The course of the river pass through mainly North-West of Quebec in Eeyou Istchee Baie-James (municipality), then through North-East of Ontario in Cochrane District, in the city of Cochrane, Ontario.

The "Patten River" originated in Quebec in Western part of Eeyou Istchee Baie-James (municipality).

The neighboring hydrographic slopes of the Patten River are: The main source of the Patten River is Bill Lake (length: 800 metres (2,600 ft), elevation: 298 metres (978 ft)), which is crossed by 0.6 kilometres (0.37 mi) to the west in a marsh area.

This lake straddles the Ontario - Quebec border, west of the headland of the Boivin River.

Upstream of Bill Lake (on the east side, on the Quebec side), the Patten River has a 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) segment in several marsh areas, which collects seven streams converging in five branches over a distance between 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi) and 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi), including a: From the mouth (located on the Ontario side) of Lake Bill, the Patten River flows on: The mouth of the Patten River is located in a swamp area, 2.0 kilometres (1.2 mi) (direct line) west of Ontario - Quebec border, 0.6 kilometres (0.37 mi) south of the mouth of the Burntbush River, 2.9 kilometres (1.8 mi) downstream of the Interprovincial boundary on the Turgeon River and 4.2 kilometres (2.6 mi) upstream of the second interprovincial boundary crossing.