88-721: Côte-du-Sud ( French pronunciation: [kot dy syd] ) is a provincial electoral district in the Bas-Saint-Laurent and Chaudière-Appalaches regions of Quebec , Canada , which elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec . It includes the entire territory of the following regional county municipalities : Montmagny , L'Islet , Kamouraska . It notably includes the municipalities of Montmagny , La Pocatière , L'Islet , Saint-Pascal , Saint-Jean-Port-Joli , Cap-Saint-Ignace , Saint-Pamphile , Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska , Saint-Pacôme and Berthier-sur-Mer . It
176-408: A Huguenot courtier and friend of the king named as the first lieutenant general of French Canada . Roberval was to lead the expedition, with Cartier as his chief navigator. While Roberval waited for artillery and supplies, he gave permission to Cartier to sail on ahead with his ships. On May 23, 1541, Cartier departed Saint-Malo on his third voyage with five ships. This time, any thought of finding
264-417: A French expression: " faux comme les diamants du Canada " ("As false as Canadian diamonds"). Two of the ships were sent on their journey home with some of these minerals on September 2. Having set tasks for everyone, Cartier left with the longboats for a reconnaissance in search of "Saguenay" on September 7. Having reached Hochelaga, he was prevented by bad weather and the numerous rapids from continuing up to
352-417: A concoction made from a tree known as annedda , probably Spruce beer , or arbor vitae , would cure scurvy. This remedy likely saved the expedition from destruction, allowing 85 Frenchmen to survive the winter. In his journal, Cartier states that by mid-February, "out of 110 that we were, not ten were well enough to help the others, a pitiful thing to see". The Frenchmen used up the bark of an entire tree in
440-474: A destructive earthquake in history. An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 occurred in 1944 east of Godbout and another of the same magnitude occurred on the 16 March 1999, its epicentre was located at about 60 km (37 mi) south of Sept-Îles. The topography of Bas-Saint-Laurent has two main elements : the plateaus of the Appalachian Mountains , called Notre Dame Mountains , and the lowlands in
528-400: A large part (507 km [196 sq mi]) are in a marine environment. Although they are not strictly considered protected areas, the territories structured for the gestion of wildlife cover 45,5% of the surface area of the region. They are divided in four wildlife reserves and five Zone d'exploitation contrôlée . After reaching its peak in the middle of the 20th century due to
616-587: A passage to the Orient was forgotten. The goals were now to find the "Kingdom of Saguenay" and its riches, and to establish a permanent settlement along the St. Lawrence River. Anchoring at Stadacona, Cartier again met the Iroquoians , but found their "show of joy" and their numbers worrisome, and decided not to build his settlement there. Sailing a few kilometres upriver to a spot he had previously observed, he decided to settle on
704-504: A permanent settlement and a fur-trading post called Quebec . Cartier left his main ships in a harbour close to Stadacona, and used his smallest ship to continue on to Hochelaga (now Montreal), arriving on October 2, 1535. Hochelaga was far more impressive than the small and squalid village of Stadacona, and a crowd of over a thousand came to the river's edge to greet the Frenchmen. The site of their arrival has been confidently identified as
792-523: A second voyage on May 19 of the following year with three ships, 110 men, and his two Iroquoian captives. Reaching the St. Lawrence, he sailed upriver for the first time, and reached the Iroquoian capital of Stadacona , where Chief Donnacona ruled. Cartier claimed a land near St. Lawrence River in 1534; but France paid little attention to the colony for 60 years. Not until King Henry IV sent Samuel de Champlain in 1608 to New France as its governor and built
880-539: A ship, and that he entered and departed some 50 undiscovered harbours without serious mishap, he may be considered one of the most conscientious explorers of the period. Cartier was also one of the first to formally acknowledge that the New World was a land mass separate from Europe/Asia. On August 18, 2006, Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced that Canadian archaeologists had discovered the precise location of Cartier's lost first colony of Charlesbourg-Royal . The colony
968-515: A small part is within the limits of the region, is characterized by several summits taller than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Its diverse climate and its landscape host a flora unique in Quebec . Finally, about 30% of the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park , the first marine park of Quebec, is located in the region. It holds the longest fjord in the east of Canada as well as a part of the largest estuary in
