The Ouareau river has its source in the territory of the municipality of Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm, 12.4 km from the village (by Ouareau North road), at the dam erected at the northeast mouth of
Lake Ouareau (length: ; width: ; altitude: ). The mouth of this lake is located north of the village of
Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci (via the 125 and the chemin St-Guillaume), northwest of the village center of
Rawdon, northwest of the center-town of
Joliette. It descends in a south-easterly direction, traversing some . In its course, it receives the waters of: • Pagé Creek •
Dufresne River •
Beaulne River • Noir stream • Beaurivage Creek • Gour stream •
Trudel River •
Rivière du Nord (Ouareau River) •
Jean-Venne River •
Burton River •
Rouge River Usine de papier Howard Smith - Crabtree 1925.jpg| From the dam at the mouth of
lake Ouareau, the Ouareau river flows over according to the following segments:
Upper course of the Ouareau river (segment of ) • north-east in
Saint-Donat, crossing the southern part of lac Chambord (which receives the waters of lac Croche), until at the bridge on Chemin Saint-Guillaume; • towards the south-east, collecting the waters of the outlet of Lac Sombre (coming from the East), up to the limit of
Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci; • south-east in the canton of Chilton, in the municipality of
Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci, up to Crique Lafrenière (coming from Where is); • towards the south-east, crossing Les Cinq Chutes, up to the bridge of the
route 347; • towards the south-east, collecting at the start of the segment the discharge from a group of lakes (Lac à l'Île, Prévost, Georges and Blanc), collecting the waters of the discharge (coming from the East) from the Lacs du Castor and the
North River (Ouareau River) (coming from the northeast) and crossing the
Ouareau Forest Regional Park, until bordering on
Chertsey;
Intermediate course of the Ouareau river (segment of ) • southwards in
Chertsey, collecting the waters of the
Baulne River (coming from the west), of the Black stream (coming from the west), from the
North river (coming from the north), and bypassing the village of Grande-Vallée on the east side, up to the outlet of the lake Beavers, located south of the village; • to the south, collecting the waters of Beaurivage brook (coming from the northeast) and Perreault brook (coming from the west), up to the bridge on Chemin de l'Église; • towards the south by crossing rapids and falls, until the confluence of the
Jean-Venne River (coming from the west); • to the south, crossing several rapids and falls, until the confluence of the
Burton River; • south-east, until the limit of
Rawdon; • south-east in
Rawdon, to Les Cascades rapids, located at the entrance to Lac Pontbriand; • to the east, crossing Pontbriand Lake (altitude: ) over its full length, to the Rawdon dam, located in the village of
Rawdon;
Lower course of the Ouareau river (segment of ) • towards the south-east, passing south of
Rawdon and under the bridge of the
route 348 in Mansonville (on the shore southwest), to the
route 337 bridge (1e Avenue); • south-east, passing through the Parc des Chutes-Dorwin south of
Rawdon, crossing Manchester Falls and forming the boundary between
Saint-Jacques and
Saint-Liguori, to the bridge at
route 341; • towards the south-east, forming the limit between
Saint-Jacques and
Saint-Liguori; • south-east, up to the
route 346 bridge in the village of
Saint-Liguori; • towards the south-east, bypassing Archange-Godbout Island, up to the limit of
Crabtree; • south-east in
Crabtree, to
route 158; • south-east, until the confluence of the
Rouge River (coming from the north-west); • towards the south-east, passing by the village of
Crabtree which is located on the south-west bank of the Ouareau river; • towards the south-east, forming the limit between
Crabtree and
Saint-Paul; • to the south-east, forming a large S to Pointe à Forget where the confluence of the river is located. The Ouareau River flows on the west bank of the
Assomption River, at the end of Pointe à Forget, in the municipality of
Saint-Paul, at south of the city of
Joliette. This confluence is located at: • north-west of the
St. Lawrence River; • south-east of the
Crabtree bridge; • south of downtown
Joliette. == Toponymy ==