The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small
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 Arc ...
in the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
, image = Baie de la Tour.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from Anticosti National Park, Quebec
, image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg
, alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry ...
with a land area of . While 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 ...
, the islands are in fact closer to the
Maritime provinces
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...
and
Newfoundland than to the
Gaspé Peninsula on the Quebec mainland. The islands are considered a part of the
Mi'kma'ki, of the
Mi'kmaw Nation, who call the islands Menagoesenog.
Administratively, the islands are part of the
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine () is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula (''Gaspésie'') and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southern Quebec. The p ...
region in the Canadian 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 ...
. The islands form the
territory equivalent to a regional county municipality An equivalent territory (french: territoire équivalent), formally known as territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (french: territoires équivalents à une MRC), is a territorial unit used by Statistics Canada and the Institut de la ...
(TE) and the
census division (CD) of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Their geographical code is 01.
The islands are also coextensive with the
urban agglomeration of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, which is divided into two municipalities:
Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (
2011 census pop. 12,291), the central municipality, and
Grosse-Île (pop. 490). Their mayors are Gaétan Richard and Rose Elmonde Clarke, respectively.
Geography
Within
Dawnland, these islands were once called ''Menquit'' by the
Mi'kmaw Nation, meaning "islands battered by waves." Around the mid 19th century as
Mi'kmawi'simk (the Mi'kmaw language) shifted, the name changed to become ''Menagoesenog'' reflecting islands "battered by the surf." Although not a distinct district within
Mi'kma'ki, the archipelago falls within the territorial bounds of the Mi'kmaw homeland.
There are eight major islands:
Amherst,
Grande Entrée,
Grindstone,
Grosse-Île,
House Harbour,
Pointe-Aux-Loups,
Entry Island
Entry Island (french: Île-d’Entrée) is an island off the east coast of the Magdalen Islands, which are part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The island is wide and long. The island is located from ...
, and
Brion,
[
all except Brion being inhabited. There are several other tiny islands that are also considered to be part of the archipelago: Bird Rock (''Rocher aux Oiseaux''), Seal Island (''Île aux Loups-marins''), Île Paquet, and Rocher du Corps Mort.
The interiors of the islands were once completely covered with pine forests.][ An ancient ]salt dome
A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when salt (or other evaporite minerals) intrudes into overlying rocks in a process known as diapirism. Salt domes can have unique surface and subsurface structures, and they can be discovered usin ...
underlies the archipelago.[ The salt's inherent buoyancy forces the uplift of the overlying ]Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last ...
red sandstone.
Nearby salt domes are believed to be sources of fossil fuels.[ Rock salt is mined on the Islands.][
]
History
In 1534, the explorer Jacques Cartier was the first known Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an to visit the islands. However, Mi'kmaqs had been visiting the islands for hundreds of years, as part of a seasonal subsistence migration, probably to harvest the abundant walrus population. A number of archaeological sites have been excavated on the archipelago.
The first concerted settlement attempt was made by English Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
Separatist Francis Johnson in 1597, which failed.
The archipelago was named in 1663 by François Doublet (1619 or 1620 - approx. 1678), the seigneur of the island, after his wife, Madeleine Fontaine.
In 1765, the islands were inhabited by 22 French-speaking Acadians
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
and their families. They were working and hunting walruses for a British trader, Richard Gridley. Many inhabitants of the Magdalen Islands (''Madelinots'') still fly the Acadian flag and identify as both Acadian and Québécois.
The islands were administered as part of the British Colony of Newfoundland from 1763 to 1774, when they became part of Quebec
Some of the islanders are descendants of survivors of the more than 400 shipwrecks on the islands. Some of the historic houses were built from wood that was from the shipwrecks.
The islands have some of Quebec's oldest English-speaking settlements. Although most anglophones have long either assimilated with the francophone population or migrated elsewhere, English-speaking settlements are found at Old Harry, Grosse-Ile, and Entry Island.
The islands are known for a children's French camp. Activities include sand castle competitions and a night alone in the woods.
To improve the safety of ships, the government constructed lighthouses on the islands. They indicate navigable channels and have reduced the number of shipwrecks, but many old hulks are found on the beaches and under the waters.
Until the 20th century, the islands were completely isolated during the winter since the pack ice
Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...
made the trip to the mainland impassable by boat. The islands had no means of communication with the mainland. An underwater cable was installed to enable communication by telegraph, but in winter 1910, the cable broke, and the islands were again isolated. Residents sent an urgent request for help to the mainland by writing letters and sealing them inside a molasses barrel, or puncheon, which they set adrift. It reached the shore on Cape Breton Island, where residents notified the government of the emergency. The government sent an icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
to bring aid.
Within a few years, the government constructed new wireless telegraph
Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for t ...
stations on the Magdalens to ensure winter communication. The puncheon became famous as a symbol of survival, and every tourist shop sells replicas.
At one time, large walrus
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...
herds were found near the islands, but over-hunting had eliminated them by the late 18th century.
In the 21st century, the islands' beaches provide a habitat for the endangered piping plover and the roseate tern.
Demographics
Population
Language
Climate
The maritime climate of the Magdalen Islands is markedly different from that of the mainland. The huge water masses that circle the archipelago both temper the weather and create milder conditions in each season. On the islands, winter is mild, spring is cool, summer has a few heat waves, and fall is typically warm. The Magdalen Islands have the least annual frost in Quebec. The warm breezes of summer persist well into September and sometimes early October. However, under the 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 ...
its climate is 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 ...
