Lac Saint-Jean
Lac Saint-Jean is a large, shallow
lake in south-central
Quebec,
Canada, in the
Laurentian Highlands (1003 km
2, 63m deep). It is situated 206 kilometres north of the
Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the
Saguenay River.
The lake is fed by dozens of small rivers, including the
Ashuapmushuan, the
Mistassini, the
Péribonka, the
Des Aulnaies, the
Métabetchouan, and the
Ouiatchouane. The towns on its shores include
Alma,
Dolbeau-Mistassini,
Roberval,
Normandin, and
Saint-Félicien.
The lake was initially named Piékouagami (Flat Lake) by the Kakouchak
Innu who lived on its shores. It was given its French name after
Jean Dequen, a
Jesuit missionary who in
1647 was the first European to reach its shores.
Industry on the lake was dominated with the
fur trade until the
19th century. Colonization began in the
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region in the early 1800s and continued intensively until the early
20th century. Industry was mainly
forestry and
agriculture. In the 20th century,
pulp and paper mills and
aluminum smelting rose to importance, encouraged by
hydroelectric dams at Alma and on the Péribonka River. Lac Saint-Jean also has an important summer resort and sport-fishing industry.
The area is featured in the classic French novel
Maria Chapdelaine by
Louis Hémon published in
1914 and subsequently translated into twenty languages.
