Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
From Freepedia
Image:Saguenay-lac-saint-jean.PNG
The Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region in Quebec, Canada is distinguished by its physical beauty, especially the Fjord du Saguenay, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. Ranging over 104,000 km², it is, after the Nord-du-Québec and Côte-Nord regions, the third largest of Quebec regions in area.
This region is bathed by two major watercourses, the Lac Saint-Jean and the Saguenay River, both of which mark its landscape deeply and have been the main drives of its development in history. It is also irrigated by several other large watercourses. Bordered by forests and mountainous massifs, the region constitutes a fertile enclave in the Canadian Shield. Both the scenery and the cultural sites and activities of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean attract tourists every year. Lac Saint-Jean itself is a popular destination for residents of the more urban regions of Quebec to escape to in the summer.
The beauty of the region can be seen in the 1991 film Black Robe, directed by Bruce Beresford.
Population
The population of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region represents 6,8 % of Quebec population, concentrated in three large clusters: Ville de Saguenay (born of the merging of the cities of La Baie, Chicoutimi, Jonquière and a few smaller aglomerations) (pop. 148,179), Alma (pop. 30,126) and Roberval (pop. 10,906) - Saint-Félicien - Dolbeau-Mistassini (pop. 36,407). The largest settlement (Ville de Saguenay) is located slightly west of the fjord, mostly south of the river.
Following the Saguenay municipal reorganization in 2002, the region now counts 49 municipalities, grouped in four municipalités regionales de comté (MRCs):
- MRC du Fjord-du-Saguenay (pop. 19,929),
- MRC Lac-Saint-Jean-Est (pop. 53,346),
- MRC Domaine-du-Roy (pop. 32,089),
- MRC Maria-Chapdelaine (pop. 27,945),
- plus Ville de Saguenay (pop. 154,000), which is both a city and a MRC.
The territory also includes an indigenous community: the Montagnais of Lac-Saint-Jean (pop. 1,812), living either in the reserve of Mashteuiatsh or among the rest of the population. In total, the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region has a population of 289,121.
Sources: Government of Quebec, 2003; Statistics Canada, 2001 Survey
See also
| Regions of Quebec | Image:Ca-qc.gif | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Abitibi-Témiscamingue | Bas-Saint-Laurent | Capitale-Nationale | Centre-du-Québec | Chaudière-Appalaches | Côte-Nord | Estrie | Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine | Lanaudière | Laurentides | Laval | Mauricie | Montérégie | Montreal | Nord-du-Québec | Outaouais | Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean | |||