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#17330861097591056-572: A sound in the Saint-Laurent valley, isolating the glacier covering Bas-Saint-Laurent from the one covering Côte-Nord . The isostatic rebound created an inland sea, the Sea of Goldthwait , which flooded the region under at most 200m of water in the area around Rimouski. The withdrawal of the Sea of Goldthwait was gradual, 2,000 years ago the isostatic rebound stabilised at around 1 mm (0.039 in) per year,
1144-405: A week on the cure, and the dramatic results prompted Cartier to proclaim it a Godsend, and a miracle. Ready to return to France in early May 1536, Cartier decided to kidnap Chief Donnacona and take him to France, so that he might personally tell the tale of a country further north, called the " Kingdom of Saguenay ", said to be full of gold, rubies and other treasures. After an arduous trip down
1232-529: Is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec . The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlantic Ocean and is often nicknamed "Bas-du-Fleuve" (Lower-River). The region is formed by eight regional county municipalities and 114 municipalities . In the south, it borders Maine of the United States, and
1320-530: Is called a medium estuary, while east of the municipality it is called a maritime estuary or lower estuary. The region is relatively poor in fresh water, since lakes and rivers only count as 1.5% of the land area. It possesses two hydrographic regions, the first holds all the streams that pour into the estuary of the Saint-Lawrence river and the region of Chaleur Bay and Percé , whose streams flow south into New-Brunswick and Maine . These regions influenced
1408-451: Is composed of riverside land of altitudes ranging from 0 to 250 m (0 to 820 ft) above sea level. This area has a depth of 5 km (3.1 mi) before reaching the mountains in the west of the region, but reaches 25 km (16 mi) in the vicinity of Rimouski, only to shrink again in the eastern limits of the region. This riverside land disappears entirely between the municipalities of Sainte-Félicité and Grosses-Roches . In
1496-408: Is due to structural issues like the rationalization of agriculture and the depletion of the forests, but also to rural flight and a sinking natality since the 1960s. Bas-Saint-Laurent was home to 200,500 inhabitants on the first of July 2011, which represents 2.5% of the total population of Quebec. This number indicates that this share has dropped by 4% since 1996. More than 40% of the population of
1584-585: Is not strictly the European discoverer of Canada as this country is understood today, a vast federation stretching a mari usque ad mare (from sea to sea). Eastern parts had previously been visited by the Norse, as well as Basque, Galician and Breton fishermen, and perhaps the Corte-Real brothers and John Cabot (in addition of course to the natives who first inhabited the territory). Cartier's particular contribution to
1672-526: Is not surprising that the share of the population of Quebec living in Bas-Saint-Laurent has decreased from 5.2% in 1951 to 2.8% in 2001. The population of Bas-Saint-Laurent is significantly older than the population of Quebec as a whole. In 2011, the average age of the population of Bas-Saint-Laurent was 47.3 years, making it the second oldest province of Quebec by that criterion, behind neighboring Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine (49.0 years) and just before
1760-472: Is part of the natural province of the Appalachian Mountains in the ecological reference area of Quebec. The forests of Bas-Saint-Laurent are 8,000 years old. Beyond inhabited areas, they cover the majority of the territory. They are boreal with a coniferous influence. The forests most important in order of superficy are those of golden birch , paper birch and white spruce . The dominant forest of
1848-557: Is recognized by its frequent appearance in baptismal registers as godfather or witness. In 1534, two years after the Duchy of Brittany was formally united with France in the Edict of Union , Cartier was introduced to King Francis I by Jean Le Veneur , bishop of Saint-Malo and abbot of Mont Saint-Michel , at the Manoir de Brion . The King had previously invited (although not formally commissioned)
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#17330861097591936-435: Is split into two different territories, being more accurate for the distinctive cultural traditions of these regions. The evolution of the toponymy of the region takes root in the different steps of its development, with at first the initial settlement by First Nations , followed by a progressive settlement by French-speaking colonists starting in the 18th century, but mostly in the 19th, a small Scottish presence starting in
