La Vallée-du-Richelieu ''(The Valley of the Richelieu)'' is a

regional county municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (''french: municipalité régionale de comté, MRC'') is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county r ...

in the

Montérégie Montérégie () is an administrative region in the southwest part of Quebec. It includes the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Châteauguay, Longueuil, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion. The ...

region in southwestern

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. Its seat is McMasterville. It surrounds the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kno ...

as the river flows north from

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to 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 ...

northeast of

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 ...

Sorel-Tracy Sorel-Tracy (; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada and the geographical end point of the Champlain Valley. It is located at the confluence of the Richelieu River and the St. Lawrence River, on the western edge of Lac Saint-Pierre, downstre ...

. Dramatically different from the mountainous terrain to the south, the river valley is a vast plain that has been developed with extensive farmlands. In the 21st century, the

is very popular for both U.S. and Canadian recreational boaters, providing a connection that can bring boaters all the way from the outlet of the Saint Lawrence River to

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

. A number of old fortifications exist dating back to the 17th century; they were built by the French in an effort to try to prevent the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

from using the river as a way to attack the French settlers in the area.

Fort Richelieu Fort Richelieu is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The fort is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Richelieu was part of a series of five forts built along the Richelieu R ...

is at the mouth of the Richelieu River. Fort St. Louis (now

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortificat ...

) at Chambly, Fort Sainte-Thérèse, and Fort Saint-Jean at

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the west bank of the Richelieu River at the northernmost naviga ...

, are on the way. Fort St. Anne

Isle La Motte, Vermont Isle La Motte is an island in Lake Champlain in northwestern Vermont, United States. At 7 mi (11 km) by 2 mi (3 km), it lies close to the place that the lake empties into the Richelieu River. It is incorporated as a New England town in Grand Isle ...

is near the river's source. The region is informally known as la Vallée-des-Forts.

Subdivisions

There are 13 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (6) * Beloeil *

Carignan Carignan (also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Mediterra ...

* Chambly *

Mont-Saint-Hilaire Mont-Saint-Hilaire () is an off-island suburb of Montreal in southeastern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River in the La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The populati ...

* Otterburn Park *

Saint-Basile-le-Grand Saint-Basile-le-Grand is a city located in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The population as of the 2011 Canadian Census was 16,736. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted ...

;Municipalities (7) * McMasterville * Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu *

Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champla ...

Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in the southwestern part of Quebec, Canada on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 2,285. History In 1694, ...

* Saint-Jean-Baptiste *

Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, on the Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain ...

Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, east of Montreal in the Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The population as of the 2021 Canadian Census was 2,952. Demographics Population Popu ...

Demographics

Population

Language

Transportation

Access Routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the municipality, including external routes that start or finish at the county border: * Autoroutes ** ** ** ** * Principal Highways ** ** ** ** * Secondary Highways ** ** ** * External Routes ** None

References

External links

Fort Richelieu official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Vallee-Du-Richelieu Census divisions of Quebec