Rivière à l'Ours (rivière des Aulnaies)

The main watersheds adjacent to the Bear River are:

• North side: Lac à l'Ours, Lac La Mothe, Tchitogama Lake, Shipshaw River, Le Petit Bras, stream at Néron, Blanche River (via Tchitogama Lake);
• East side: Shipshaw River, Grenon Lake, rivière aux Vases, Caribou River, Valin River;
• South side: Saguenay River, Rivière des Aulnaies;
• West side: Rivière aux Sables, Péribonka River, Mistouk River, rivière aux Harts, rivière à la Pipe, lac Saint-Jean.[1]

The Bear River takes its source from Bear Lake (length: 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in)); altitude: 191 m (627 ft)). This source is located in the municipality of Bégin at:

• 21.1 km (13.1 mi) South-East of the mouth of Tchitogama Lake (confluence with the Péribonka River);
• 4.0 km (2.5 mi) Southwest of La Mothe Lake;
• 26.3 m (86 ft)) North of the Saguenay River;
• 18.4 km (11.4 mi) North of the mouth of the Rivière à l'Ours (confluence with the Rivière des Aulnaies).[1] · .[4]

From the head lake, the Bear River flows over 19.8 km (12.3 mi), in forest, agricultural and village areas, according to the following segments:

• 3.5 km (2.2 mi) towards the Southeast crossing Lac Bouleau, then forming a gap towards the East to flow towards the Southeast crossing Lac des Îles (length: 2.7 km (1.7 mi); altitude: 208 m (682 ft)) to the mouth of Lac des Îles, to its mouth;
• 11.7 km (7.3 mi) southwest to Le Petit Bras stream, then south by crossing Chemin Truchon and crossing the boundary between Bégin and Saint-Ambroise, to the bridge on chemin du 2th rang Est;
• 3.9 km (2.4 mi) towards the South-West by cutting the path of 9th rang and meandering in parallel (on the North-West side) at the path of rang des Chutes, to the street Armband;
• 0.7 km (0.43 mi) to the south by collecting the Sault stream (coming from the East) and passing west of the village of Saint-Ambroise, to the mouth of the river.[1]

The Bear River flows onto the northeast bank of the Aulnaies River. This mouth is located at:

• 8.5 km (5.3 mi) North-west of the mouth of the Rivière aux Aulnaies (Saguenay River) (confluence with the Saguenay river);
• 14.5 km (9.0 mi) North-West of the Shipshaw powerhouse dam which is crossed by the Saguenay river;
• 23.8 km (14.8 mi) north-west of downtown Saguenay;
• 5.1 km (3.2 mi) west of the Shipshaw River;
• 127 km (79 mi) West of the mouth of the Saguenay River (confluence with the St. Lawrence River).[1]

In his report on the township of Bégin in 1895, the land surveyor Jean Maltais, mentions "la rivière à l'Ours".[5]

The toponym of “Rivière à l'Ours” was formalized on April 8, 1975, at the Place Names Bank of the Commission de toponymie du Québec.[2]