2024-607: The Acadian orogeny and the Taconic orogeny , have shaped the land. During the first orogeny, the subduction of the oceanic plate created a volcanic chain in the Iapetus Ocean , off the coast of Laurentia during the Cambrian period. The magma surfacing mixed with the sediments originating from the continental erosion and the volcanic arc of islands got gradually closer to the continent to
2112-613: The American black duck , as well as a stop for migratory birds in spring. The region has four national parks . The Lac-Témiscouata National Park is located east of the Lake Témiscouata and protects a representative part of the Notre Dame Mountains and several ancient forests. The Bic National Park , near Rimouski , protects the litoral of the south of the estuary of Saint Lawrence . The Gaspésie National Park , of which only
2200-776: The Cascapédia River of 1,701 km (657 sq mi), half of this basin is located within the limits of the administrative region. Among the notable rivers pouring into the Saint-Lawrence, we can count the Mitis River (1,812 km [700 sq mi]), Matane River (1,692 km [653 sq mi]), Rimouski River (1,621 km [626 sq mi]), Rivière du Loup (1,046 km [404 sq mi]) and Trois Pistoles River (966 km [373 sq mi]). Bas-Saint-Laurent counts 2,417 lakes, of which 90% do not exceed an area of 20 ha (49 acres). About 30% of them are situated in
2288-561: The Compagnie de transport du Bas St-Laurent and the Compagnie de Pouvoir du Bas-Saint-Laurent or the newspaper l'Écho du Bas St-Laurent adopt it. After being eclipsed for two decades when the State tried to erase regional differences by putting in place shared administrative structures east of the Quebec, the start of the 1980s sees this policy change, as the great region Bas-Saint-Laurent- Gaspésie
2376-463: The Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano to explore the eastern coast of North America on behalf of France in 1524. Le Veneur cited voyages to Newfoundland and Brazil as proof of Cartier's ability to "lead ships to the discovery of new lands in the New World". On April 20, 1534, Cartier set sail under a commission from the king, hoping to discover a western passage to the wealthy markets of
2464-672: The Gaspé Peninsula and to the west by Côte-du-Sud. It extends over an area of 28,319 km (10,934 sq mi), with 22,141 km (8,549 sq mi) of land area, which represents a bit less than 2% of the total area of Quebec , however, this area also represents 10% of the inhabited area of Quebec, or about half the land area of Switzerland . The region is divided into eight Regional county municipalities (RCM), which contain 130 municipalities. Bas Saint-Laurent contained 200,462 inhabitants in 2011, of which 55,400 were in its most populous RCM, Rimouski-Neigette . Otherwise,
2552-859: The Gulf of St. Lawrence , and some parts of the coasts of the Gulf's main islands, including Prince Edward Island , Anticosti Island and the Magdalen Islands . During one stop at Îles aux Oiseaux (Islands of the Birds, now the Rochers-aux-Oiseaux federal bird sanctuary , northeast of Brion Island in the Magdalen Islands), his crew slaughtered around 1000 birds, most of them great auks (extinct since 1852). Cartier's first two encounters with aboriginal peoples in Canada on
2640-572: The Iroquoian names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and at Hochelaga (Montreal Island) . Jacques Cartier was born in 1491 in Saint-Malo , the port on the north-east coast of Brittany . Cartier, who was a respectable mariner , improved his social status in 1520 by marrying Mary Catherine des Granches, member of a leading aristocratic family. His good name in Saint-Malo
2728-576: The Lachine Rapids and the town of Lachine, Quebec . After spending two days among the people of Hochelaga, Cartier returned to Stadacona on October 11. It is not known exactly when he decided to spend the winter of 1535–1536 in Stadacona, and it was by then too late to return to France. Cartier and his men prepared for the winter by strengthening their fort, stacking firewood, and salting down game and fish . From mid-November 1535 to mid-April 1536,
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2816-582: The National Bank of Canada . In 2005, Cartier's Bref récit et succincte narration de la navigation faite en MDXXXV et MDXXXVI was named one of the 100 most important books in Canadian history by the Literary Review of Canada . Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip reference Jacques Cartier in their 1992 song " Looking for a Place to Happen ". The song deals with the subject of European encroachment in
2904-458: The Ottawa River . Returning to Charlesbourg-Royal, Cartier found the situation ominous. The Iroquoians no longer made friendly visits or peddled fish and game, but prowled about in a sinister manner. No records exist about the winter of 1541–1542 and the information must be gleaned from the few details provided by returning sailors. It seems the natives attacked and killed about 35 settlers before
