Little Whale River

Little Whale River
Wâpamekustûss
The Little Whale is just north of the Great Whale River basin (in yellow)
Native namePetite rivière de la Baleine (French)
Location
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionNunavik
Physical characteristics
SourceUnnamed
MouthHudson Bay
  location
Point Qilalugarsiuvik
  coordinates
56°00′15″N 76°47′00″W / 56.00417°N 76.78333°W / 56.00417; -76.78333
  elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length380 km (240 mi)
Basin size15,900 km2 (6,100 sq mi)
Discharge 
  average280 m3/s (9,900 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries 
  leftBoutin River

The Little Whale River (French: Petite rivière de la Baleine; Cree: Wâpamekustûss) is a river in Nunavik, Quebec, Canada. With an area of 15,900 square kilometres (6,100 sq mi), it is ranked as the 35th largest river basin in Quebec.

The Cree named a segment of the Little Whale River near its mouth as Wâpamekustus, which is similar to what Isbister noted in 1740. The Inuit call it Qilalugarsiuviup Kuunga, which means "river or place where beluga is hunted".

Its name has often been wrongly translated into French as Rivière de la Petite Baleine.