The main watersheds adjacent to the Jacques-Cartier Northeast River are: The Jacques-Cartier Nord-Ouest river draws its source at Brassoit Lake (length: 1.0 kilometre (0.62 mi); altitude: 781 metres (2,562 ft), located in the unorganized territory of Lac-Jacques-Cartier, in the La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality.

[2] This toponym appears on a regional map of 1943, evoking the memory of Jacques Cartier (1491-1557), navigator and explorer born in Saint-Malo in France.

Verrazzano's probable companion in South America, in 1524 and 1528, Cartier ventured to the New World in 1534, commissioned by François I to find gold and a passage to Asia.

He settled on the left bank, at the mouth of the Cap Rouge river, where he built two forts communicating with each other, one at the bottom of the promontory, the other above.

The toponym "Rivière Jacques-Cartier Nord-Ouest" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.