2992-555: The Pleistocene drove away the animals of the ice-covered area and these came back gradually as the ice sheet melted over the last 18,000 years. The melting of the ice sheet and the flood of the sea of Goldthwait around the current estuary brought molluscs like true mussels , soft-shell clams and scallops . belugas and other whales visit it. According to the remains of marine mammals found in altitude further inland, narvals , walruses and earless seals were also present in
3080-644: The Saint Lawrence River has a small influence on the climate of the region, making it more alike to the climate of meridional Quebec , than with "Nordic" towns like La Sarre in Abitibi or Roberval, Quebec in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean , located at the same latitude than the town of Matane . However, the climate of Bas-Saint-Laurent is of continental type, with a "great amplitude and no dry periods". The French geographer Raoul Blanchard described
3168-518: The common goldeneye and ring-necked duck , while sea ducks are represented by the common eider and long-tailed duck . Bas-Saint-Laurent has only one wetland area according to the Ramsar Convention , the Baie de l'Isle-Verte , part of it is protected by the national wildlife reserve of baie de L'Isle-Verte . This swamp is primarily occupied by cordgrasses and is an important nesting area for
3256-455: The 1800s, with activities centred on agriculture and the exploitation of its waters and forests. The last phase of this evolution took place when some inland communities started to decline and its centres of activity were reinforced. The Bas-Saint-Laurent is a region in the East of Quebec, delimited to the north by the Saint Lawrence River , to the south by New-Brunswick and Maine , to the east by
3344-505: The 19th century. The first mention of the name is attributed to a report from the Rimouskois deputy and writer Joseph-Charles Taché , which used the term to describe "the two shores of the Bas-Saint-Laurent except the Gaspé district". The authors, however, write that Taché preferred most of the time to use more precise and well-known references, like the counties of Montmorency and Rimouski. Even if
3432-487: The Canadian New Brunswick and the regions of Chaudière-Appalaches and Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine . It had a population of 199,039 and a land area of 22,188.19 km (8,566.91 sq mi) as of the 2021 census . The territory has evidence of human occupation since the Pleistocene by successive indigenous peoples. The historic First Nations occupied it all until European colonisation started in
3520-636: The East Indies. In the words of the commission, he was to "discover certain islands and lands where it is said that a great quantity of gold and other precious things are to be found". It took him twenty days to sail across the ocean. Starting on May 10 of that year, he explored parts of Newfoundland , the Strait of Belle Isle and southern shore of the Labrador Peninsula , the Gaspé and North Shore coastlines on
3608-625: The French fleet lay frozen solid at the mouth of the St. Charles River , under the Rock of Quebec. Ice was over a fathom (1.8 m) thick on the river, with snow four feet (1.2 m) deep ashore. To add to the misery, scurvy broke out – first among the Iroquoians, and then among the French. Cartier estimated the number of dead Iroquoians at 50. On a visit by Domagaya to the French fort, Cartier inquired and learned from him that
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3696-476: The Frenchmen could retreat behind their fortifications. Even though scurvy was cured through the native remedy ( Thuja occidentalis infusion), the impression left is of a general misery, and of Cartier's growing conviction that he had insufficient manpower either to protect his base or to go in search of the Saguenay Kingdom. Cartier left for France in early June 1542, encountering Roberval and his ships along
3784-517: The Gaspé belt is the remnant of a second mountain formation during Siluro - Devonian times. Around 430 million years ago, the Taconic mountains eroded and created sediments that deposited at a shallow depth. As Laurentia and the micro-continent Avalonia deformed and raised the sedimentary deposits and volcanic rocks and created a second chain of mountains, the Acadian Chain, which superposes itself on
3872-494: The Gaspésie National Park. The largest protected areas of the region are those protected by the confinement areas of the white-tailed deer . Just these protected areas cover nearly 80% of the protected area of the region. Bas-Saint-Laurent contains about 27% of the protected areas of this designation. The second largest designation by superficy are the protected areas devoted to the protection of aquatic birds, of which
