River

Rivière Rupert

763 km from source to mouth · Canada.

CanadaFlows into James Bay

Follow the river Month by month

SourceMouth

The river and every tributary in its basin, drawn from RiverATLAS (CC BY 4.0).

In numbers

Length

763km

Average flow

900m³/s

Basin

43,400km²

Drop

371m

from 371 m to 0 m

Country

The journey

From source to mouth

763 km of river and 14 stops on the way: 0 towns and cities on its banks, dams, bridges and the tributaries that feed it.

371 m0 m

Lake Mistassiniat 371 m0 km

Lake Mistassini2,182 km²150 km

Lac Capichinatoune10 km²167 km

Lac La Bardelière52 km²305 km

Lac Mesgouez183 km²365 km

Rivière Lemaretributary411 km

Lac Kaupanaukau1.7 km²526 km

Lake Nemiscau112 km²541 km

James Bayat 0 m763 km

0200400600763 km

0 kmLake Mistassiniat 371 m
122 kmRivière De Maurèstributary
150 kmLake Mistassini2,182 km²
167 kmLac Capichinatoune10 km²
182 kmWoollett Lake38 km²
228 kmLac Bellinger68 km²
305 kmLac La Bardelière52 km²
311 kmRivière Natastantributary
365 kmLac Mesgouez183 km²
388 kmLac Elan Iskweu Utitaun0.7 km²
411 kmRivière Lemaretributary
477 kmRivière à la Martetributary
526 kmLac Kaupanaukau1.7 km²
541 kmLake Nemiscau112 km²
586 kmRivière Jolliettributary
763 kmJames Bayat 0 m

Water level along the river (RiverATLAS; the height is exaggerated). Towns: GeoNames and Wikidata; bridges, dams and tributaries: Wikidata.

Watercourse in Quebec, Canada

At the mouth it carries 900 m³/s on average: an Olympic pool every 2.8 seconds. It drops from 371 m to 0 m, 0.5 m per kilometre on average. Its basin covers 43,400 km², about the size of DK. 3,512 people live in it. Highest water, with the snowmelt: from May to July; lowest: from January to April. No large dam holds it back: it is one of the world's free-flowing rivers.

Where to start

WaskaganishLargest city on its banks · 1,839 people
Moosonee Airport (YMO)Nearest airport with scheduled flights, 131 km from the cityCar hire at YMT airport (Chibougamau)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
On the water6 ferry piers, marinas, boat rentals and boat ramps along the river (OpenStreetMap)
Kayak and canoe15 put-ins and rapids mapped (OpenStreetMap)
From July to AugustThe best months to visit

Rivière Rupert, month by month

Highest water: from May to July

Lowest water: from January to April. Freezing months (average below −4 °C): from November to March. Melting snow makes up much of its water. Best months to visit: from July to August.

510

-21°48 mmJan

510

-19°35 mmFeb

510

-12°43 mmMar

510

-3°40 mmApr

1,100

6°58 mmMay

1,100

12°85 mmJun

1,100

15°102 mmJul

780

14°100 mmAug

830

9°103 mmSep

830

3°79 mmOct

710

-5°70 mmNov

590

-16°52 mmDec

Water (estimated flow)Air (average) Rain (mm)Best months

From about 510 m³/s in the lowest month to 1,100 m³/s in the highest. An estimate: the monthly flow is modelled from the lowest and highest months of WaterGAP (RiverATLAS, 1971–2000) and the rain and snow along the river (WorldClim). Dams change the real rhythm. The chip is the average air temperature; below it, the month's rain.

Plan the trip

Plan the trip: boat trips, a bed by the river, a car

Car hire at YMT airport (Chibougamau)Discover CarsSee

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The basin

Rivière Rupert: the basin in numbers

41,986 km² of land send their water to this river. This is what lives on it.

Free-flowingDams upstream can hold only 0.0% of a year's flow: the river still keeps its natural rhythm.

3,512people live in the basin
0/km²people per km²
394maverage altitude of the basin
865mmof rain a year (basin average)
-1.9°Caverage air temperature
17.5%covered by lakes
16%permafrost

What covers the basin

59% Forest

RiverATLAS (HydroATLAS v1.0, CC BY 4.0): land cover, people, protected areas, glaciers and dams over the whole basin upstream of the mouth.

Along the river

Rivière Rupert: what you find on the way

19DamsRupert dam, Rupert, Seuil PK 290, Rupert, Épi PK 85 and 16 more
11WeirsRupert, Seuil PK 223, Rupert, Seuil PK 170, Seuil PK110 and 8 more
15Rapids
6Boat ramps

From OpenStreetMap, within 2.2 km of the river. Not mapped is not the same as not there.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Rivière Rupert in our other atlases

What our sister atlases know about the waterfalls on this river, the lakes it flows through, the beaches at its mouth, the mountains where it rises and the islands off its mouth.

9lakes on its wayLakeyas
1beach at the mouth or on the banksCoastya

Lakes and reservoirs (9)

Lakes it flows through, by Lakeyas

Lake Mistassinikm 130 · 180 m deep2,182km²
Lac Capichinatounekm 14510km²
Woollett Lakekm 15838km²
Lac Bellingerkm 19868km²
Lac La Bardelièrekm 26652km²
Lac Mesgouezkm 318183km²
Lac Kaupanaukaukm 4581.7km²
Lake Nemiscaukm 471112km²

1 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗

Beaches (1)

At the mouth (25 km) and on the banks, by Coastya

Plage Episkuchach6.2 km away8.5°C

Open Coastya ↗

From space

The source and the mouth, seen from orbit

Rivière Rupert: satellite view of the source — **The source**14 km across

Rivière Rupert: satellite view of the mouth — **The mouth**28 km across

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2016), CC BY 4.0. The glowing line is the river as drawn by RiverATLAS.

Photos

Rivière Rupert in pictures

Rupert River (Canada), Oatmeal Rapids — fargomeD · CC BY 2.5

Rupert River — Fenerty at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Tributaries

Where it flows, and what flows into it

Tributaries (7)

Also: Rivière Nemiscau, Rivière à la Marte, Rivière De Maurès, Rivière Jolliet, Rivière Lemare, Rivière Natastan, Rivière Niyeutachun Kauchipischeyach

Nearby

Rivers nearby

Rivière Nottaway

Canada225 km1,200 m³/s35 km away Harricana River

Canada533 km570 m³/s84 km away Rivière Eastmain

Canada756 km1,000 m³/s84 km away Abitibi River

Canada540 km320 m³/s162 km away Albany River

Canada832 km1,400 m³/s217 km away Attawapiskat River

Canada748 km630 m³/s296 km away Great Whale River

Canada726 km680 m³/s425 km away

Where these numbers come from

Name, length, places	Wikidata (Q427437) · CC0
Course, profile, basin	RiverATLAS v1.0 (HydroATLAS, Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 — followed from the source to the mouth given by Wikidata
Flow	WaterGAP (RiverATLAS), 1971–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Climate along the river	WorldClim (RiverATLAS), 1970–2000 · CC BY 4.0
Towns, bridges, dams	Wikidata · CC0; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Along the river	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Our other atlases	Lakeyas, Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; HydroLAKES · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every source and licence is on the data sources page.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

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lakes

Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit

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Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit

waterfalls Cascadyas

Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit

islands

Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Coming soonVisit

rivers

Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.You are here

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Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit