Pointe-aux-Prairies Nature Park (french: Parc-nature de la Pointe-aux-Prairies) is a large nature park in the

Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles is a suburban borough (''arrondissement'') on the eastern tip of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the eastern end of the Island of Montreal. Geography The borough is located at ...

borough of

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 ...

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. The park is divided into three sections. The northern part is between Gouin Boulevard East and Autoroute 40. The central section is between Autoroute 40 and Sherbrooke Street East. The southern section is between Sherbrooke Street East and 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 ...

. Covering an area of , the park features

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

es,

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

s and

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

History

In the 1980s, the regional parks of Rivière-des-Prairies, Pointe-aux-Trembles and Bois-de-la-Réparation were combined into a single nature park. Following a competition held in Rivière-des-Prairies and

Pointe-aux-Trembles Pointe-aux-Trembles was a municipality, founded in 1674, that was annexed by Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1982. This was the last city to be merged into Montreal until the 2002 municipal reorganization. On January 1, 2002 this neighbourhood a ...

primary schools, the

Montreal Urban Community The Montreal Urban Community (MUC) (''Communauté Urbaine de Montréal'' – ''CUM'') was a regional government in Quebec, Canada, that covered all municipalities located on the Island of Montreal and the islands of L'Île-Dorval and Île ...

endorsed the name of Pointe-aux-Prairies for the park. This name was suggested by a young student who wished to associate the name of the two districts where the park is located. It was officially named in 1987.

Maison Bleau

Integrated to the park, the Maison Bleau, located at 13200 Gouin Boulevard East, is a rare example of a type of country house known as a "Quebec-style house" (french: maison québécoise). Rectangular in shape, a floor and a half tall, it features a pointed upturned

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

, of which the front covers the

veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''vera ...

's full width. Built between 1851 and 1861, facing the

Rivière des Prairies The Rivière des Prairies (; ), called the Back River in English, is a delta channel of the Ottawa River in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The Kanien'kehá:ka called it ''Skowanoti'', meaning "River behind the island". The river separates the citi ...

on exploited

agricultural land Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with ...

, its rural environment has been preserved from urbanization. It is protected as a cultural asset on the

Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec The Quebec Cultural Heritage Directory (French: ''Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec'') is an online cultural heritage knowledge dissemination tool for the province of Quebec. The directory is maintained by the province's Ministry of C ...

by Quebec law.

References

External links

* (Montreal's Nature Parks) {{Authority control Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Parks in Montreal