3960-536: The Newfoundland coast, at about the time Roberval marooned Marguerite de La Rocque . Despite Roberval's insistence that he accompany him back to Saguenay, Cartier slipped off under the cover of darkness and continued on to France, still convinced his vessels contained a wealth of gold and diamonds. He arrived there in October, in what proved to be his last voyage. Meanwhile, Roberval took command at Charlesbourg-Royal, but it
4048-528: The Precambrian bedrock under the Logan line and the Appalachian Mountains , at a variable depth between 30 km (19 mi) deep and the surface Another seismic area located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence , in a triangle between the towns of Matane , Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles . However, this seismic area is less active than the one uphill, as only an average of sixty earthquakes occur each year and has not had
4136-471: The RCM of Rimouski-Neigette . The two largest lakes of the region are Lake Témiscouata (66.82 km (25.80 sq mi)) and Lake Matapedia (38.07 km [14.70 sq mi]), significant human settlement on their shore has taken place, as well as along the roads going through their valleys. These lakes also distinguish themselves by their north west and south west orientation, compared to most of
4224-638: The Saint Lawrence River to the northwest, the Notre Dame Mountains section of the Appalachians, as well as the Matapédia and Témiscouata valleys, which forms the natural communication corridors with the Gaspé Peninsula , the state of Maine in the United States, and the Maritimes . The region takes its name from the Saint Lawrence River, a waterway that has a central role in the history of Quebec and forms
4312-524: The St. Lawrence River—an indispensable preliminary to French settlement in their lands. Cartier was the first to document the name Canada to designate the territory on the shores of the St-Lawrence River. The name is derived from the Huron – Iroquois word kanata , or village, which was incorrectly interpreted as the native term for the newly discovered land. Cartier used the name to describe Stadacona,
4400-461: The St. Lawrence and a three-week Atlantic crossing, Cartier and his men arrived in Saint-Malo on July 15, 1536, concluding the second, 14-month voyage, which was to be Cartier's most profitable. On October 17, 1540, Francis ordered the navigator Jacques Cartier to return to Canada to lend weight to a colonization project of which he would be "captain general". However, January 15, 1541, saw Cartier supplanted by Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval ,
4488-668: The Taconic Chain. The estuary of the Saint Lawrence river in front of the Charlevoix region is one of the most active seismic regions in the east of Canada. Five earthquakes of a magnitude superior to 6 have occurred in history, in February 1663, December 1791, October 1860, October 1870 and February 1925. The distribution of these earthquakes indicates a concentration in the estuary, near La Malbaie and Rivière-du-Loup . Surveys and
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#17330861097594576-550: The beginning of the Sainte-Marie Sault – where the bridge named after him now stands. The expedition could proceed no further, as the river was blocked by rapids. So certain was Cartier that the river was the Northwest Passage , and that the rapids were all that was preventing him from sailing to China, that the rapids and the town that eventually grew near them came to be named after the French word for China, La Chine :
4664-585: The discovery of Canada is as the first European to penetrate the continent, and more precisely the interior eastern region along the St. Lawrence River. His explorations consolidated France's claim of the territory that would later be colonized as New France , and his third voyage produced the first documented European attempt at settling North America since that of Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón in 1526–27. Cartier's professional abilities can be easily ascertained. Considering that Cartier made three voyages of exploration in dangerous and hitherto unknown waters without losing
4752-463: The entrance to the St. Lawrence on his first voyage, he now opened up the greatest waterway for the European penetration of North America. He produced an intelligent estimate of the resources of Canada, both natural and human, albeit with a considerable exaggeration of its mineral wealth. While some of his actions toward the St. Lawrence Iroquoians were dishonourable, he did try at times to establish friendship with them and other native peoples living along
4840-511: The establishment of a seismometer network were conducted in the 1970s and allowed to circumscribe the seismically active area in an area of 30 km (19 mi) on 85 km (53 mi) along the Saint Lawrence River, this zone includes the towns of La Malbaie, Baie-Saint-Paul and La Pocatière . The seismic data indicates that an earthquake happens on average every 36 hours in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska zone. They are concentrated in
