24-506: The Chibougamau River flows west in the Chibougamau , then Eeyou Istchee James Bay (municipality) in the administrative region of Nord-du-Québec , Quebec , Canada . From the source, the course of the river successively crosses the townships of: Roy, McKenzie, O'Balski, Hauy, Scott, Barlow, Mckenzie, Blainlock, McKenzie, Barlow, Cuvier, Opemisca, Lamarck, Guettard, Saussure, Ribourde, Ronciere, Ribourde, Krieghoff and Gand. The surface of
48-437: A snowmobile rally . In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada , Chibougamau had a population of 7,233 living in 3190 of its 3,557 total private dwellings, a change of -3.6% from its 2016 population of 7,504. With a land area of 694.87 km (268.29 sq mi), it had a population density of 10.4/km (27.0/sq mi) in 2021. The median age is 40.8, as opposed to 41.6 for all of Canada. French
72-416: A July high of 22.9 °C (73.2 °F) and a low of 10.2 °C (50.4 °F). The average temperature for the year is 0.4 °C (32.7 °F) (1991-2020), an increase of 0.2 °C (0.36 °F) from 1981-2010. Overall precipitation is high for a subarctic climate with an average annual precipitation of 995.8 mm (39.20 in) and 312.9 cm (123.2 in) of snow per season. Precipitation
96-529: A fire destroyed the Opémiska Community Hall . Fifty others were injured and rushed to Chibougamau hospital. This fire was the worst to occur in Quebec for more than 40 years. The fire started in wreaths of dried branches and other Christmas decorations, and the ensuing chaos that followed quickly blocked access to the main entrance. Several people managed to escape in time, but the tragedy left deep scars in
120-433: Is Obalski Regional Park . Its many amenities include a beach, pier, picnic tables, and cabins. The many trails allow for hiking, cycling, cross-country skiing, or even snowmobiling through the park's boreal forest . Access to the town is by Route 167 from Lac Saint-Jean and by Route 113 from Lebel-sur-Quévillon . Chibougamau/Chapais Airport is along Route 113, about halfway to Chapais. The area has long been part of
144-455: Is MacLean Memorial School. formerly Chibougamau Protestant School. There also used to be a Catholic English-language school called Holy Family School. Chibougamau has a subarctic climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfc ), despite being located just south of 50 degrees latitude. Winters are long, cold, and snowy with a January high of −12.7 °C (9.1 °F) and a low of −24.1 °C (−11.4 °F). Summers are warm though short with
168-538: Is only about as far north as Winnipeg and is south of any part of the mainland of England. Nearby is Lac Aux Dorés , which is fed by the Chibougamau River from the larger Chibougamau Lake after which the town was named. Chibougamau means "gathering place" in the Cree language . The neighbouring Cree village of Oujé-Bougoumou has the same name with a more traditional Cree spelling. The area surrounding Lake Gilman
192-541: Is significant year-round, though February through April are drier. Chapais, Quebec Chapais is a community in the Canadian province of Quebec , located on Route 113 near Chibougamau in the Jamésie region. It is surrounded by, but not a part of, the local municipality of Eeyou Istchee James Bay . The community was first settled in 1929, when prospector Léo Springer discovered deposits of copper, silver and gold in
216-469: Is surrounded by, but not part of, the local municipality of Eeyou Istchee James Bay . Its remoteness from Lac Saint-Jean (over 200 km (120 mi) south-east) and Abitibi-Témiscamingue (over 250 km (160 mi) south-west) areas causes Chibougamau to provide services for a few smaller communities surrounding it ( Mistissini , Oujé-Bougoumou , and Chapais ) and for the regional resource-based industries. Despite Chibougamau's remoteness, it
240-537: The Cree territory. It was in the early 17th century that French explorers and traders, including Charles Albanel in 1671, came to the Lake Chibougamau area. However, no permanent European settlements were established at that time. Only in the late 19th century would the area attract the interest of mining prospectors . When gold was discovered in 1903, there were periods of intense exploration. The difficulty of access caused no lasting development to take place at
264-596: The Royal Canadian Air Force operated CFS Chibougamau , a radar station in Chibougamau that was part of the Pinetree Line . The complex has now been transformed into a golf complex and an office for a mining company. Since December 2001, the mayor of Chibougamau has been also on the municipal council of Municipality of Baie-James . The city is home to an annual " Folies frettes " festival ("Cold Follies") and
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#1732855069107288-440: The humid continental ( Koppen : Dfb) areas to the south. While winters are bitterly cold, summers are relatively warm during daytime, though nights remain relatively cool. As such, the yearly mean is just above freezing. Summers have high rainfall and winters are quite snowy. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Chapais had a population of 1,468 living in 648 of its 711 total private dwellings,
