Miquelon (french: Île Miquelon) also known as ', is one of the islands of 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 ...

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, an

Overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonie ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 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 ...

, south of the coast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Miquelon is situated between Le Cap Island to the north and

Langlade Island Langlade may refer to: Places * Langlade, Wisconsin, a town, United States * Langlade (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community, United States * Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States * Langlade, Gard, a commune in the Gard dépar ...

(also called ''Petite Miquelon'') to the south.

Toponymy

The name Miquelon purportedly derived from a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

nickname for "

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

" (''Mikel''). In 1579, the names Micquetõ and Micquelle appeared for the first time in French Basque mariner

Martin de Hoyarçabal Martin de Hoyarçabal (Martin Oihartzabal in modern spelling) was a French Basque mariner. Little is generally known about his life. He was born in Ciboure, in the Iparralde, the French Basque Country. He is recognized for publishing one of the ...

maritime pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals ...

. The name evolved over time into Miclon, Micklon, and finally Miquelon (''Mikelune'' in Basque).

Geography

Miquelon's coastline includes numerous sand and pebble beaches enclosing lagoons, as well as high rocky cliffs standing up to on the east coast. Its geology consists of slightly metamorphosed post-

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

volcanic rocks, mainly rhyolites with

breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of di ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

s and

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

s. On the south of the Miquelon Island is the

Grand Barachois Grand Barachois is a large natural lagoon in Saint Pierre and Miquelon. It lies immediately south of Miquelon Island, and is formed largely by the 12 kilometre-long tombolo of La Dune. See also *Barachois A barachois is a term used in Atlantic ...

, a large lagoon which is host to a large population of

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 and other wildlife. Miquelon is also a well known destination for bird watching. Miquelon is connected to Le Cap by a

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as ''ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island become ...

long and in places less than wide. To the south, Miquelon is connected to

by a sandy

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...

that formed in the 18th century that is long and wide. The island of

Saint Pierre Island In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

is across a treacherous and foggy strait that fishermen named "The Mouth of Hell" (french: La Gueule de L'Enfer) that has been the site of more than 600 shipwrecks.

Climate

The climate is typical of the North Atlantic and the

Labrador Current The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Canada near Nova Scotia. Near Nova Sco ...

, with frequent storms and winds that exceed for nearly six months of the year. The summers are cool and foggy. The average annual temperature is .

Population

Miquelon includes the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Miquelon-Langlade Miquelon-Langlade is the larger but less populated of the two communes (municipalities) making up the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, located to the south of Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It consists of t ...

, with a population of 626 in 2012.

Miquelon Airport Miquelon Airport (french: Aéroport de Miquelon) is a regional airport on Miquelon Island that the commune (municipality) of Miquelon-Langlade, in the French overseas community (''collectivité d'outre-mer'') of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, off ...

serves the population via turboprop or small jet aircraft. The majority of the residents live in the town also called Miquelon, located in the north of the island near La Cap. The residents are known as ''Miquelonnais'' and are citizens of France.

Gallery

File:Miquelon shore.jpg, Miquelon shore File:Miquelon 9.jpg, The north coast of Miquelon, next to Le Cap File:Village de Miquelon.jpg, The village of Miquelon seen from the west File:Maison de Miquelon.jpg, House in the village File:Borne kilométrique à Miquelon.jpg, Milestone to Miquelon File:Port of saint-pierre, SPM.jpg, The port of Miquelon File:Monument acadien.jpg, Acadien monument

References

External links

* {{Authority control Saint Pierre and Miquelon Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean Islands of France