Natashquan, Quebec (township)
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Natashquan is a municipality located on the north shore of Jacques Cartier Strait, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 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, Minganie RCM,
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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Natashquan stretches along the coast, on both sides of the Little Natashquan River, about 120 km east of
Havre-Saint-Pierre Havre-Saint-Pierre () is a municipality located on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. History In 1857, a group of Acadian families arrived, in 1872, the Parish of Saint-Pierre-d ...
, near Aguanish and the Natashkuan Indian reserve.


Pointe-Parent

In addition to the village of Natashquan itself, the municipality also includes the hamlet of Pointe-Parent located on the
Natashquan River The Natashquan is a river in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It flows south into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Geography The river has its source just south of the boundary between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence r ...
shore, directly adjacent to the Natashquan Reserve. The hamlet of Pointe-Parent, once also known as Pointe-du-Poste or Village-du-Poste, name Matshiteu by the Innu, which means “the point of land”, is located near the Natashkuan Indian reserve, in the municipality of Natashquan. It is home to some fishermen's homes and was served by a post office from 1953 to 1976. Pointe-Parent was named after priest Pierre-Clément Parent (1733–1784) who served as missionary in
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 ...
and
Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...
and died in Natashquan.
On the Lower-Côte-Nord Shore, except opposite the large Natashquan delta and in the bottom of the bays, the
coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
is rocky. At this place, the
cliffs In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are com ...
are scattered and we find rather large arms of the sea and a multitude of islands and
reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition of sand or wave eros ...
, testifying to a submerged terrain. The natural province is entirely included in the Grenville geological province.
* Pointe-Parent:


Notre-Dame-de-Natashquan Mission

Between 1855 and 1860, the pioneers of Natashquan lived without a parish organization, the construction of the church began in July 1859, the pioneer families participated in cutting the necessary wood inland from the great
Natashquan River The Natashquan is a river in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It flows south into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Geography The river has its source just south of the boundary between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence r ...
. The Notre-Dame-de-Natashquan Mission was founded on the west bank of the Little Natashquan River. The same year, 1859, the Flora, a three-masted ship 126 feet long, weighing 43 tons, built in
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, ...
by Narcisse Rosa, ran aground on the banks of Natashquan, it was so silted up that it was impossible to refloat it. However, the pioneers of Natashquan managed to remove pieces of wood to build their houses, but above all, their new church. In September 1860, the American sailing ship Moses Taylor, weighing 6,000 tons, loaded with wood, arriving from
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
was
shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...
in Natashquan while heading towards
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, ...
. The misfortune of some making the happiness of others, the pioneers of Natashquan, once again, retired from this shipwreck a significant quantity of wood which they used in the construction of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church or Notre-dame de Natashquan Mission. File: Natashquan 012.jpg, The church view from the wooden
sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English, South African English), or footpath (Hiberno-English, Irish English, Indian English, Australian English, New Zealand English) is a path along the side of a road. Usually constr ...
and stores of the patrimonial site, on the sea shore File:Natashquan.jpg, Little Natashquan River, the Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church or Notre-Dame de Natashquan Mission


History

Natashquan is an Innu name generally translated as "where we caught the Black bear" or as "he hunts the bear". In 1684, the explorer
Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (; September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore ...
spelled other spellings appearing with time. Noutascoüan, Nontascouanne, Natasquan, Nataskwan, Natashkwan, Natosquan, Nataskouan. A
trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
already existed in 1710 at the mouth of the
Natashquan River The Natashquan is a river in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It flows south into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Geography The river has its source just south of the boundary between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence r ...
, the settlement of Natashquan in the eponymous township was not founded until 1855 when the first settlers arrived. They were
Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...
from the
Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (, ) are a Canadian archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Since 2005, the 12-island archipelago is divided into two municipalities: the majority-francophone Municipality of Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the majority-angloph ...
, particularly Île du Havre Aubert (in English Amherst Island), Île du Cap aux Meules (in English Grindstone). In 1855, the name Notre-Dame-de-Natashquan was given to the mission founded on the west bank of the Little Natashquan River. In 1869, Natashquan became the name of a township on the North Shore, in 1907, the name was transferred to the township municipality established in 1907. The post office opened in August 1872. In 1958, the first electricity cooperative was formed and electricity was finally installed in homes. Television followed in the 1970s. On June 18, 2016, Natashquan changed status from township municipality to a (regular) municipality. The new term was made official by the
Commission de toponymie du Québec The Commission de toponymie du Québec (, ''Toponymy Commission of Québec'') is the Government of Québec's public body responsible for cataloging, preserving, making official and publicizing Québec's place names and their origins according to th ...
.


