Chenal des Grands Voiliers
The Chenal des Grands Voiliers (English: channel of tall sailships) is a channel of the St. Lawrence River, between Île d'Orléans and the south shore of Quebec, in the province of Quebec, in Canada. On the southeast shore of Île d'Orléans, this channel successively wets the municipalities of Sainte-Pétronille, Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans and Saint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans in L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality, in the administrative region of Capitale-Nationale. On the south shore of Quebec, the channel anchors the town of Lévis, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse and Berthier-sur-Mer in Bellechasse Regional County Municipality in the Chaudière-Appalaches region.
| Chenal des Grands Voiliers Old name: "Chenal du Sud" | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Capitale-Nationale |
| Regional County Municipality | L'Île-d'Orléans Regional County Municipality and Bellechasse Regional County Municipality |
| Municipality | Berthier-sur-Mer, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse, Lévis, Sainte-Pétronille, Saint-Laurent-de-l'Île-d'Orléans, Saint-Jean-de-l'Île-d'Orléans and Saint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | St. Lawrence River |
| • location | Sainte-Pétronille and Lévis |
| • coordinates | 46°50′23″N 71°08′21″W |
| • elevation | 4 m |
| Mouth | St. Lawrence River |
• location | Saint-François-de-l'Île-d'Orléans and Berthier-sur-Mer |
• coordinates | 46°58′04″N 70°43′40″W |
• elevation | 4 m |
| Length | 34 km (21 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | (upward from the mouth) Saint-Patrice creek, rivière du Moulin (île d'Orléans), Maheu River, Lafleur River, Dauphine River, rivière de la Savane (île d'Orléans). |
| • right | (upward from the mouth) Corriveau creek, Bellechasse creek, rivière des Mères, Boyer River (Bellechasse), ruisseau de la Piscine, Beaumont creek, Labrecque creek, discharge Saint-Basile. |
Oceanic vessels use this passage to go up the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes. During the history, this channel was the scene of many shipwrecks. It was a must in order to enter the heart of America, via the St. Lawrence River.
The channel is formed by Île d'Orléans (length: 33.1 kilometres (20.6 mi); width: 8.3 kilometres (5.2 mi)) which is bounded to the southeast by the St. Lawrence River and by the south shore of Quebec, between Lévis and Berthier-sur-Mer.
In winter, the channel is cleared of ice by federal icebreakers.