Charlevoix
The
Charlevoix region, located in
Quebec, includes parts of the north shore of the
Saint Lawrence River and the
Laurentian mountains region of the
Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands and bays. For much of its history, Charlevoix was home to a thriving
summer colony of wealthy Americans, including President
William Howard Taft. The community of
La Malbaie was known as the first vacation spot in Canada. Scottish landowners Malcolm Fraser and John Nairn hosted visitors at their manors as early as 1760.
Worthy of note are:
* the Haute-Gorges de la
Rivière Malbaie* the fjord of the
Saguenay River* Parc des Grands-Jardins
*
Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area
*
Île aux CoudresThe topography of this region was dramatically altered by a
meteorite impact that occurred 350 million years ago. "The impact created the forty-mile-wide crater that is the heart of Quebec's Charlevoix region, ranging from just west of Baie-Saint-Paul to just east of La Malbaie. Today, the area inside the crater is home to 90 percent of Charlevoix residents and is a very pastoral setting by comparison to what it could have been." [
1] This area was subsequently reshaped by
glaciation.
The Charlevoix region was designated a World
Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1988.
There have been several major
earthquakes in the region:
*on
February 5 1663, centred south of
La Malbaie*on
December 6 1791, centred near
Baie-Saint-Paul*on
October 17 1860, centred under the Saint Lawrence River
*on
October 20 1870, centred near Baie-Saint-Paul
*on
February 28 1925, centred under the Saint Lawrence River
The region was named after
Pierre François-Xavier de Charlevoix, a
French Jesuit explorer and historian who travelled through this region in the
18th century.
The Charlevoix region includes the
regional county municipalities of
Charlevoix-Est and
Charlevoix.
#
Some Might Call It Heaven-sent - article in
The World&I magazine, August 2003
http://www.tourisme-charlevoix.com/en/accueil/index.asp
*
List of Quebec regions*
Charlevoix (electoral district)
