Jump to content

Sept-Îles, Quebec

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Shanel (talk | contribs) at 09:01, 25 January 2011 (→Tourism: minor grammar, remove promotional-sounding lines (is this a copyvio?)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Sept-Îles
Ville de Sept-Îles
City
Coat of arms of Sept-Îles
Coat of arms
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionCôte-Nord
Regional countySept-Rivières
Government
[1]
 • MayorSerge Lévesque
 • MPGérard Asselin
 • MNALorraine Richard
Area
[1][2]
 • City1,969.42 km2 (760.40 sq mi)
 • Land1,764.26 km2 (681.18 sq mi)
 • Metro
1,770.52 km2 (683.60 sq mi)
Population
 (2006)[2]
 • City25,514
 • Density14.5/km2 (38/sq mi)
 • Metro
27,827
 • Metro density15.7/km2 (41/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s)418/581
Websitewww.ville.sept-iles.qc.ca

Sept-Îles (pronounced [sɛˈtiːl] ⓘ, French for "Seven Islands") is a city in the Côte-Nord region of eastern Quebec, Canada. It is the northernmost town in Quebec with any significant population. It is among the northernmost locales with a paved connection to the rest of Quebec's road network.The population is 25,514 according to the 2006 census.[3]

The only settlements on the paved road network that are farther north are Fermont, Radisson and Chisasibi, the latter two in the extreme western portion of the province at the north end of the James Bay Road. The remaining settlements at higher latitudes in the province are mostly isolated Cree, Innu, or Inuit villages, with access limited to seasonal gravel roads.

History and economy

The first inhabitants of the area were varying cultures of indigenous peoples. The historic Montagnais Innu people, who called it Uashat ("Great Bay"), lived there at the time of European encounter. Jacques Cartier sailed by the islands in 1535 and made the first written record of them, calling them the Ysles Rondes ("Round Islands"). He was not the first European in the area, as he encountered Basque fishermen who came annually from Europe for whaling and cod fishing.

Early European economic activity in Sept-Îles was based on fishing and the fur trade. Louis Joliet established trading posts by 1679. Great Britain took over Canada from France in 1763 after its victory in the Seven Years War. In 1842 the Hudson's Bay Company founded another post at this location. The village was incorporated into a municipality in 1885.

Lacking road access at the time, the town got its first pier in 1908. The City of Sept-Îles was incorporated in 1951, on the 300th anniversary of the first Catholic mass held in the village.

The modern Sept-Îles was built rapidly during the construction of the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, the 357-mile (575 km) railway link to the northern town of Schefferville. The railway was built between 1950 and 1954 by the Iron Ore Company of Canada. Iron ore mined near Wabush, Labrador was transported on this railway and shipped from the Port of Sept-Îles. Shipment of the important new commodity resulted in investments that turned this into a major port.

With the iron ore business, the Sept-Îles deep-water seaport was second in Canada only to Vancouver in terms of yearly tonnage. The huge engineering project led to a major increase in population, and housing was quickly built to accommodate them. The town grew from 2,000 inhabitants in 1951 to 14,000 in 1961, and 31,000 in 1981. The decline in worldwide iron ore prices in recent decades has since caused employment and population to decrease.

Alouette Aluminum

During the early 1990s, some new jobs accompanied the construction and operation of the new Aluminerie Alouette aluminum processing plant. Construction for Phase 1 began in September 1989, and operation started in 1992. Construction of Phase 2 began in 2003.

In 2002 the city amalgamated with the communities of Gallix and Moisie. The city includes the neighbourhoods of Arnaud, Clarke, De Grasse, de la Pointe, de la Rivière, Ferland, La Boule, Lac Labrie, Matamec, Plages, Pointe-Noire and Val-Marguerite.

The Sept-Îles Airport has connections all over Quebec and Labrador. General aviation seaplanes are served by Sept-Îles/Lac Rapides Water Aerodrome. Air Gaspé was based in Sept-Îles, but acquired by Quebecair in 1973. In the 1980s, continued airline restructuring led to Quebecair being acquired by CP Air in 1986, which in turn was taken over by Canadian Airlines in 1987.

