulements, a municipality
 * Jean-Noël River
 * St. Lawrence River
 * List of rivers of Quebec