Forestry is the main economic activity in this valley; agriculture, second, especially in the lower part.

[1] The surface of the East Ditton River is usually frozen from mid-December to mid-March, except the rapids areas; however, safe circulation on the ice is generally from late December to early March.

The course of the East Ditton River flows over 5.9 km (3.7 mi) in the forest zone in the township of Emberton, first north down the mountain, crossing Chemin Saint-Paul, then meandering before turning west at the end of the segment, up to its mouth.

The toponym "Ditton" was taken from the name of an important village and civil parish in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, in England.

The toponym "Rivière Ditton Est" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.