Geography

Aerial view of Sept-Îles

Located on the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, between the Sainte-Marguerite and Moisie rivers, Sept-Îles lies on the shore of a deep-water bay fronted by a seven-island archipelago, about 230 kilometres east of Baie-Comeau. The bay constitutes a 45 km² natural harbour.

The seven islands are named:

  • La Grosse Boule ("the big ball")
  • La Petite Boule ("the small ball")
  • La Grande Basque ("the large Basque", named after the visiting Basque fishermen)
  • La Petite Basque ("the small Basque")
  • Île Manowin (from the Montagnais manouane meaning "where eggs are picked")
  • Île du Corossol (named after the French ship Corossol wrecked on the island in 1693; site of a lighthouse and a bird sanctuary)
  • Îlets Dequen (a group of tiny islands named after Jean de Quen who founded the local Catholic mission in 1650)

The archipelago is under provincial jurisdiction, with some parts administered by the federal government or by individuals.

There are two First Nations reserves in the area, Uashat in the western city proper, and Maliotenam in the east near the Moisie River.

Climate

Sept-Îles has a subarctic climate (Koppen climate classification Dfc), despite being located at around only 50 degrees latitude. The two main seasons are summer and winter, as spring and autumn are very short transition seasons lasting only a few weeks. Winters are long, cold, and snowy, lasting from late October to late April, but warmer than more inland locations, with a January high of −9.8 °C (14.4 °F). Snow totals are heavy, averaging 412 centimetres (162 in) per season. Summers are mild, with a July high of 19.6 °C (67.3 °F); summers thus display stronger maritime influence than do winters. Precipitation is significant year-round, but it is lowest from January to March.

Climate data for Sept-Îles
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 22.2
(72.0) 		10.6
(51.1) 		11.8
(53.2) 		19.2
(66.6) 		28.3
(82.9) 		32.2
(90.0) 		32.2
(90.0) 		31.1
(88.0) 		29.4
(84.9) 		22.2
(72.0) 		16.9
(62.4) 		9.4
(48.9) 		32.2
(90.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −9.8
(14.4) 		−7.8
(18.0) 		−2.1
(28.2) 		3.8
(38.8) 		10.3
(50.5) 		16.4
(61.5) 		19.6
(67.3) 		18.8
(65.8) 		13.6
(56.5) 		7.4
(45.3) 		0.7
(33.3) 		−6.5
(20.3) 		5.4
(41.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) −15.3
(4.5) 		−13.4
(7.9) 		−7.1
(19.2) 		0
(32) 		5.9
(42.6) 		11.7
(53.1) 		15.3
(59.5) 		14.2
(57.6) 		9.3
(48.7) 		3.4
(38.1) 		−3.1
(26.4) 		−11.3
(11.7) 		0.8
(33.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −20.9
(−5.6) 		−19
(−2) 		−12.1
(10.2) 		−3.8
(25.2) 		1.5
(34.7) 		7
(45) 		10.9
(51.6) 		9.6
(49.3) 		4.8
(40.6) 		−0.6
(30.9) 		−7
(19) 		−16.1
(3.0) 		−3.8
(25.2)
Record low °C (°F) −43.3
(−45.9) 		−38.3
(−36.9) 		−31.7
(−25.1) 		−26.4
(−15.5) 		−11.7
(10.9) 		−2.8
(27.0) 		1.7
(35.1) 		−0.6
(30.9) 		−6.5
(20.3) 		−12.8
(9.0) 		−28.9
(−20.0) 		−36.5
(−33.7) 		−43.3
(−45.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 87.4
(3.44) 		67.2
(2.65) 		88.8
(3.50) 		102.8
(4.05) 		94
(3.7) 		99.3
(3.91) 		99.8
(3.93) 		91.1
(3.59) 		113.2
(4.46) 		106.5
(4.19) 		97.7
(3.85) 		108.1
(4.26) 		1,156
(45.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 9.3
(0.37) 		10.9
(0.43) 		26
(1.0) 		61
(2.4) 		83.1
(3.27) 		99.3
(3.91) 		99.8
(3.93) 		91.1
(3.59) 		113.2
(4.46) 		97.5
(3.84) 		48.3
(1.90) 		18
(0.7) 		757.4
(29.82)
Average snowfall cm (inches) 87.3
(34.4) 		59.7
(23.5) 		64.7
(25.5) 		37.5
(14.8) 		9.1
(3.6) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		7.9
(3.1) 		49.0
(19.3) 		96.9
(38.1) 		412.0
(162.2)
Average precipitation days 16.2 12.4 13.5 12.8 13.9 14 15.9 14 14.3 15.2 14.1 16.4 172.7
Average rainy days 1.6 1.3 3.6 7.9 13.3 14.0 15.9 14.0 14.4 13.8 7.1 2.3 109.2
Average snowy days 15.9 11.8 12.2 7.7 1.7 0 0 0 0.1 2.9 9.8 15.7 77.8
Source: Environment Canada[4]
Sept-Îles
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
87
 