(Dfb) because its winters average far below freezing by maritime standards. Seasonal lag is strong because of the freezing water and the time that it takes for the gulf to warm up again. Also, in winter, sea ice occasionally forms, impeding offshore communications and activities.
The highest temperature ever recorded was on 31 July 1949. The lowest temperature ever recorded was on 14 February 1891.
The Magdalen Islands have warmed 2.3 °C (4 °F) in the late 19th century, twice the global average. As a result, the residents are facing a growing number of problems, as extreme climate change transforms the land and water around them. The sea ice that used to encase and protect the islands from most winter storms is shrinking at a rate of about annually. Parts of the shoreline have eroded into the sea at a rate as much as per year in the 2010s. Important roads are at risk of washouts, and important infrastructure, including the hospital and city hall sit near deteriorating cliffs. Recently the sea has been rising at a rate of per decade, threatening to contaminate freshwater aquifers.[Dennis, B]
''The ice used to protect them. Now their island is crumbling into the sea.''
Washington Post, 31 October 2019.
Erosion
Several news articles in 2019 pointed out that erosion of the coastline had already become a significant issue. Researchers have found that the amount has doubled since 2005, and was averaging half a meter (20") per year. Recent events that added to the problem included a significant windstorm in November 2018 and the post-tropical storm Dorian that hit the islands in September 2019.
A Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
report in late October 2019 also indicated that increasing temperatures have led to reduced ice cover over the years, leading to less protection from winter storms. "That ice has been disappearing ... nd thesea-level rise, have caused the islands to crumble into the sea".
Researchers have found that the rise in sea levels has been approximately double that of the global norm and that the sea ice is shrinking at approximately 12% per decade. A November 2019 Washington Post report provided these specifics about the effects of erosion:"Some parts of the shoreline have lost as much as 14 feet per year to the sea over the past decade. Key roads face perpetual risk of washing out. The hospital and the city hall sit alarmingly close to deteriorating cliffs. Rising waters threaten to contaminate aquifers used for drinking water ... Nearly a dozen homes on the islands have been relocated, and most everyone expects that number to grow."
The sole benefit has been the increase in lobster yields on the islands, at least double what was the norm in the past.
Economy
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
is a major component of the islands' economy, as they have many kilometres of white sand beaches and steadily-eroding sandstone cliffs. Also, they are a destination for bicycle camping, sea kayaking
A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the ma ...
, windsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
, and kitesurfing
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...
. During the winter months, beginning in mid-February, ecotourists visit to observe newborn and young harp seal
The harp seal (''Pagophilus groenlandicus''), also known as Saddleback Seal or Greenland Seal, is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Originally in the genus ''Phoca'' with a numbe ...
pups on the pack ice
Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which surrounds the islands. However the ice cover has reduced recently and the observation "season" has been cancelled several times.
Industry
The island is home to Canadian Salt Company
Windsor Salt is a national salt mining, processing, and distribution company based in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada. It operates salt mines in Pugwash, Nova Scotia (the Windsor Salt Pugwash Mine) and Windsor, Ontario (the Windsor salt mine). From ...
Seleine Mines, which produces road salt for use 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 ...
, Atlantic Canada and the United States' eastern seaboard. Opened in 1982, the salt mine and plant is located in Grosse-Île and extracts salt from an underground mine below Grande-Entrée Lagoon. It produces of salt, and employs 200 people.
Although fishing is a traditional occupation, lobster have become a more lucrative local business. It was once common for lobstermen to haul in during a nine-week season that begins each spring, but now it is not unusual to bring home twice that amount, or more.[ This may be due to ]climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
that has warmed the surrounding waters to some extent, yielded increasing lobster harvests.
Transportation
The Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien (Groupe C.T.M.A.) operates a ferry service between terminals in Souris, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
, and Cap-aux-Meules
Grindstone (local English name, officially Cap-aux-Meules) is a former village municipality located on Grindstone Island in Quebec's Magdalen Islands. The previous municipal government was, on 1 January 2002, incorporated into the urban agglo ...
, on the islands. CTMA also operates a seasonal cruise ferry service between the islands and 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 ...
, which sits on a river island surrounded by mainland Quebec.Schedule and rates - Ferry - Sea links crossing Îles de la Madeleine and Prince Edouard Island ferry, cruise on St-Lawrence
The Magdalen Islands Airport, at Havre-aux-Maisons, offers scheduled air service to the mainland of Quebec and, seasonally, to the French 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 colonies ...
of 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 ...
.
See also
* List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec
* Quebec Route 199, the only provincial highway on the islands
* Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien, the ferry company serving the Magdalen Islands
* Maritime Quebec
Maritime Quebec is a geographic region in eastern Quebec that borders the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It’s made of Gaspesia, Côte-Nord, the Magdalen Islands and Bas-Saint-Laurent.
Many localities in Maritime Quebec have a tourism industry that att ...
* List of Quebec regions
Image:Regions administratives du Quebec.png, 350px, The seventeen administrative regions of Quebec.
poly 213 415 206 223 305 215 304 232 246 230 255 266 251 283 263 289 280 302 291 307 307 315 308 294 318 301 333 299 429 281 432 292 403 311 388 ...
* Coins of the Magdalen Islands (numismatic history).
* List of islands of Quebec
References
External links
Municipalité des Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Municipalités et villes de la Gaspésie
Magdalen Islands tourist association
The official tourist site of the islands
including a map (with the French names)
{{Authority control
Archipelagoes of Canada
Archipelagoes of the Atlantic Ocean
Canada geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
Coastal islands of Quebec
Landforms of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Territories equivalent to a regional county municipality
Census divisions of Quebec