55-518: Matane-Matapédia is a provincial electoral district in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec , Canada , that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec . It includes the municipalities of Matane , Mont-Joli , Amqui , Sainte-Luce , Causapscal , Price , Sayabec , Saint-Ulric , Lac-au-Saumon and Saint-Gabriel-de-Rimouski . It was created for the 2012 election from part of
110-640: 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 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
165-474: 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
220-400: 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
275-515: 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
330-572: 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,
385-530: 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
440-451: 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
495-408: 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
550-526: 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
605-472: 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
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#1732875640576660-435: 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
715-594: 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 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
770-607: 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
825-613: 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
880-776: 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
935-561: 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
990-672: 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,
1045-502: 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
1100-644: 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
1155-518: 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
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#17328756405761210-455: 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
1265-564: 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
1320-494: 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
1375-574: 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
1430-471: 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
1485-541: The Saint Lawrence River, a waterway that has a central role in the history of Quebec and forms 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
1540-668: 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
1595-564: The age of 27, he was unopposed for a seat in the Legislative Assembly . His activity in politics led him into the newspaper business as a writer renowned for his caustic political wit. He worked as a writer and editor until 1859 when he left Le Courrier du Canada to pursue other writing full-time. He returned to public life in 1864 as a senior civil servant in Ottawa for 24 years in literary, cultural, scientific and political areas. He oversaw
1650-481: The bay was used again to describe the river when the Narration , his report of his expedition, 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
1705-534: The counties of Montmorency and Rimouski. Even if 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
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1760-511: 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
1815-658: 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)
1870-547: 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
1925-399: 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
1980-453: The former Matane and all of the former Matapédia electoral districts. Johnson is split between Centre-du-Québec and Montérégie See also : Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent ( French pronunciation: [ba sɛ̃ lɔʁɑ̃] , "Lower Saint-Lawrence") 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
2035-623: 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 ,
2090-470: 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
2145-598: 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
2200-603: The littoral, and since the late 20th century a leisure and recreation industry has developed. Its geography is marked by 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
2255-400: 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
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2310-561: The region in third place, Mauricie (47.2). Joseph-Charles Tach%C3%A9 Joseph-Charles Taché , (December 24, 1820 – April 16, 1894) was a member of the Taché family, a nephew of Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché . He was a student at the Petit Séminaire de Québec and followed this by a study of medicine, receiving his medical diploma in 1844. Taché practised medicine in Rimouski , and, at
2365-401: 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
2420-427: 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
2475-486: The relation with the Saint Lawrence grew with the population of the region in 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
2530-412: 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
2585-410: 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
2640-598: 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,
2695-453: 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,
2750-504: 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
2805-543: 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
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#17328756405762860-522: 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
2915-434: 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
2970-423: 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
3025-552: 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
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