 
−10
−21
 
 
67
 
 
−8
−19
 
 
89
 
 
−2
−12
 
 
103
 
 
4
−4
 
 
94
 
 
10
2
 
 
99
 
 
16
7
 
 
100
 
 
20
11
 
 
91
 
 
19
10
 
 
113
 
 
14
5
 
 
107
 
 
7
−1
 
 
98
 
 
1
−7
 
 
108
 
 
−6
−16
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Environment Canada [4]
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
3.4
 
 
14
−6
 
 
2.6
 
 
18
−2
 
 
3.5
 
 
28
10
 
 
4.1
 
 
39
25
 
 
3.7
 
 
51
35
 
 
3.9
 
 
62
45
 
 
3.9
 
 
67
52
 
 
3.6
 
 
66
49
 
 
4.4
 
 
56
41
 
 
4.2
 
 
45
31
 
 
3.9
 
 
33
19
 
 
4.3
 
 
20
3
█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches

Tourism

Sept-Île's broadwalk

The city of Sept-Îles has accentuated the development of its tourism industry in order to place it at the forefront of the Quebec tourist industry. In 2010, the city witnessed its second consecutive year of major cruise ships stopping over. In 2009, it saw the docking of two important cruise ships: the MS Maasdam and the Norwegian Spirit. This new activity is strongly promoted and directed by the corporation Destination Sept-Îles Nakauinanu, and financed by different levels of gouvernment, tourist corporations, and by the administration of the Innu community.

The construction of a new wharf at the cost of CA$ 20 million is under way for future cruise stop overs.

Demographics

Population trend:[5]

  • Population in 2006: 25,514 (2001 to 2006 population change: 0.5 %)
  • Population total in 2001: 25,392
    • Sept-Îles (ville): 23,791
    • Moisie (ville): 930
    • Gallix (municipality): 671
  • Population in 1996:
    • Sept-Îles (ville): 25,224
    • Moisie (ville): 897
    • Gallix (municipality): 616
  • Population in 1991:
    • Sept-Îles (ville): 24,848
    • Moisie (ville): 776
    • Gallix (municipality): 506

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 11,006 (total dwellings: 11,887)

Mother tongue:

  • English as first language: 3.0 %
  • French as first language: 93.1 %
  • English and French as first language: 0.6 %
  • Other as first language: 3.2 %

Media

Radio

Television

All terrestrial television stations in the Sept-Îles area are repeaters of stations and networks that originate elsewhere. These stations are available on the Cogeco cable system, which also offer a local cable channel, TVCogeco.

As of current, no digital signals are in operation on these stations.

Economy

Prior to its disestablishment, Air Gaspé was headquartered in Sept-Îles.[6]

Notable residents

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Ministère des Affaires Municipales, Régions et Occupation du territoire - Répertoire des municipalités: Sept-Îles
  2. ^ a b Statistics Canada 2006 Census Community Profiles: Sept-Îles
  3. ^ "Community highlights for Sept-Îles". Census 2006 Community profiles. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
  4. ^ a b Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 28 July 2009
  5. ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
  6. ^ World Airline Directory. Flight International. March 20, 1975. "466.
  • Dredge, L. A. Surficial Geology of the Sept-Îles Area, Quebec North Shore. Ottawa, Canada: Geological Survey of Canada, 1983.
  • Faessler, Carl. Sept-Îles Area, North Shore of St. Lawrence, Saguenay County. Québec: Dept. of Mines, Division of Geological Surveys, 1942.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sept-Îles.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sept-Îles,_Quebec&oldid=409934513"