The Hochelaga Archipelago (), also known as the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Islands, is a group of islands at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

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 ...

and

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

rivers in the southwestern part 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 ...

, Canada.

Population

On 1 July 2021, the Hochelaga Archipelago officially had 2,556,040 inhabitants in the following municipalities:

Size

Estimates of the number of islands in the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

vary. The most widely accepted number seems to be 234, although the number has been put as high as 325.

Islands

The largest island in the group is the

Island of Montreal The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...

, which contains most of the city of

and the central section of its

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

. The city has jurisdiction over 74 smaller islands in the archipelago, most notably

Nuns' Island Nuns' Island (officially Île des Sœurs; ) is an island located in the Saint Lawrence River that forms a part of the city of Montreal, Quebec. It is part of the borough of Verdun. History Originally called Île Saint-Paul in honour of the f ...

(also known as Île des Sœurs in French),

Île Bizard Île Bizard is an island near the Island of Montreal in the Hochelaga Archipelago region. History Historically named Île Bonaventure, by 1723 it had come to be named Île Bizard, after Jacques Bizard, to whom it was conceded as a fief in 1678, ...

, and the two islands that served as the site of

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

, namely

Saint Helen's Island Saint Helen's Island (french: Île Sainte-Hélène) is an island in the Saint Lawrence River, in the territory of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago. It is situated immediately offshore from Old Mont ...

(in French Île Sainte-Hélène) and the artificial

Île Notre-Dame Notre Dame Island (french: Île Notre-Dame) is an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is immediately to the east of Saint Helen's Island and west of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the city of Saint-Lambert ...

. The second-largest island in the archipelago is

Île Jésus Île Jésus (, ''Jesus Island'') is a river island in southwestern Quebec, separated from the mainland to the north by the Rivière des Mille Îles, and from the Island of Montreal to the south by the Rivière des Prairies. It is the second-larg ...

, which along with the

Îles Laval The Îles Laval are an island grouping in the Rivière des Prairies in southwestern Quebec, part of the Hochelaga Archipelago. Formerly an independent municipality (Les Îles-Laval), they became part of the city of Laval on August 6, 1965. Geog ...

and several smaller islands makes up the city of

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

. Other islands include the Îles de Boucherville, featuring a Québec National Park,

Île Perrot Île Perrot () is an island west of the island of Montreal in the Canadian province of Quebec. Part of the Hochelaga Archipelago, the island lies between Lake Saint-Louis and Lac des Deux-Montagnes. The island was granted by the Intendant Talon ...

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Regional County Municipality of Beauharnois-Salaberry. The population as of 2019 was 42,410. Situated on Grande-Île, an island in the Saint Lawrence River, it is bordere ...

and the neighbouring Grande-Île, as well as the smaller

Dorval Island Dorval () is an on-island suburban city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montr� ...

and

Dowker Island Dowker Island is an uninhabited island in Lake Saint Louis, a widening of the Saint Lawrence River south of Montreal Island, Quebec. It is in the municipality of Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot which intends to preserve its natural state. The isla ...

List of named islands

* Île à l'Aigle * Île Avelle * Île Barwick * Île Béique * Île Bellevue *

* Île au Bois Blanc * Île Bonfoin * Îles de Boucherville, including: ** Île Charron ** Île de la Commune ** Île Dufault ** Île Grosbois ** Île Lafontaine ** Île Montbrun ** Île à Pinard **

Île Saint-Jean Isle Saint-Jean was a French colony in North America that existed from 1713 to 1763 on what is today Prince Edward Island. History After 1713, France engaged in a reaffirmation of its territory in Acadia. Besides the construction of Louisb ...

Île Sainte-Marguerite The Île Sainte-Marguerite () is the largest of the Lérins Islands, about half a mile off shore from the French Riviera town of Cannes. The island is approximately in length (east to west) and across. The island is most famous for its fort ...

** Île Tourte Blanche * Île Bourdon * Île Boutin * Île Cadieux * Île aux Canards * Île aux Chats * Île aux Cerfeuils * Île aux Chèvres * Île aux Plaines * Île Claude * Île Daoust * Île Deslauriers * Île Dixie * Île Dorval * Île Dowker * Île au Foin * Île Gagné * Île Hiam * Île Hog * Île Jasmin *

* Île Lamontagne * Île Lapierre *

, including: ** Île Bigras **

Île Pariseau Île Pariseau is a small island located in the Rivière des Prairies across the river from Île Bizard and Montreal Island. The island is part of Îles Laval which is linked to Île Jésus ( Sainte Dorothée, Laval), Quebec, Canada C ...

** Île Ronde ** Île Verte * Île Madore * Île Ménard * Île Mercier * Île Migneron * Île Mitan *

Île de Montréal The Island of Montreal (french: Île de Montréal) is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities including most of the city of Montreal and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main ...

* Île du Moulin de Saint-François * Île aux Moutons *

* Îles de la Paix, including: ** Île au Diable ** Île du Docteur ** Île à Tambault ** Île à Thomas ** Île aux Veaux * Île Paton * Île aux Plaines *

* Île Perry * Île de Pierre * Île aux Pins * Île aux Pruches * Îles des Rapides de Lachine or Îles du Sault-Saint-Louis, including: ** Île aux Hérons ** Île aux Chèvres ** Île au Diable ** les Sept-Soeurs ** Île aux Sternes * Île Roussin * Île de Roxboro *

Île Saint-Joseph The Salvation Islands (french: Îles du Salut, so called because the missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland; sometimes mistakenly called Safety Islands) are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about off the coast of Fre ...

* Île Saint-Laurent *

Île Sainte-Hélène Saint Helen's Island (french: Île Sainte-Hélène) is an island in the Saint Lawrence River, in the territory of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago. It is situated immediately offshore from Old Mont ...

* Île Saint-Pierre * Île Sainte-Thérèse * Île Serre * Île des Sœurs (aka as Nuns' Island in English) * Île Sunset * Île Todd * Île aux Tourtes * Île du Tremblay * Île à la Truie * Île aux Vaches * Îles de Varennes * Île Vert *

Île de la Visitation Île de la Visitation is a small island in the Rivière des Prairies, part of the Hochelaga Archipelago, and part of the city of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. Located within the boroughs of Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Montréal-Nord, the island is ...

* Île Wight

Name

The archipelago takes its name from Hochelaga, an

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian la ...

settlement on the

that was later settled by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and grew to become the modern city of

References