Charlevoix

For other uses, see Charlevoix (disambiguation).

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; the region was designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1989.

History

The region was named after Pierre François-Xavier de Charlevoix, a French Jesuit explorer and historian who traveled through this region in the 18th century. The community of La Malbaie was known as the first resort area in Canada. As early as 1760, Scottish noblemen Malcolm Fraser and John Nairn hosted visitors at their manors. For much of its history, Charlevoix was home to a thriving summer colony of wealthy Americans, including President William Howard Taft.

Geography

Landscape just outside Tadoussac

Charlevoix is known for its hilly landscape

The Charlevoix region includes the regional county municipalities of Charlevoix-Est and Charlevoix.

Features of note include:

Baie-Saint-Paul, an important arts centre
Le Domaine Forget music festival and academy
Île aux Coudres
the Parc des Grands-Jardins
the Haute-Gorges de la Rivière Malbaie
the Manoir Richelieu and the Casino de Charlevoix
the fjord of the Saguenay River
the Commission scolaire de Charlevoix

Natural history

The topography of this region was dramatically altered by a meteorite impact that occurred 350 million years ago creating the Charlevoix crater:

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.

This area was subsequently reshaped by glaciation.

There have been several major earthquakes in the region in recorded history:

on February 5, 1663, centred south of La Malbaie. See 1663 Charlevoix earthquake.
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. See 1925 Charlevoix–Kamouraska earthquake.

References

External links

(English) Official Charlevoix tourism site
(English) Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve, Canada
(English) UNESCO Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve Information

Coordinates: 47°39′N 70°09′W / 47.650°N 70.150°W / 47.650; -70.150

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