The course of the Madawaska River is accessible in Quebec by route 185 and New Brunswick by Highway 2, which run along the river side South West.
Toponymy
Various theories exist over the etymology of the word Madawaska. One is that the river's name comes from the Algonquian word "Madoueskak", which means "land of the porcupine". In Maliseet, the word "Matawaskiyak" translates to "at the place where water flows out over grass", there is also speculation that it refers to the 'meeting of two rivers where there is grass'. The Madawaska river is a large drainage basin for Lake Temiscouata and other waterways from the north. Before the city of Edmundston changed the natural course of the river, the spring freshet would cause several branches of the river to flood the land resulting in various waterfalls.
The Madawaska River flows over 39.8 kilometres (24.7 mi) generally towards the Southeast:
Upper river courses (in Quebec) (segment of 18.4 kilometres (11.4 mi))
From the dam at the mouth of Lake Témiscouata, the Madawaska River flows over:
3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi) to the South in a big S, passing at the East side of the "Mont Sainte-Anne", up to the bridge of the 7th Street in Dégelis;
5.1 kilometres (3.2 mi) to the Southeast, bypassing the island Beaupré and passing southwest of a mountain, up to the confluence of the Birches River (Madawaska River) (from the North);
6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) to the Southeast, forming a detour to the North, and then collecting the waters of Griffin Creek (from the Southwest), up to the confluence of the Languedoc creek (from North);
3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) to the Southeast, passing on the Northeast of Edmundston airport, up to the border between Quebec and New Brunswick. Note: A marsh area (West side of the river) runs along the end of this segment on 2.9 kilometres (1.8 mi).
Lower course of the river (at New Brunswick) (segment of 21.4 kilometres (13.3 mi))
From the border between Quebec and New Brunswick, the Madawaska River flows:
1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi) to the Southeast, up to Island Brook (from the Northeast);
9.4 kilometres (5.8 mi) to the Southeast, bypassing four islands, up to the bridge of the village of Saint-Jacques Parish;
The river actually begins its course at the foot of the dam Lake Temiscouata. The dam, built in 1930 by the "St. John River Storage Company", was acquired by Hydro-Québec during nationalization of electricity in 1963. It was completely rebuilt between 1993 and 1994.
The construction of this dam has had the effect of raising the lake level of about sixty centimeters above the normal high water level, set at 148.13 metres (486.0 ft), to reach the level of 148.74 metres (488.0 ft). The dam allows for storing 125,000,000 metres (410,104,986.877 ft) of additional water from Lake Témiscouata, less than 6% of the volume of water contained naturally in the lake. Another consequence of the enhancement of Lake Témiscouata is the relative youth of the shores which limits the number of natural beaches and potential for recreation.
Edmundston Dam
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Fraser Dam
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