Passes-Dangereuses (until May 2009: Chute-des-Passes) is an unorganized territory 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 ...

, located between the Peribonka River on the east and the

Mistassibi River The Mistassibi River is a river in central Quebec, Canada. It is long and has a drainage basin of . Its source is an area with unnamed lakes about east of Canso Bay of Lake Albanel, eastern neighbor of Lake Mistassini. The name ''Mistassibi'' ...

on the west.

Geography

The territory, part of the regional county municipality of Maria-Chapdelaine, covered a land area of and had a population of 210 as of the Canada 2021 Census, all living in the village of Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Proulx (), which is north-east of

Dolbeau-Mistassini Dolbeau-Mistassini is a town in northern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Mistassibi River, Riviere aux Rats and the Mistassini River, on Lac Saint-Jean. Dolbeau-Mistassini is in the Maria-Chapdelaine Regional County Municipality and i ...

in the geographic township of Proulx.

Toponymy

The territory was formed in January 1981, and was then known as "Lac-Saint-Jean-Ouest, partie Chute-des-Passes". This was shortened to Chute-des-Passes in August 1986. On May 23, 2009, the territory was renamed to Passes-Dangereuses in order to avoid confusion with the hamlet of Chute-des-Passes in the neighbouring Unorganized Territory of Mont-Valin. The territory's name ''Passes-Dangereuses'' (French for "dangerous pass") refers to a series of rapids and chutes that stir up the Peribonka River for a distance of about from Lake Peribonka's outlet downstream. This section of the river flows through impressive escarpments of over high and was first identified as "the nasty portage" by Jesuit Pierre-Michel Laure on his map of 1731. The following year, this missionary used the

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

name ''Katchiskataouakigs'', also used by Bellin on his map of 1744. A map of

Jonathan Carver Jonathan Carver (April 13, 1710 – January 31, 1780) was a captain in a Massachusetts colonial unit, explorer, and writer. After his exploration of the northern Mississippi valley and western Great Lakes region, he published an account of his exp ...

from 1776 indicated "Falls and Rift" to characterize the place. Not until the end of the 19th century did the current toponym begin to appear on survey maps. In 1941,

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During t ...

built at the head of these rapids a dam called Chute-des-Passes, forming Lake Peribonka behind it. The dam's name also refers to the nearby hamlet that formed the east side of the river, and was the former name of Passes-Dangereuses Territory.

Demographics

Population trend:Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

census * Population in 2021: 210 (2016 to 2021 population change: 14.1%) * Population in 2016: 184 * Population in 2011: 226 * Population in 2006: 174 * Population in 2001: 188 * Population in 1996: 192 * Population in 1991: 207 Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 104 (total dwellings: 151)

References

{{authority control Unorganized territories in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Maria-Chapdelaine Regional County Municipality