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.

From its source, the West Ditton River flows north on 7.0 km (4.3 mi), with a drop of 91 m (299 ft), crossing Chemin Saint-Paul (connecting the village of Chartierville to the hamlet of "Bellefeuille"); then north-east, crossing route 257.

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 Ouest" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.