The construction of rail transport in the mid-19th century competed with such river/canal routes and ultimately succeeded them, because of faster service with greater freight capacity.

The Quebec portion of the watershed (about 15% of its total area) includes 18 lakes and ponds, as well as forty rivers and tributary streams of the Richelieu.

Arguably the most famous, Île aux Noix is in the Haut-Richelieu and houses Fort Lennox, considered a national historic site of Canada.

[9] The valley of the Richelieu river is based on sedimentary rocks formed during the Cambrian of the Paleozoic era around 450 million years ago.

This group (sub-formation Chambly) contains the younger sedimentary rocks of the region: a series of shales and "calcaireuses" that turn red in the upper parts.

[11] Historically, the formation of rocks in the region is due to its immersion, towards the end of the Ordovician geological era, which led to the establishment of marine sediments.

Then raised by tectonic forces, the entire region has been subjected to a long erosion since the end of the Ordovician to the late Tertiary.

Subsequently, after being covered with a thick layer of ice during the Quaternary, the lowlands of the St. Lawrence was overwhelmed by the Champlain Sea in the wake of the collapse of the foundation underlying, therefore, the weight of glaciers.

After dropping clays and sands, the sea had to decline, following the recovery of the base, and left the area in its current state.

In a relatively recent geological time, glaciation changed the relief which subsequently was reduced by sediment deposits dating from the post-glacial of Champlain Sea.

In the first case, we find sand and gravel formations for the establishment of wells that can theoretically power a community network or industry.

[14] Indigenous occupation The Richelieu River was territory of the Iroquois and Abenaki, confederacies whose peoples were primarily based to the west and south, and the east and north, respectively.

Cardinal Richelieu's tenure as chief minister coincided with much of the early period of the permanent French settlement of the Quebec region of New France in the first half of the 17th century.

Five forts Already an important pathway for the Iroquois, particularly the easternmost nation of the Mohawk, the Richelieu River soon became one for French traders as well.

Between 1819 and 1829, the British built Fort Lennox on an island of the Richelieu River, near the Canada-U.S. border, to prevent against possible attacks from Americans, whom they had fought during the War of 1812.

[15] In 1843, the construction of the Chambly Canal was completed, bypassing the rapids and allowing easier transportation of export products such as sawlogs, pulp, hay, and coal from Canada to the United States.

A tragic intersection of the two modes of transport occurred in 1864 when a train plunged off a swing bridge into the river after missing a red signal, killing 99 people.

The Richelieu River caused extensive flooding during the spring of 2011, damaging or destroying more than 3,000 homes in Quebec and at least 750 in Vermont.

As for the national historic site of Fort Chambly, it receives every year thousands of visitors during the 20Bière% 20and% 20Saveurs http://www.bieresetsaveurs.com/[permanent dead link‍] celebrated the first days of September.

[22] Since agricultural products Montérégie enjoy an enviable reputation, many restaurateurs settle near the Richelieu River to combine fine dining and picturesque landscape.

[34] This is the case of the aplectrelle winter (Aplectrum hyemale),[35] the leek (Allium tricoccum)[36] and Canada lily (Lilium canadense).

The Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks of Quebec struggle to get rid of, and indeed a breakout campaign began in 2001.

In fact, they come from an external medium and were accidentally introduced into the ecosystem, often water discharge ballast vessels that ply the St. Lawrence River.

Considered harmful or invasive, they colonize the water, funds and compete with native species (local) and a threat to the integrity of the ecosystem river.

Named to honor the memory of Vianney-Legendre,[40] renowned ichthyologist, the structure of an innovative nature has been designed to accommodate different species of fish, especially those threatened.

[43] Finally, every summer since 2006, as part of a patrol project established by the Committee for consultation and development of the basin of the River (COVABAR)[44] sensitizing agents plying the river in order to inform boaters the precarious situation of the copper redhorse and remind them regulations and measures in place to protect her.

According to a report from the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks (MDDEP) conducted in 1998,[46] the presence of pollutants and toxic agents in the waters of the river is also a "stressful" for fish.

In several places in the river, a disturbing proportion of fish (over 13%) had abnormalities, which would signal a "precarious state of health" of the community ichthyological.

Chub black chin, stonecat and lamprey East are also part of sentinel species in the watershed of the Richelieu River, like copper redhorse, whose presence is an indication of the quality of water and aquatic.

This activity is regulated, however : regular and sectoral restrictions and daily bag limits may apply between other sturgeons, the knights, millers and striped bass.