4928-658: The fine stripe of land along the Saint Lawrence river . These are separated by an intermediate area of ridges and foothills which meld with the plateaus. The Notre Dame Mountains, are a group of small mountains with summits reaching between 600 and 700 m (2,000 and 2,300 ft) high. the landscape is sometimes interrupted by valleys, like the Témiscouata valley or Matapedia Valley . These two parallel valleys allow access to The Maritimes , Maine and Chaleur Bay . The littoral, spanning across 320 km (200 mi)
5016-547: The forested area of the region. It is mainly located in the centre of Bas-Saint-Laurent between Rivière-du-Loup and Rimouski . The main species of trees within it are the golden birch, balsam fir , white spruce, red spruce and the cedar , as well as rarer quaking aspens, paper birches, balsam poplars and mountain maple . However, a more profound analysis of the composition of the forests of Bas-Saint-Laurent allows to shed light on which trees grow at which elevations, type of soils and latitudes. Miroslav Grandtner categorized
5104-399: The forests of Bas-Saint-Laurent. Many species of birds live along the estuary of Saint Lawrence . The Canada goose , snow goose and brant do a halt in the tidal marshes located along the litoral between La Pocatière and Pointe-au-Père . Diverse types of duck are present, like the American black duck , Northern pintail , two types of surface duck. Diving ducks are represented by
5192-623: The land devoted to agriculture covers 2,819 km (1,088 sq mi), while developed areas represent only 143 km (55 sq mi), which equals to 0.5% of the total land area of the region. Even if an isolated area of Cambrian and Precambrian rocks exist in an area of the Chic-Choc Mountains , the region belongs generally to the geologic province of the Appalachian Mountains , which covers an area of 3,000 km (1,200 sq mi), between Alabama and Newfoundland . The marks of two episodes of mountain-building ,
5280-454: The late 17th century; France made land concessions to settlers under the Seigneurial system of New France to encourage colonization. However, development of this region was slow until it started to exploit its mixed forests. Settlement gradually developed further inland, on the littoral, and since the late 20th century a leisure and recreation industry has developed. Its geography is marked by
5368-470: The layout of the administrative areas of Bas-Saint-Laurent, by setting limits to some regional county municipalities. The largest drainage basins of the region are located in the south of the territory. These are the drainage basins of the Matapedia River (3,328 km [1,285 sq mi]) and Madawaska River (2,861 km [1,105 sq mi]). Ranking third, the drainage basin of
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#17330861097595456-598: The least populous RCM of the region is Les Basques , with only 9,000 inhabitants in 2011, a number which decreased by 1,300 since 1996, making it also the RCM with the highest annual rate of population decrease of the region, with a rate of 9.6% between 2006 and 2011. Forested areas and waterways dominate the land use of Bas-Saint-Laurent. The region counts 100,071 km (38,638 sq mi) of mixed forests , 4,918 km (1,899 sq mi) of coniferous forests and 6,177 km (3,838 mi) of waterways. Humid lands only covers 58 km (22 sq mi) and
5544-415: The name of the region was present on a map made in 1863 by Stanislas Drapeau, it took time to settle in; the expression "le Bas du Fleuve" being preferred. With the settlement of Témiscouata and la Matapédia , the name start imposing itself between 1920 and 1960, when a number of enterprises and organisms of the region delimitated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rimouski and Rivière-du-Loup , like
5632-409: The north side of Chaleur Bay , most likely the Mi'kmaq , were brief; some trading occurred. His third encounter took place on the shores of Gaspé Bay with a party of St. Lawrence Iroquoians , where on July 24 he planted a cross to claim the land for France. The 10-metre cross bearing the words "Long Live the King of France" claimed possession of the territory in the King's name. The change in mood
5720-427: The northern border of the region. The name of the river, and by extension the region, has a hagiotoponymic origin originating from the baye sainct Laurens named by Jacques Cartier , originating from the date of discovery being 10 August 1535, day of the festival of Saint Lawrence in the Christian martyrology . The name of the bay was used again to describe the river when the Narration , his report of his expedition,
5808-400: The other lakes of the region which prefer to follow the orientation of the creases and breaks of the Appalachian Mountains. Bas-Saint-Laurent, like the rest of Quebec, is a Nordic American territory. The Quebecois geographer Louis-Edmond Hamelin categorized the region in his pre-north area, second of the five zones of his map of nordicity zones. The oceanic influence of the estuary of
