Dégelis () is a city in

Témiscouata Regional County Municipality Témiscouata () is a regional county municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is located southeast of Rivière-du-Loup, bordering New Brunswick, and is centred on Lake Témiscouata. Its seat is Témiscouata-sur-le-La ...

within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, 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, ...

. Its population in the

Canada 2021 Census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...

was 2,884. The Madawaska River flows from Lake Témiscouata, through Degelis, to join the Saint John River at to the East at

Edmundston Edmundston () is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. Established in 1850, it had a population of 16,437 as of 2021. On January 1, 2023, Edmundston amalgamated with the village of Rivière-Verte, New Brunswick, Rivière-Verte and ...

, New Brunswick. Located on the banks of the Madawaska River (Saint John River), the city owes its name to a physical phenomenon: a zone of the river located in front the city, that never freezes.Commission de toponymie du Québec (Quebec Geographical Names Board) – Banque de noms de lieux (Bank of places names) – Toponym: "Dégelis"; page accessed on September 17, 2010
/ref> A ''Dégelis'', in

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

, means a zone on the water free of icePascal Poirier, Le parler franco-acadien et ses origins (English: The Franco-Acadian talk and its origins), 1928
/ref> (which is the phenomenon observed in Dégelis), a local winter thaw (no apparent reason),Aubert de la Rue, Le français parlé aux îles St-Pierre et Miquelon (In English: French spoken to St. Pierre and Miquelon), 1944
/ref> meaning an opening in the ice during the seasonal thawing. The area corresponding to Dégelis is named ''Dégelé'' (English: ''thawed'') in a report by Joseph Bouchette in 1815. The spelling at the time varies considerably. Clerical and administrative documents dating from 1858 to 1878 refer to the parish under the name Dégely,Rapport sur les missions du diocèse de Québec (English: Missions Report of the Diocese of Québec), No. 18, 1868
/ref> Ste. Rose Dégely,Statement of the public accounts of the province of Quebec and annual report of the auditor of the province, 1878
/ref> or (Sainte-Rose-du) Dégeli.Report on the missions of the diocese of Quebec, number 13, 1859
/ref> Names "Sainte-Rose-du-Dégel" and "Dègelis" were also used for a period. The inhabitants are appointed ''Dégelisiens'' for males and ''Dégelisiennes'' for females.

History

Dégelis was founded in 1885 and its initial name was Sainte-Rose du Dégelé. Before its foundation, it was a military fort used to defend Canada's border with United States. Four families of British soldiers lived in two locations in the territory of the current city from 1814 to 1823 . In 1839, the construction of the fort began on the current city of Dégelis. The small fort was part of a series of forts which included Fort Ingall. Soldiers and settlers inhabited the fort and its surrounding area. Some settlers remained in the region after the

Aroostook War The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, w ...

. The catholic mission Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelé was founded in 1860. The foundation's mission coincides with the beginning of colonization of the territory then known as Le Dégely. The mission

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

founded in 1860 took the name of "Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelé. The choice of Sainte-Rose as a protective was conducted by Langevin, bishop of Rimouski from 1867 to 1891 in honor of Rose Marquis, benefactress of the mission.Les noms géographiques de la province de Québec (English: Geographical names of the province of Quebec)
/ref> The parish canonically was erected in 1885 and the municipality of parish was officially created the same year kept the same name. This does not prevent Le Naturaliste Canadien (English: The Canadian Naturalist), a scientific publication, refer to them as the ''Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelis'' in 1882. The post office of the place was called Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelé since 1879 and kept it until 1968. In fact, 1967, the name of the municipality was changed to ''Sainte-Rose-du-Dégelis'' for lexical considerations. In 1969, the name was shortened to ''Dégelis'' when the place received town status.

Geography

The town is situated on Autoroute 85, also known as the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

, close to the

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

Border. Dégelis is located on the south slope of

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

in southeast of

and southwest of Gaspé near the border with

. Most important cities near Dégelis are

Rivière-du-Loup Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city (Quebec), city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the Judicial districts of Quebec ...

in northeast La Pocatière, Quebec in to west and

in New Brunswick to southeast. Dégelis territory covers an area of . City Dégelis is in the

in administrative region of the Bas-Saint-Laurent. Parish Dégelis is part of the Archdiocese of Rimouski.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...

, Dégelis 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

The economy of Dégelis revolves mainly around the forest industry. The city is home to a sawmill which produces hardwood briquettes of maple, oak, beech, and ash. The municipality has reduced hours of operation.

Government

Local government comprises a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and councillors. The current mayor is Gustave Pelletier. List of former mayors: * Émilien Nadeau (1994-2009) * Claude Lavoie (2009-2013) * Normand Morin (2013-2021) * Gustave Pelletier (2021–present)

References

External links

Official municipality site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Degelis Cities and towns in Quebec Incorporated places in Bas-Saint-Laurent Canada geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia