The Saint-Athanase River Valley is mainly served by Saint-Louis Road and Saint-Etienne Road.[2][3]
Forestry is the first economic activity in the sector; recreational tourism activities, second.
The surface of the Saint-Athanase River is usually frozen from the beginning of December to the end of March, however, safe ice circulation is generally from mid-December to mid-March.
23.8 km (14.8 mi) west of the mouth of the Saguenay River;
4.9 km (3.0 mi) east of the village center of Petit-Saguenay.
From its source (Petit Lac Alphée), the course of the Saint-Athanase River descends on 8.6 km (5.3 mi) according to the following segments:
0.6 km (0.37 mi) to the north, in particular, crossing the Alphée lake (length: 0.4 km (0.25 mi); altitude: 164 m (538 ft)) on 0.6 km (0.37 mi) to its mouth;
0.5 km (0.31 mi) easterly, forming a curve to the north, to the discharge (coming from the north) of a group of small lakes;
1.0 km (0.62 mi) easterly forming at the beginning of a segment a hook to the south, to the discharge (coming from the south) of a set of small lakes;
1.4 km (0.87 mi) northerly forming a large S, to the discharge (from the east) of an unidentified lake;
2.4 km (1.5 mi) northerly, curving to the northeast, to the discharge (from the east) of a set of unidentified lakes;
0.8 km (0.50 mi) northwesterly to a dump of unidentified lakes;
1.9 km (1.2 mi) north in a steep valley curving westward around a large mountain to its mouth.[4]
The mouth of the Saint-Athanase River flows into the bottom of "Anse au Cheval" on the south shore of the Saguenay River. This confluence is located at:
3.4 km (2.1 mi) northwest of the village center of Saint-Étienne;