Les Galets historic site

Located along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, northwest of the Little Natashquan River, classified in 2006, the Galets historic site is a place formerly devoted to
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
activities. The site, approximately one hundred square meters, is built on a rocky
peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
which rises three meters above the sea. In the 1880s, there were 23 stores or shingles, there were 30 at the beginning of the 20th century, in 2024, twelve small buildings remain, some of which are 150 years old. From the start of settlement in 1855 until 1937, the height of fishing, the place was mainly exploited by local and independent fishermen and sometimes, itinerant merchants and a few fishing companies. Red and white, clinging to their rocky bases, the 12 remaining Natashquan Pebbles bear witness to a past of abundant fishing for
cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...
,
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 ...
,
herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...
and even
seal hunting Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of Pinniped, seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in nine countries: Canada, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Russia, the United States (above the Arctic Circle ...
in the spring.“Les Galets is our
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
! » says Bernard Landry, a native of Natashquan. Bernard Landry is the initiator of the village collective whit the collaboration of 217 people dedicated a book: «Laissez-nous vous raconter», a volume of more than 1,000 pages, published by the Historical Society of the North Shore, April 2023. File:Les magasins du Galet, Natashquan.jpg, Original fishermen huts (''magasins du Galet''), Little Natasquan River File:Natashquan_005.jpg File:Natashquan_006.jpg File:Natashquan_009.jpg File:Natashquan_011.jpg


Transportation


Route 138

At the beginning of the 20th century, the first routes of what would become Route 138 (formerly Route 15) were laid in the vicinity of Sept-Îles. In 1961, a section was added from the Franquelin region to the tip of the Moisie River, some 20 kilometres east of Sept-Îles. On the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, until 1976, there was no continuous route to go further east than the Moisie River. Only bits of paths connect a few coastal villages to each other, Natashquan connects to Aguanish by a dirt road (1959). Before 1996, it was only accessible via boat or airplane. That year, Route 138 was extended to Natashquan, connecting it to
Havre-Saint-Pierre Havre-Saint-Pierre () is a municipality located on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. History In 1857, a group of Acadian families arrived, in 1872, the Parish of Saint-Pierre-d ...
and ending its isolation from Quebec's road network. Natashquan Airport and Natashquan (Lac de l'Avion) Water Aerodrome also served the community.


Port of Natashquan

Property of
Transport Canada Transport Canada () is the Ministry (government department), department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, Policy, policies and Public services, services of road, rail, marine and air Transport in Canada, tra ...
, the port of Natashquan is used by the cargo ship M/V Bella Desgagnés, a boat of the company Nordik Express, for the weekly supply of general merchandise to the local population and by a
fishing fleet A fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing Ship, vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing (as in the "tuna fishing fleet"), or all fishing vessel ...
during the season, in
Anticosti Island Anticosti () is an island located between the Jacques Cartier and Honguedo Straits, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in L'Île-d'Anticosti (Municipality), Minganie MRC, Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. UNESCO's World Heritage On September 19, 2023, ...
,
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, ...
and Bas-St-Laurent regions. File:Natashquan_002.jpg, Jacques Cartier Strait, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, outcropping rocks of the
Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...
File:Natashquan_003.jpg, Jacques Cartier Strait, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, traps for crab fishing on the outcropping rocks of the
Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...
File:Natashquan_010.jpg, Gulf of St. Lawrence, mouth of the Little Natashquan River, offshore, the Joncas Island
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 ...
File:Terminal maritime Natashquan.jpg, Natashquan Marine Terminal warf
Almost all of Quebec's ports are located along 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 ...
seaway, from its source to its gulf, to the Atlantic Ocean. The main ports of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on 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, ...
shore are: Blanc-Sablon, Harrington Harbor, Natashquan,
Havre-Saint-Pierre Havre-Saint-Pierre () is a municipality located on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada. History In 1857, a group of Acadian families arrived, in 1872, the Parish of Saint-Pierre-d ...
, Mingan, Port-Menier (
Anticosti Island Anticosti () is an island located between the Jacques Cartier and Honguedo Straits, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in L'Île-d'Anticosti (Municipality), Minganie MRC, Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada. UNESCO's World Heritage On September 19, 2023, ...
),
Cap-aux-Meules Cap-aux-Meules (, "Grindstone") is a List of former municipalities in Quebec, former village, now a sector of the municipality of Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec. It is located on Cap aux Meules Island (Grindstone Island), part of the Magdal ...
( Îles-de-la-Madeleine).


Climate

Natashquan experiences a borderline
subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Dfc'') that is just short of being classed as a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(Köppen ''Dfb''). Summers are mild, moderated by the
Gulf of St Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, ...
and winters are cold and snowy, with annual snowfall averaging 140 inches (356 cm).


Demographics


Language

Mother tongue (2021): * English as first language: 1.9% * French as first language: 96.1% * English and French as first language: 0% * Other as first language: 3.8%


Notable people

Natashquan was the birthplace of singer
Gilles Vigneault Gilles Vigneault (; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, Publishing, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalism, Quebec nationalist and Quebec sovereignty movement, sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Qu ...
, who named a song after the municipality ("C'est à Natashquan") on the 2008 album ''Arriver Chez Soi''.


References


External links


Natashquan official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Natashquan, Quebec (Municipality) Incorporated places in Côte-Nord Minganie Regional County Municipality Municipalities in Quebec