The name comes from the Cree or Innu term kaniapiskau or kaneapiskak which means "rocky point" or "place where there is a rocky point".
It is bordered by the regional county municipalities of Manicouagan, Caniapiscau, and Minganie, as well as by the southwest corner of Labrador and by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
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The census groups Sept-Rivières RCM with neighbouring Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality RCM into the single census division of Sept-Rivières—Caniapiscau.