5896-417: The region in third place, Mauricie (47.2). Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier ( Breton : Jakez Karter ; 31 December 1491 – 1 September 1557) was a French- Breton maritime explorer for France . Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River , which he named "The Country of Canadas" after
5984-401: The region lives in two RCMs , Rimouski-Neigette (55,364 inhabitants in 2011) and Rivière-du-Loup (34,326 inhabitants in 2011). Since 1951, the region has seen its population stagnate or slightly decline. This is due to two opposing factors, the decline of rural areas and the reinforcement of urban areas, like Rimouski and Rivière-du-Loup. The share of these two towns alone went from 16% of
6072-427: The region. On land, the eider appears around 18,000 BP and a mastodon closely related to the mammoth inhabited the area before disappearing 8000 years ago. Today, the region is dominated by the big game moose , white-tailed deer and black bear . The small game is composed of the ruffed grouse , the spruce grouse and snowshoe hare . The muskrat , North American beaver and red fox are also usual sights in
6160-630: The site of present-day Cap-Rouge , Quebec. The convicts and other colonists were landed, the cattle that had survived three months aboard ship were turned loose, earth was broken for a kitchen garden, and seeds of cabbage, turnip, and lettuce were planted. A fortified settlement was thus created and was named Charlesbourg-Royal . Another fort was also built on the cliff overlooking the settlement, for added protection. The men also began collecting what they believed to be diamonds and gold, but which upon return to France were discovered to be merely quartz crystals and iron pyrites , respectively—which gave rise to
6248-412: The south west end of the region, the littoral stripe before Rivère-du-Loup and the medium plateau in the golden birch forest, the high plateau as part of the paper birch forest, and finally, the Chic-Choc Mountains as part of the white spruce forest. The fauna of Bas-Saint-Laurent is similar to the one found in other parts of Quebec and has a relatively poor diversity in species. The glacial episodes of
6336-410: The strong natality and a reduction of child mortality, the inhabited area of Bas-Saint-Laurent has declined over the last 50 years. This observation is not unique to the region however, as the population living on the south shore of the estuary, in the regions of Côte-du-Sud, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie , has dropped from 9.3 to 5.4% of the total population of Quebec between 1951 and 1991. This decline
6424-598: The subduction. The two collided 450 million years ago and formed a chain of immature mountains, the Taconic Mountains , their nappe covers a part of the Saint Lawrence Lowlands . This first zone, which follows the river today, is known as Humber's zone. Dating from the Ordovician , this bedrock is composed primarily of sedimentary rocks : sandstone , mudrocks and conglomerates . South of this zone,
6512-502: The surrounding land and the river itself. And Cartier named Canadiens the inhabitants ( Iroquoians ) he had seen there. Thereafter the name Canada was used to designate the small French colony on these shores, and the French colonists were called Canadiens until the mid-nineteenth century, when the name started to be applied to the loyalist colonies on the Great Lakes and later to all of British North America . In this way Cartier
6600-503: The temperature variations between winter and summer as "brutal". During the winter, which lasts for five months, the cold freezes the lakes and rivers and transforms the estuary into a "vast prairie of ice". The oceanic influence, while it mitigates the cold of the winters, cools the summers. The average temperature in July in Rimouski inferior by 4 degrees to the one recorded in Quebec. To this,
6688-504: The territory is composed of golden birch trees, an Ecotone marking the transition between the temperate nordique area and the boreal area. It is located mainly in the highest part of the Appalachian plateau. The main species of trees within it are the paper birch, the balsam fir , and the white spruce, as well as rarer quaking aspens and jack pines . The second forest in superficy is composed of primarily golden birch, and covers 35% of
6776-578: The tip of the Great Northern Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador in the town of Quirpon , is said to have been named by Jacques Cartier himself on one of his voyages through the Strait of Belle Isle during the 1530s. The Banque Jacques-Cartier existed, and printed banknotes, between 1861 and 1899 in Lower Canada , then Quebec. It was folded into the Banque provinciale du Canada, and later still
