Cap-Chat () is a town in the
Canadian province
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Québec
Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
, in the
Regional County Municipality
The term regional county municipality or RCM (, , 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 regional municipality.
Regional county municipalit ...
of
Haute-Gaspésie, and in the administrative region of
Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Cap-Chat is found west of
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, () is a city in La-Haute-Gaspésie Regional County Municipality, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, Quebec province, in Canada.
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts is located close to the Chic-Choc Mountains on the south shore of ...
. , Cap-Chat's population is 2,516.
In addition to Cap-Chat itself, the town's territory also includes the communities of Cap-Chat-Est, Capucins, and Petit-Fonds.
History
There are two theories about the origin of the town's name. One simply holds that the headland called Cap-Chat bore a likeness to a
cat
The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
("chat" in
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
). The other theory is a bit more fanciful. According to a local legend, a cat walking along the shore killed and ate various animals, whereupon the "cat fairy" accused him of having eaten her offspring. For his punishment, the cat was turned into stone forever.
It seems most likely, however, that the town's name is a corruption of "
Aymar de Chaste", who was
New France
New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...
's lieutenant-general in 1603.
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...
named this area C. de Chatte in 1612, then Cap de Chatte in 1626. The name became Cap de Chat in 1685.
The waterfront boardwalk at Cap-Chat has a display of photographs and informative plaques regarding the Second World War
Battle of the St. Lawrence between U-Boats and coastal defence ships.
On October 19, 1968, The Town of Cap-Chat was formed through the merger of Parish Municipality of Saint-Norbert-du-Cap-Chat and the Village Municipality of Cap-Chat.
[
Cap-Chat was one of the prime viewing areas for the total ]solar eclipse of July 10, 1972
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's Lunar node, descending node of orbit between Monday, July 10 and Tuesday, July 11, 1972, with a Magnitude of eclipse, magnitude of 1.0379. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and t ...
. Unfortunately, cloudy skies prevented most observers from viewing the total phase of the eclipse.
On March 15, 2000, the Municipality of Capucins was amalgamated into the Town of Cap-Chat.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Cap-Chat had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Economy
Cap-Chat has become synonymous with wind energy
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ...
. There is a wind farm
A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
there containing 76 wind generator
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each ye ...
s in revenue service. Each one of these is a horizontal axis wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...
(HAWT), but there is also to be seen there one called Éole, which is the world's tallest vertical axis wind turbine
A vertical-axis wind turbine (VAWT) is a type of wind turbine where the main rotor shaft is set transverse to the wind while the main components are located at the base of the turbine. This arrangement allows the generator and gearbox to be ...
(VAWT) at 110 m. It is capable of producing 4 MW of power, but has not been in use for more than ten years following damages sustained during a wind storm. Everything that there is to know about wind power at Cap-Chat may be learnt at the interpretative centre at the wind farm.
Cap-Chat has other things that are worth seeing, such as the aforesaid cat-shaped headland, and a lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
.
Those interested in wilderness and spectacular scenery can explore the areas inland from Cap-Chat, where there was once a village called Saint-Octave-de-l'Avenir (which ironically means Saint Octavius of the Future, though it's long in the past now). Salmon
Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
fishing and moose
The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
hunting
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
are other activities available in the Cap-Chat area, as are hiking
A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time.
"Hi ...
, horseback riding
Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the u ...
, and off-road four-wheel drive
A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...
excursions in the back country.
In winter, Cap-Chat has a downhill skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...
centre, as well as trails for cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...
, snowshoe
Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...
ing, and snowmobiling
A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow.
Their engines normally ...
.
Local government
List of former mayors:
Images
File:Capchatwindturbines.png, Wind turbines at Cap-Chat
File:Cap-chat_032.JPG, Wind farm
File:Cap_Chat_-_panoramio.jpg, The village, as seen from the sea
File:Phare de Cap-Chat.jpg, Lighthouse
File:Arriere pays.jpg, Backcountry
See also
* List of cities in Quebec
This is the list of municipalities that have the Classification of municipalities in Quebec, Quebec municipality type of city (Quebec), city (''ville'', code=V), an Administrative divisions of Quebec, administrative division defined by the Minist ...
References
External links
*
Cap-Chat tourism site
Éole interpretative centre at the wind farm
Municipalities and cities of Gaspé region
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Quebec
Designated places in Quebec
Incorporated places in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine