Kamouraska () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

on the south shore of the

Saint 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. Lawrenc ...

in the

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (, 'Lower Saint-Lawrence) is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlan ...

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, ...

, Canada. It is part of the Regional County Municipality of Kamouraska. It has been named one of the top 20 most beautiful villages in the province of Quebec, and the municipality is a member of the Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec Association. The name "Kamouraska" comes from an Algonquin word meaning "where rushes grow at the water's edge".

History

The area was settled by French colonists in the late 17th century. In 1674 it was designated as the ''Seigneury de Kamouraska'', a constituent of the ''Gouvernement de Québec'' (fr). There is a long tradition of

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 families, 164 genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

fishing here. An interpretive centre on eel fishing is located in the village.

Geography

There are

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es along the river and there is an ecological reserve near the village. The marsh provides habitat used by birds for nesting and during migration. Cliffs along the river provide nesting habitat for

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

s, cormorants and great blue herons.

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

s can also be seen in the river here. At certain times of year, the

mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

es found in the marshes can be particularly aggressive. The village can be reached via Autoroute 20. Route 132 travels through the village.

Arts and culture

Louis-Pascal-Achille Taché (1813-1839), seigneur of Kamouraska since 1833, was married to Joséphine- Éléonore d’Estimauville. In 1839 she took her children to her mother in Sorel, to leave her abusive husband. Taché was said to be killed by George Holmes, an American doctor from Sorel who was thought to be a lover of his wife. Holmes fled to the United States before the 1839 trial. Tache's wife was acquitted of complicity at the murder trial. Canadian author

Anne Hébert Anne Hébert (pronounced in French) (August 1, 1916 – January 22, 2000), was a Canadian author and poet. She won Canada's top literary honor, the Governor General's Awards, Governor General's Award, three times, twice for fiction and once fo ...

wrote a novel based on these events, '' Kamouraska'' (1970). Published in French, it was translated into several languages. It was adapted as a 1973

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

of the same name, directed by

Claude Jutra Claude Jutra (; March 11, 1930 – November 5, 1986) was a Canadian actor, film director, and screenwriter.

and with a screenplay written by him and Hebert. It won four Canadian film awards, including Best Actress for star

Geneviève Bujold Geneviève Bujold (; born July 1, 1942) is a Canadian actress. For her portrayal of Anne Boleyn in the period drama film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969), Bujold received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film cr ...

Government

* Mayor: Anik Corminboeuf * Councillors: Andrew Caddell, Christian Drapeau, Raymond Malo, Mario Pelletier, Jacques Sirois, Hervé Voyer

Notable people

* Charles Chiniquy, born here in 1809, left the Catholic priesthood and became a Presbyterian minister, giving

Anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

lectures in the United States. * René Chaloult (1901-1978), Member of the Quebec Legislative Assembly for Kamouraska, lobbied for Quebec to have its own flag, proposing the ''

fleur-de-lis The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...

''. This was recognized in 1948 by the government of

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis, (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959) byname "Le Chef" (, "The Boss"), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A Conservatism in Canada, conservative, Quebec nationalism, ...

. * Charles-Alfred Desjardins (January 26, 1846 – September 6, 1934), was a farmer, merchant, manufacturer and political figure in Quebec. He represented Kamouraska in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1890 to 1897 as a Conservative. He was also known as Charles-Alfred Roy dit Desjardins. * Marie-Louise Meilleur (1880-1998) was a supercentarian, who was born and grew up here, and returned later in life. In 1997-1998, she was ranked as the oldest recognized living person and the oldest validated Canadian ever; she lived to 117 years of age. * Adolphe-Basile Routhier, an attorney and judge of the Superior Court, lived here from 1864-1891. He wrote the French lyrics to the song "O Canada"; its second verse expresses his love for Kamouraska (''"Sous l'œil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant, Le Canadien grandit en espérant"'').

References

External links

Daily sunset photo from KamouraskaSociété d'écologie de la batture du Kamouraska
{{authority control Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Bas-Saint-Laurent Designated places in Quebec