312-730: The Chibougamau River branches North and West to bypass the Michwacho Mountains (384 metres (1,260 ft)), Roy (492 metres (1,614 ft)), "of the Solitary Sentinel"(390 metres (1,280 ft)) and the Pachyderm Hills (361 metres (1,184 ft)). In 1816 James Clouston of the Hudson's Bay Company drew a map of the area, which refers to the name "Capacomou River" to refer to the Chibougamau River. The toponym Chibougamau River
336-527: The Chibougamau River converges with the Opawica River (coming from the southeast) to form the Waswanipi River . This point of convergence is just upstream of the Waswanipi River bridge on road 113 connecting Chapais with Lebel-sur-Quévillon . The village of Waswanipi is located near the mouth of the two rivers on the north bank of the Chibougamau River. On its route, the river drains in particular
360-540: The Iserhoff North River is usually frozen from early November to mid-May, however, safe ice circulation is usually from mid-November to mid-April. The surrounding hydrographic slopes of the Chibougamau River are: The head of the Chibougamau River hydrographic slope is located South of the Mistassini Lake . The Chibougamau Lake is the main source of the Chibougamau River, which flows more than 200 km to
384-400: The area of establishment Cri de Oujé-Bougoumou , located on the north shore of Lake Opémisca. This hamlet is 16.3 km (in a direct line) North of the village of Chapais . The summit of Mount Opémisca (540 metres (1,770 ft)) is located 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) North of Opémisca Lake and 4.8 kilometres (3.0 mi) Northwest of Cri de Oujé-Bougoumou . After crossing Michwacho ,
408-440: The area. Named for Thomas Chapais , it was incorporated as a city in 1955. Opémisca Copper Mines operated the community's mine until 1991. More recently, with the closure of the mines, the community's primary industry has been forestry. The community opened the first cogeneration plant in Quebec to produce electricity from the sawmill's waste matter. On the night of January 1, 1980, at 1:30 a.m., 48 people were killed when
432-459: The community. Chapais had a population of 1,468 in the Canada 2021 Census . A crater on Mars is named after this community. The community, and the efforts of its residents to keep it alive in the face of economic decline, are profiled in the 2013 documentary film Waiting for Spring (En attendant le printemps) . Chapais has a marginal subarctic climate ( Koppen : Dfc), slightly colder than
456-423: The population and visible minorities contributed 3.9%. The largest visible minority groups in Chibougamau are Black (1.5%), Filipino (1.1%), and Arab (0.8%). The region is home to 555 recent immigrants (i.e. those arriving between 2016 and 2021). In 2021, 67.7% of the population identified as Catholic , while 22.8% said they had no religious affiliation. Pentecostals were the largest religious minority, at 1.3% of
480-407: The population, while Muslims were the largest non-Christian religious minority, making up 0.8% of the population. Counting both single and multiple responses, the most commonly identified ethnocultural ancestries were: (Percentages may total more than 100% due to rounding and multiple responses). French-language schools in Chibougamau, past and present, are: The English-language school
504-457: The time. Not until 1949 was copper first exploited, with the opening of a multi-metallic mine in the area, and a permanent community was established in 1952. Chibougamau started out as a company town but soon afterward, in 1954, it was incorporated as a municipality. Many mines have exploited the area since. While still thought of as a mining town, Chibougamau is now also the centre of a large logging and sawmill industry. From 1962 to 1988,
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#1732855069107528-629: The west in complex zigzags. The mouth of Chibougamau Lake flows westward into Lac aux Dorés, located southeast of the town of Chibougamau . The mouth of "Lac aux Dorés" is located at the bottom of a bay south of the lake in Obalski Township. Flowing south, the Chibougamau River flares out to form Merrill Lake, then the river waters Scott Township to the north. On its irregular course, the river crosses successively 12 lakes: Ledden, David, Dulieux, Simon, Scott, Acinitchibastat, Gwillim, Chevrillon , Rush, Barlow, Opémisca and Michwacho . At its mouth,
552-565: Was formalized on December 5, 1968, at the Bank of place names of the Commission de toponymie du Quebec , when it was created. Download coordinates as: Chibougamau Chibougamau ( French pronunciation: [ʃibuɡamo] ) is the largest town in Nord-du-Québec , central Quebec , Canada. Located on Lake Gilman, it has a population of 7,233 people ( 2021 Canadian census ). Chibougamau
576-441: Was the mother tongue of 92.5% of residents in 2021. The next most common mother tongues were English at 3.0%, followed by Cree-Innu languages at 1.6%. A small number (0.9%) reported both English and French as their first language. Additionally there were 0.2% who reported both French and a non-official language as their mother tongue. As of 2021, Indigenous peoples , primarily First Nations and some Métis , comprised 7.8% of
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