Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
is the second largest city in Canada and the largest city in the province of
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 ...
, located along the
Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
at its junction with the
Ottawa River. The city is geographically constrained, with the majority on the
Island of Montreal in the
Hochelaga Archipelago
The Hochelaga Archipelago (), also known as the Montreal Islands, is a group of islands at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers in the southwestern part of the province of Quebec, Canada.
Population
On 1 July 2021, the Ho ...
, and has several prominent features, including the eponymous
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the ...
. The region experiences four distinct seasons and is classified as a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
, with very cold and snowy winters and warm and humid summers.
Geographic location
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
is located in the southwest of the province of
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 ...
, approximately southwest of
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, the provincial capital, and east of
Ottawa, the
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
capital. It also lies northeast of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, northwest of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and directly north of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
The city is located on the central and eastern portions of the
Island of Montreal, the largest island in the
Hochelaga Archipelago
The Hochelaga Archipelago (), also known as the Montreal Islands, is a group of islands at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers in the southwestern part of the province of Quebec, Canada.
Population
On 1 July 2021, the Ho ...
, at the confluence of the
Saint Lawrence and
Ottawa Rivers. The port of Montreal lies at one end of the
Saint Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Ameri ...
, which is the river gateway that stretches from the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
into the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
.
Montreal is defined by its location in between the St. Lawrence river on its south, and by the
Rivière des Prairies
The Rivière des Prairies (; ), called the Back River in English, is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The Kanien'kehá:ka called it ''Skowanoti'', meaning "River behind the island". The river separates the citi ...
on its north. The city is named after the most prominent geographical feature on the island, a three-head hill called
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the ...
.
Montreal is at the centre of the
Montreal Metropolitan Community
Greater Montreal (french: Grand Montréal) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a ...
, and is bordered by the city of
Laval to the north,
Longueuil
Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly ac ...
to the south,
Repentigny to the east and the
West Island municipalities to the west. The
anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...
enclaves of
Westmount,
Montreal West
Montreal West (French: Montréal-Ouest) is an on-island suburb in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Island of Montreal.
Montreal West is a small, close-knit community made up primarily of single-family dwellings. The town is largely composed ...
,
Hampstead,
Côte Saint-Luc
Côte Saint-Luc (; also spelled Côte-Saint-Luc, and known historically in English as Cote St. Luke) is a city on the island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada.
Geography
Along with Hampstead and Montreal West, Côte Saint-Luc forms an enclave with ...
, the
Town of Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: Mont-Royal, officially Town of Mount Royal, french: Ville de Mont-Royal, abbreviated TMR, french: VMR) is an affluent on-island suburban town located on the northwest side of the eponymous Mount Royal, northwest of Downtown M ...
and the
francophone enclave
Montreal East
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
are all entirely surrounded by the city of Montreal.
Geology
There are three main geological regions in Quebec: the great igneous plains of the Canadian Shield, the
Appalachians
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
in southern Quebec, and the St. Lawrence lowlands that lie between them. Covering over 95% of Quebec, the Canadian Shield contains some of the oldest igneous rocks in the world, dating back to the Precambrian period, over 1 billion years ago. The Canadian Shield is generally quite flat and exposed, punctuated by the higher relief of mountain ranges such as the Laurentians in southern Quebec. The Appalachian region of Quebec is a thin strip of weathered mountains along Quebec's southeast border. The Appalachian mountain chain is actually a long range that runs from Alabama north to Newfoundland. The St. Lawrence lowlands are comparatively tiny in size (about ) but disproportionately important in that they contain most of the human population of Quebec. The lowlands actually consist of three parts: the central lowlands, or the St. Lawrence Plain, a wide and flat triangle extending from Cornwall to Quebec City. The St. Lawrence Plain is almost entirely flat because of the clay deposits left behind by the Champlain Sea (which once covered all of Montreal).
Street directions
One quirk of common Montreal parlance is that directions (north, south, east, and west) along the street grid are sharply skewed relative to the actual compass directions. The St. Lawrence River is taken as flowing west to east (even though it flows north or northeast past the island), so that directions along streets parallel to the river are referred to as "west" and "east," and those along streets perpendicular to the river, "north" and "south." In much of Montreal, "north" is actually northwest, and in some areas such as
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
and
Pointe-aux-Trembles
Pointe-aux-Trembles was a municipality, founded in 1674, that was annexed by Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1982. This was the last city to be merged into Montreal until the 2002 municipal reorganization.
On January 1, 2002 this neighbourhood a ...
it is actually due west. The skew is greatest in
Ville-Émard
Ville-Émard is a neighbourhood located in the Sud-Ouest borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Overview
Geography
This neighbourhood is bordered by the Aqueduct Canal to the east as far north as Desmarchais Boulevard where it meets Côte-Saint- ...
, where grid "north" on streets such as Rue Jolicœur is geographically west-southwest.
"Montreal directions" are used in naming street addresses and describing bus routes, among other things. As a result of this discrepancy, Montreal has been called "the only city where the sun sets in the north."
Further folk naming customs include giving directions involving going "up" or "down" streets that are perpendicular to the river; "up" being towards Mount Royal and "down" being towards the St. Lawrence. But the system can be confused on the north side of the mountain (whether "up" means uphill, i.e. Montreal "south," or towards Montreal "north" as it does downtown).
Streets are named "Ouest" or "Est" when they cross
Saint Laurent Boulevard
Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as Saint Lawrence Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard Saint-Laurent), is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A commercial artery and cultural heritage site, the street runs north–south through ...
