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Kamouraska is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
on the south shore of 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 ...
in the
Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (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 a bay that discharges into the Atlanti ...
region 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. It is part of the Regional County Municipality of Kamouraska. It has been named one of the top 20 most beautiful villages in the province of Quebec, and the municipality is a member of the
Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec The Association of the Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec (french: Association des plus beaux villages du Québec) is an association created in 1997 by Jean-Marie Girardville and inspired from similar associations in France, Belgium, and Italy. Its ...
Association. The name "Kamouraska" comes from an
Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...
word meaning "where rushes grow at the water's edge".


History

The area was settled by French colonists in the late 17th century. In 1674 it was designated as the ''Seigneury de Kamouraska'', a constituent of the ''Gouvernement de Québec'' (fr). There is a long tradition of
eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
fishing here. An interpretive centre on eel fishing is located in the village.


Geography

There are
salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...
es along the river and there is an ecological reserve near the village. The marsh provides habitat used by birds for nesting and during migration. Cliffs along the river provide nesting habitat for
peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
s, cormorants and great blue herons.
Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
s can also be seen in the river here. At certain times of year, the
mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
es found in the marshes can be particularly aggressive. The village can be reached via Autoroute 20. Route 132 travels through the village.


Municipal council

* Mayor: Richard Préfontaine * Councillors: Dany Bossé, Michel Dion, Michel Lavoie, Pascal Morneau, Gilles A. Michaud, Hervé Voyer


Notable people from Kamouraska

* Charles Chiniquy, born here in 1809, left the Catholic priesthood and became a Presbyterian minister, giving
Anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...
lectures in the United States. *
René Chaloult René Chaloult (January 26, 1901 – December 20, 1978) was a nationalist politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on January 26, 1901, in Quebec City. Political career Chaloult first won a seat to the Legislative Assembly of ...
(1901-1978), Member of the Quebec Legislative Assembly for Kamouraska, lobbied for Quebec to have its own flag, proposing the ''
fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
''. This was recognized in 1948 by the government of
Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...
. * Charles-Alfred Desjardins (January 26, 1846 – September 6, 1934), was a farmer, merchant, manufacturer and political figure in Quebec. He represented Kamouraska in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1890 to 1897 as a Conservative. He was also known as Charles-Alfred Roy dit Desjardins. *
Marie-Louise Meilleur Marie-Louise Fébronie Meilleur (née Chassé; August 29, 1880 – April 16, 1998) was a Canadian supercentenarian. Meilleur is the oldest validated Canadian ever and upon the death of longevity world record holder Jeanne Calment, became the world ...
(1880-1998) was a supercentarian, who was born and grew up here, and returned later in life. In 1997-1998, she was ranked as the oldest recognized living person and the oldest validated Canadian ever; she lived to 117 years of age. *
Adolphe-Basile Routhier Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier (May 8, 1839 – June 27, 1920) was a Canadian judge, author, and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics of the original French version of the Canadian national anthem "O Canada". He was born in Saint-Placide, Quebec, to Ch ...
, an attorney and judge of the Superior Court, lived here from 1864-1891. He wrote the French lyrics to the song "O Canada"; its second verse expresses his love for Kamouraska (''"Sous l'œil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant, Le Canadien grandit en espérant"'').


Representation in other media

*Louis-Pascal-Achille Taché (1813-1839), seigneur of Kamouraska since 1833, was married to Joséphine- Éléonore d’Estimauville. In 1839 she took her children to her mother in Sorel, to leave her abusive husband. Taché was said to be killed by George Holmes, an American doctor from Sorel who was thought to be a lover of his wife. Holmes fled to the United States before the 1839 trial. Tache's wife was acquitted of complicity at the murder trial. Canadian author
Anne Hébert Anne Hébert (pronounced in French) (August 1, 1916 – January 22, 2000), was a Canadian author and poet. She won Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Award, three times, twice for fiction and once for poetry. Early life Hébe ...
wrote a novel based on these events, '' Kamouraska'' (1970). Published in French, it was translated into several languages. It was adapted as a 1973
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
of the same name, directed by
Claude Jutra Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter.
and with a screenplay written by him and Hebert. It won four Canadian film awards, including Best Actress for star
Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cre ...
.


See also

*
List of municipalities in Quebec __FORCETOC__ Quebec is the second-most populous province in Canada with 8,501,833 residents as of 2021 and is the largest in land area at . For statistical purposes, the province is divided into 1,282 census subdivisions, which are m ...


References


External links


Daily sunset photo from KamouraskaSociété d'écologie de la batture du Kamouraska
{{authority control Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Bas-Saint-Laurent Designated places in Quebec