Les Escoumins () 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' ...

La Haute-Côte-Nord Regional County Municipality La Haute-Côte-Nord () is a regional county municipality in northeastern Quebec, Canada, in the Côte-Nord region. It is located on the Gulf of St. Lawrence where the Saguenay River flows into it. The seat is Les Escoumins. The municipality has ...

in the

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada. The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...

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 located on the north shore of the maritime estuary of the St. Lawrence River. Its name has traditionally been recognized to come from the

Innu-aimun Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the com ...

''iskomin'', meaning "where there are many seeds" or "there are fruits or seeds", in turn from the roots ''isko'' or ''ishko'' ("as far as this/that") and ''min'' (red seeds, or wild berries in general). According to more recent theory, it could also be a variation of the

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

term ''eskumunaak'', meaning "lookout place". In addition, other sources say that the place is named ''Essipit'' in Innu-aimun, meaning "river of shells". Several spellings have been used over the centuries such as ''Uscamin, Les Escoumains, Essuie-Mains, L'Esquemin, Lesquemin, Leschemin'' (Champlain, 1629), ''L'Esquemain'', and ''Lesquemain'' (1611 map of Champlain and other texts of 1626). The oldest reference to this name dates back to the map of Levasseur of 1601, that shows ''Escanimes''; and to a contract of 1604 that included the rare spelling ''Esguenim''.

History

The area is considered the cradle of the Côte-Nord Amerindian, who have lived there for thousands of years. The

Innu The Innu/Ilnu ('man, person'), formerly called Montagnais (French for ' mountain people'; ), are the Indigenous Canadians who inhabit northeastern Labrador in present-day Newfoundland and Labrador and some portions of Quebec. They refer to ...

(Montagnais) and

frequented the area, particularly in the spring to gather berries that covered the rocks and adorned the mossy plains. The first Europeans in the area were the

Basques The Basques ( or ; ; ; ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a Basque culture, common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous peoples, ...

around the 1630s. In 1723, a cross was erected in honour of Our Dame of Bon-Désir, thereafter the place was also known as Bon-Desir. That same year the Mission of Saint-Marcellin was founded. But the first permanent European settler in Escoumins was Joseph Moreau, an employee of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, who arrived in 1825. It wasn't until 1845 that a real village began to form when many families from the south shore of the

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 ...

, especially from

Trois-Pistoles Trois-Pistoles () is a city in Les Basques Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is also the county seat. The town is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. A ferry crosses the rive ...

Rivière-Ouelle Rivière-Ouelle () is a town located in the Kamouraska Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. It is located on the Saint Lawrence River; the Ouelle River flows through the town. It was part of the seignory of ...

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

, and a group of

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

settled there. In 1853, the local post office opened. The timber trade caused the village to grow rapidly when logs were floated down the Escoumins River from the cutting area to the Bay des Escoumins where they were loaded in barges. In 1863, the Municipality of Les Escoumains was formed. In the beginning of 1957, the spelling of the municipality's name was corrected to the current form.

Geography

On the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, surrounded by a multitude of bodies of water and vast expanses of sand, Les Escoumins is located approximately 40 km northeast of

Tadoussac Tadoussac () is a village municipality in La Haute-Côte-Nord RCM (Regional County Municipality), on the north shore of the maritime section of the estuary of St. Lawrence river, in Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada. Geography Tadoussac is ...

, between Bergeronnes and Saint-Paul-du -North. From its docks, it is even possible to observe marine mammals and even the largest living being on earth, the blue whale. * Balaenoptera musculus. — Baleine bleue, Rorqual bleu. — (Blue whale). File:Les Escoumins 044.jpg, Crab fishing boat at

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; ) is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland ...

’s pontoons, Anse aux Basques File:Les Escoumins 043.jpg, ''Grandes Eaux'', pilot boat, Anse aux Basques File: Les Escoumins 008.jpg, Heritage 1, Ferry embarkation of vehicles from the Escoumins marine terminal to

Year-round service is available from Laurentian Pilotage Authority. A ferry service runs between Les Escoumins and

. The Marine Environment Discovery Centre is the main diving attraction in the region. It is also an interpretation centre for the fauna and flora of the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, allowing you to discover the subarctic underwater ecosystem and hear the divers-biologists describe its particularities. (Seasonal activity)

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian 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 ...

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 ...

, Les Escoumins had a population of 1,794 living in 856 of its 983 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,891. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The median age of the population in 2021 was 54.8 and 92% of the people were over 15. At the same census 14.86% reported being

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

, almost evenly divided between

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

and

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

. Languages spoken at the 2021 census, as a

mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

were French (99.71%), English (0.29%), and other languages (0.29%).

Economy

Its economy is mostly based on the service sectors, especially education, health, and tourism.

Attractions

The Marine Environment Discovery Centre in Les Escoumins offers snorkelling and scuba diving, and observation areas for seals, seabirds, and whales, within the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park.

Infrastructure

The village is currently the largest of the so-called "Secteur BEST" (i.e. the municipalities of Bergeronnes, Escoumins, Sacré-Coeur,

). It is home to a hospital (The Centre de santé de la Haute-Côte-Nord, previously known as Hôpital St-Alexandre), an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

(

Essipit Essipit (known as Les Escoumins until 1996) is an Innu Indian reserve in the Canadian province of Quebec, located on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the Côte-Nord region. It belongs to the Innue Essipit First Nation. The reser ...

, an

community), an FM radio station, CHME, is located within Essipit. It is accessible via The Whale Route (Route 138). Whit 33 000 km of

trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

, The Federation of Snowmobile Clubs of Quebec and La Minganie

Snowmobile 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 ...

Club, based in Les Escoumins, offer detailed interactive maps on the different circuits and their points of services.

Transportation

It is accessible via The Whale Route (Route 138) and by the sea. Year-round service is available from Laurentian Pilotage Authority. A ferry service runs between Les Escoumins and

Media

CHME-FM is a radio station in the community.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Escoumins, Les Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Côte-Nord 1825 establishments in the British Empire La Haute-Côte-Nord Regional County Municipality