The Rivière à l'Orme (English: Elm River) is a tributary of the Lac des Deux Montagnes, flowing into the territory of Pierrefonds, Quebec and Senneville, Quebec, in the city of Montreal, in Quebec, in Canada.

Rivière à l’Orme English: Elm River
Île aux Tourtes Bridge across Lake of Two Mountains, with Mont Oka in the background
Location
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montreal
Physical characteristics
Source	Urban creek
• location	Pierrefonds, Quebec, Montreal, Quebec
• coordinates	45°26′35″N 73°53′07″W
• elevation	31 m (102 ft)
Mouth	Lac des Deux Montagnes (anse à l’Orme)
• location	Senneville, Quebec, Montreal, Quebec
• coordinates	45°27′01″N 73°56′17″W
• elevation	23 m (75 ft)
Length	5.1 km (3.2 mi)[1]

The course of the river mainly passes through urban areas with urban park areas.

Annually, the surface of the river is generally frozen from mid-December to late March, however, the period of safe ice circulation is usually from late December to mid-March.

Geography

The hydrographic slopes adjacent to the "rivière à l’Orme" are:

• North side: Lac des Deux Montagnes, Ottawa River;
• East side: Rivière des Prairies, Lake St. Louis;
• South side: Lake St. Louis, St. Lawrence River;
• West side: Lac des Deux Montagnes.

The "rivière à l’Orme" originates in the southwestern part of the Pierrefonds borough of Montréal, on the west side of the Cineplex Kirkland Theater.

From its source, the "rivière à l’Orme" flows over 5.1 kilometres (3.2 mi) according to the following segments:

• 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) southwesterly along the north side of autoroute 40 and cutting off the Timberlea Trail up to an urban stream (coming from South of autoroute 40);
• 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) northwesterly up to its mouth. Note: the “Anse à l'Orme road” runs along this segment, first on the North-East side and then on the South-West side.[2]

The "rivière à l’Orme" empties on the East shore of “Anse à l'Orme”, which is a natural extension of the Lac des Deux Montagnes. At the end of the course, this river crosses the L'Anse-à-l'Orme Nature Park. This cove is bounded by Pointe Madeleine (North side) and Pointe Boyer (South West side). The mouth of this river is located at:

• 2.6 kilometres (1.6 mi) South of the mouth of the Lac des Deux Montagnes;
• 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) North of the Galipeault Bridge on Highway 20, connecting the borough of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec and the Perrot Island;
• 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) south of Île Bizard, a borough of Montréal;
• 5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi) in the South-East, opposite of Pointe-Calumet.[2]

Toponymy

Since at least 1925, some documents attest to the use of the toponym "Rivière à l’Orme", designating this urban stream. This designation (in its present form) evokes the work of life of “Julien Hubert dit de Lorme”. The latter benefited from a concession in 1668, a lot of land adjacent to the Orme cove, located at the western end of the island of Montreal, just South-West of the “Cap à l'Orme”. In the past, many historians mistakenly believed that this toponymic designation was explained by the presence of elms in this area. The toponymic names "Cap à l'Orme », « Anse à l'Orme » and « Rivière à l'Orme" are intertwined.

The toponym "Rivière à l'Orme" was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec, i.e. at the creation of the Commission.[3]

Notes and references

See also

• Ottawa River, a watercourse
• Lac des Deux Montagnes, a body of water
• Rivière-des-Prairies, a watercourse
• L'Anse-à-l'Orme Nature Park, an urban park
• Pierrefonds, Quebec, an agglomeration of Montreal
• Senneville, Quebec, a city on the West Island of Montreal.
• List of rivers of Quebec