6864-543: The total population of the region in 1951 to 34% in 2001. The new importance of these urban centres explain the fact that only their RCMs have had a population increase between 1951 and 2001. Opposite to these, RCMs devoid of a strong urban centre, like La Matapédia , Témiscouata and Les Basques , have been the RCMs where the population has dropped the most in the region. Accounting for the population decrease observed since 1951, even when Quebec's population has increased by 82%, it
6952-522: The western part of the territory, this littoral plain is interrupted by inselbergs , ridges reaching that can reach 200m in height, typical of the riverside land of Bas-Saint-Laurent In the Quaternary , the region was marked by glaciation. the Wisconsin glaciation caused the crust to sink by 200 m (660 ft) in the vicinity of Rimouski . When the end of the glaciation started in 18,000 BP, it opened
7040-434: The wind of the north west adds humidity and cold. Rainfall is abundant and consistent throughout the year. The region currently receives annually 800 to 1,200 mm (31 to 47 in) of rainfall, of which between 250 and 360 cm (98 and 142 in) is snow. The oceanic influence is less present inland, where slightly warmer temperatures in the summer and slightly colder in the winter are recorded. Bas-Saint-Laurent
7128-423: The withdrawal of the water formed a number of narrow streaks of emerged land near the riverside between Rivière-du-Loup and Rimouski , known today as Île aux Lièvres , Île Verte , île aux Basques , île du Bic and île Saint-Barnabé . The estuary of the Saint Lawrence river , to the north of the region, plays a primary role in the region. It is divided in two regions split at Cacouna : west of Cacouna, it
7216-503: The world, which makes it a location of considerable marine biodiversity. It is the only park administered in Canada by both the Government of Quebec and Government of Canada . Three other parks, ecological reserves, more restricted protected areas, are located in the centre of the region, the reserves of Fernald , Charles-B.-Banville and Irène-Fournier . At the same level of protection, there are six floristic parks, most of them within
7304-547: Was a clear indication that the Iroquoians understood Cartier's actions. Here he kidnapped the two sons of their chief, Donnacona . Cartier wrote that they later told him this region where they were captured (Gaspé) was called by them Honguedo . The natives' chief at last agreed that they could be taken, under the condition that they return with European goods to trade. Cartier returned to France in September 1534, sure that he had reached an Asian land. Jacques Cartier set sail for
7392-768: Was abandoned in 1543 after disease, foul weather and hostile natives drove the would-be settlers to despair. Cartier spent the rest of his life in Saint-Malo and his nearby estate, where he often was useful as an interpreter in Portuguese. He died at age 65 on September 1, 1557, during an epidemic, possibly of typhus , though many sources list his cause of death as unknown. Cartier is interred in Saint-Malo Cathedral . No permanent European settlements were made in Canada before 1605, when Pierre Dugua , with Samuel Champlain , founded Port Royal in Acadia . Having already located
7480-496: Was built at the confluence of the Rivière du Cap Rouge with the St. Lawrence River and is based on the discovery of burnt wooden timber remains that have been dated to the mid-16th century, and a fragment of a decorative Istoriato plate manufactured in Faenza , Italy, between 1540 and 1550, that could only have belonged to a member of the French aristocracy in the colony. Most probably this
7568-463: Was created for the 2012 election from all of the former Montmagny-L'Islet and part of the former Kamouraska-Témiscouata electoral districts. Johnson is split between Centre-du-Québec and Montérégie See also : 47°20′31″N 69°41′13″W / 47.342°N 69.687°W / 47.342; -69.687 Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent ( French pronunciation: [ba sɛ̃ lɔʁɑ̃] , "Lower Saint-Lawrence")
7656-452: Was the Sieur de Roberval , who replaced Cartier as the leader of the settlement. This colony was the first known European settlement in modern-day Canada since the c. 1000 L'Anse aux Meadows Viking village in northern Newfoundland . Its rediscovery has been hailed by archaeologists as the most important find in Canada since the L'Anse aux Meadows rediscovery. Jacques Cartier Island, located on
7744-412: Was translated to Spanish and Italian, and definitively fixed by its use in the world map of cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, according to historian Marcel Trudel . The name "Bas-Saint-Laurent", however, only appeared much later. In their Histoire du Bas-Saint-Laurent , the historians Fortin and Lechasseur assert that the relation with the Saint Lawrence grew with the population of the region in
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