Saint-Athanase River

The Saint-Athanase River is a tributary of the south shore of the Saguenay River flowing into the municipality of Petit-Saguenay in the Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada.

The Saint-Athanase River Valley is mainly served by Saint-Louis Road and Saint-Etienne Road.

Forestry is the first economic activity in the sector; recreational tourism activities, second.

The surface of the Saint-Athanase River is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, however, safe ice circulation is generally from mid-December to mid-March.

Geography
The main hydrographic slopes near the Saint-Athanase River are:
 * North side: Saguenay River;
 * East side: Saint-Étienne River, Petites Îles River, St. Lawrence River;
 * South side: Petit Saguenay River;
 * West side: Petit Saguenay River, Cabanage River.

The Saint-Athanase River rises at the mouth of Petit Lac Alphée (length: 0.3 km; altitude: 183 m). This source is located at:
 * 5.4 km south of its mouth (confluence with the Saguenay River);
 * 2.6 km northeast of the Petit Saguenay River;
 * 23.8 km west of the mouth of the Saguenay River;
 * 4.9 km east of the village center of Petit-Saguenay.

From its source (Petit Lac Alphée), the course of the Saint-Athanase River descends on 8.6 km according to the following segments:
 * 0.6 km to the north, in particular, crossing the Alphée lake (length: 0.4 km; altitude: 164 m) on 0.6 km to its mouth;
 * 0.5 km easterly, forming a curve to the north, to the discharge (coming from the north) of a group of small lakes;
 * 1.0 km easterly forming at the beginning of a segment a hook to the south, to the discharge (coming from the south) of a set of small lakes;
 * 1.4 km northerly forming a large S, to the discharge (from the east) of an unidentified lake;
 * 2.4 km northerly, curving to the northeast, to the discharge (from the east) of a set of unidentified lakes;
 * 0.8 km northwesterly to a dump of unidentified lakes;
 * 1.9 km north in a steep valley curving westward around a large mountain to its mouth.

The mouth of the Saint-Athanase River flows into the bottom of "Anse au Cheval" on the south shore of the Saguenay River. This confluence is located at:


 * 3.4 km northwest of the village center of Saint-Étienne;
 * 9.1 km northeast of the confluence of the Petit Saguenay River with the Saguenay River;
 * 23.2 km west of Tadoussac.

Toponymy
The toponym "rivière Saint-Athanase" (St. Athanase River) refers to St. Athanasius, a patron of the Roman Catholic Church.

The toponym "Saint-Athanase River" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Bank of place names of the Commission de toponymie du Quebec.