Baie-Sainte-Catherine, Quebec is a town in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The municipal's territory extends along the Saguenay and

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. "Laurel wreath, laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, perse ...

rivers, whereas the town itself is on the small St. Catherine Bay, which is located at the confluence of these two rivers. Its elevation is 260 feet. It is the west terminus of the ''Baie-Ste-Catherine'' / ''Tadoussac''

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

, which offers free and frequent service across the

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River () is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. T ...

Tadoussac Tadoussac () is a village in Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers. The indigenous Innu call the place ''Totouskak'' (plural for ''totouswk'' or ''totochak'') meaning "bosom", probably in reference to the t ...

. The ferry is part of

Quebec Route 138 Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the Saint Lawrence River past Montreal to the temporary eastern terminus in Kegashka on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The western terminus is in El ...

which is the main land link to Sept-Îles along the

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past Tadous ...

. Baie-Sainte-Catherine is a gateway to the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park and to the Saguenay Conservation Park. Therefore it caters to tourism, particularly to

whale-watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 20 ...

cruises on the Saint Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers.

History

Baie-Sainte-Catherine has the reputation of being the location of the historic meeting on May 27, 1603, between

François Gravé Du Pont François Gravé (Saint-Malo, November 1560 – 1629 or soon after), said ''Du Pont'' (or ''Le Pont'', ''Pontgravé''...), was a Breton navigator (captain on the sea and on the "Big River of Canada"), an early fur trader and explorer in the N ...

and

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

and the leaders of three Indian nations with whom they concluded an agreement that opened the Saint Lawrence River to French explorers. On the stormy evening of November 27, 1686, the ship ''La Catherine'' went aground and sank in the bay at the mouth of the Saguenay River. On the 1731 map by Laure, this bay was identified as "''Ance à la Catherine''" (archaic French for "Catherine Cove"). At some uncertain point in time, "Saint" was added, following the former widespread practice in Quebec of sanctifying toponyms. Around 1820, the first permanent settlers came to the Canard River area and formed a farming village. In 1843, William Price built a sawmill at the first falls on Canards River, that operated some ten years. In 1847, the mission was founded, and named "Saint-Firmin" by the bishop of Quebec. Its first cemetery opened in 1865 on Alouettes Point, followed by the first chapel of St. Firmin Mission in 1876, also on Alouettes Point. At the beginning of the 20th century, it transformed into an industrial village when another sawmill and cheese factory operated there. In 1903, the village was incorporated as the Municipality of Saint-Firmin. But since the place was called Baie-Sainte-Catherine in common use, the municipality officially adopted this name in 1984.

Demographics

Population

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 97 (total dwellings: 125)

Language

Mother tongue: * English as first language: 0% * French as first language: 97.3% * English and French as first language: 0% * Other as first language: 0%

References

External links