| Lac Saint-Jean | |
|---|---|
| Location | Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region, Quebec |
| Lake type | impact crater lake |
| Primary inflows | Ashuapmushuan, Mistassini, Peribonka, Des Aulnaies, Métabetchouan, Ouiatchouane |
| Primary outflows | Saguenay River |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Surface area | 1003 km² |
| Max. depth | 63 m |
Lac Saint-Jean is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated 206 kilometres north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of 1003 km² (387 sq. mi.), and is 63 metres (207 ft) at its deepest point.
The lake is fed by dozens of small rivers, including the Ashuapmushuan, the Mistassini, the Peribonka, the Des Aulnaies, the Métabetchouan, and the Ouiatchouane. The towns on its shores include Alma, Dolbeau-Mistassini, Roberval, Normandin, and Saint-Félicien. Three Regional County Municipalities lie on its shores: Lac-Saint-Jean-Est, Le Domaine-du-Roy, and Maria-Chapdelaine.
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 by the fur trade until the 19th century. Colonization began in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region in the early 19th century 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.
In the 1940s, during World War II, Lac Saint-Jean, along with various other regions within Canada, such as the Saguenay, Saint Helen's Island and Hull, Quebec, had Prisoner-of-war camps.[1] Lac Saint-Jean's was numbered and remained unnamed just like most of Canada's other war prisons.[1][2] The prisoners of war (POWs) were classified into categories including their nationality and civilian or military status.[1] By 1942 this region had 2 camps with at least 50 POWs. Prisoners were also forced into hard labour which included lumbering the land and assisting in the production of pulp and paper.[1]