. Street numbers rise eastward and westward from Saint Laurent Boulevard, and northward from the St. Lawrence River and the Lachine Canal. (Rue Charlevoix, in
Le Sud-Ouest
Le Sud-Ouest ( en, "the southwest") is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Geography
Le Sud-Ouest is an amalgam of several neighbourhoods with highly distinct histories and identities, mainly with working-cla ...
borough, is the only remaining named "north-south" street with large numbers of addresses on both sides of the Lachine Canal. In this case, the addresses south of the Lachine Canal have a "0" prefixed to their street numbers, e.g., 0919 rue Charlevoix.)
Climate
Montreal lies at the confluence of several climatic regions. The island's
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
is classified as
humid continental
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
or
hemiboreal
Hemiboreal means halfway between the temperate and subarctic (or boreal) zones. The term is most frequently used in the context of climates and ecosystems.
Botany
A hemiboreal forest has some characteristics of a boreal forest to the north, and ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dfb'') but is close to the transition to (
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dfa'')
Precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
is abundant with an average
snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
fall of per year in the winter. Regular
rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...
fall throughout the year averages . Summer is the wettest season statistically, but it is also the sunniest.
The coldest month of the year is January, with a daily average temperature of — averaging a daily low of , colder than either
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
() or
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
(). Due to
wind chill, the perceived temperature can be much lower than the actual temperature, and wind chill factor is often included in Montreal weather forecasts. The warmest month is July with an average daily high of ; lower nighttime temperatures make an average of , thus
air exchangers often achieve the same result as
air conditioners. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 15 January 1957 and the highest temperature ever was on 1 August 1975.
High
humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity dep ...
is common in the summer, which makes the perceived temperature higher than the actual temperature. In spring and autumn, rainfall averages between a month. Some snow in spring and autumn is normal. Similarly, early and late heat waves with "
Indian summer
An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more s ...
s" are a regular feature of the climate.
2006 was noted as the only year in the history of Montreal when there was more rain than there was snow. There were of snow, and there were of rain. That year, Montreal received more rain than
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
Montreal is ranked 160 out of 190 world cities in the 2018 STC Climate index, a ranking of the best climates to live and work in.
The STC 2018 Climate Index
/ref>
Winter
Winter in Montreal is usually cold and snowy, and can be windy at times. Most days stay near or below freezing, and temperatures remain well below freezing at night. Sometimes with windchill, temperatures may feel colder than the actual temperature. Typical winter daytime temperatures are between and overnight temperatures are between . Temperatures in the downtown core can be warmer than those in the northwestern suburbs by up to due to the urban heat island
An urban heat island (UHI) is an urban or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities. The temperature difference is usually larger at night than during the day, and is most apparen ...
effect. Some days are milder with temperatures staying well above freezing; conversely, night temperatures occasionally plunge below , especially with windchill.
Montreal receives plenty of snow throughout the winter season. Snow mainly falls between early December and early March, although it mostly snows in January and February. Although it is rare, light snow could fall in late October and April. Average yearly snowfall is .
Despite plenty of snow during winter, Montreal is seeing an increasing amount of rain rather than snow during the winter. But Montreal still sees plenty of days with sunshine compared to other places at similar latitudes, or even farther south, and more winter sunshine than anywhere in northern and northwestern Europe.
Precipitation occurs between 13 and 17 days per month, including an average of 59 days of snowfall.
Spring
Spring in Montreal ranges from chilly to warm to very occasionally, hot weather. Spring-like weather, by Montreal standards, usually arrives in mid-March, sometimes earlier or later, with temperatures around triggering snowmelt but the weather is very unpredictable. April brings temperatures between , but warm humid weather and snow are possible in the same week. Trees usually start leafing out during the last week of the month. May is significantly warmer than earlier spring. Temperatures average in the high teens Celsius (low to mid 60's Fahrenheit) during the first week, but by the last week of the month the weather is warm enough with an increase in humidity to herald an early summer feel, with temperatures averaging around .
Spring is also slightly sunnier than autumn, with longer available daylight hours. An exceptionally hot spring day occurred on May 27, 2020.
with the temperature reaching , this was over higher than previously recorded during May.
Precipitation occurs on average between 12 and 14 days per month.
Summer
The summer months of June to mid-September in general bring warm to hot humid weather. Average daytime temperatures are between and overnight temperatures around by mid-summer. Some nights, temperatures remain at or above . Temperatures reach and exceed on many days combined with high humidity, making it feel hotter. More recent summers, especially during the month of July between 2018 through 2020 have had average maximums of between , a few degrees above the longer term averages and with a marked increase in the number of days exceeding . Although summer in Montreal can be deemed muggy much of the time, the air temperature has never exceeded , unlike in most other major North American cities.
While summer is the sunniest season, short-lived thunderstorms are also common.
Rain typically occurs on average between 12 and 13 days per month, although it is only occasionally a long lasting event.
Autumn
Temperatures start to cool off towards the end of September, allowing for brilliant fall foliage in October. Daytime temperatures in October are around , and in November hover at . Snowfall can strike in October but chances increase significantly in November. Late autumn receives slightly less sunshine than early spring. Autumn usually turns to winter by early December.
Precipitation occurs on average between 12 and 15 days per month.
Sunshine
Montreal and the southern Quebec region receive slightly over 2,000 hours of sunshine annually, with summer being the sunniest season. The sunniest month is July with 272 hours, and the least sunny is December with 84 hours.
Montreal receives more sunshine than northern and northwestern Europe, even in locations at similar or even somewhat farther south latitudes, especially during winter.
Precipitation
The city's average annual precipitation is , including of rain and of snow.
As in the Northeastern U.S. and most of Southeastern Canada, precipitation is spread evenly throughout the year, with no wet or dry seasons. Montreal has 163 days annually with some rain or snow.
Thunderstorms can occur any time between late spring and early autumn.
Statistics
Notes
References
External links
3920 aerial photographs of the Island of Montreal, 1947-1949
from the Archives de la Ville de Montréal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Montreal