Minganie Regional County Municipality Explained

Minganie
Settlement Type:Regional county municipality
Coordinates:50.2333°N -99°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Canada
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Quebec
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:Côte-Nord
Established Title:Effective
Established Date:January 1, 1982
Seat Type:County seat
Seat:Havre-Saint-Pierre
Government Type:Prefecture
Leader Title:Prefect
Leader Name:Meggie Richard
Area Land Km2:53340.31
Area Note:Includes native reserves
Population Total:6467
Population As Of:2021
Population Density Km2:0.1
Population Blank1 Title:Pop (2016-21)
Population Blank1: 1.8%
Population Blank2 Title:Dwellings
Population Blank2:3306
Population Note:Includes native reserves
Timezone:EST
Utc Offset:−5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:−4
Postal Code Type:Postal code(s)
Area Code:418 and 581

Minganie is a regional county municipality on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada, its territory includes Anticosti Island.

Toponymy

Both the largest (128,473 km²) and the penultimate of the least populated, the regional county municipality of Minganie extends from Labrador to the middle of the Honguedo Strait in the St. Lawrence River and includes the hinterland of Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent RCM and Anticosti Island.

Construction workers, transport workers, miners, fishermen and trappers are also found there in larger proportions than in Quebec in general.[1]

Travelling through Minganie means delving into the history of a region and its Innu, Acadian and Gaspesians pioneers and its new residents who arrived via Route 138 (The Whale Route - Route Jacques-Cartier), opened in 1976.[2]

Administration

The RCM administration is seat is Havre-Saint-Pierre. It has an area of NaN680.61 according to Quebec's Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire (which includes coastal, lake, and river water territory), or a land area of 53340.31km2 according to Statistics Canada. Its population in the 2021 Canadian census was 6,467. The majority live in Havre-Saint-Pierre.

Minganie and the neighbouring Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality are grouped into the single census division of Minganie—Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent (known as Minganie–Basse-Côte-Nord before 2010). The combined population at the 2021 Canadian census was 9,849.[3]

Until 2002, Minganie RCM encompassed the entire lower north shore right up to Blanc-Sablon. In 2002, it lost all the coastal communities east of the Natashquan River when the Basse-Côte-Nord Territory was formed. In July 2010, the RCM lost another 44% of its territory when the (uninhabited) Petit-Mécatina unorganized territory was transferred to the newly created Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, which superseded Basse-Côte-Nord.

Overview of the region

Several portions of territory on the Minganie are dedicated specifically to the protection and maintenance of heritages.

Subdivisions

There are 9 subdivisions and 2 native reserves within the RCM:

Municipalities (8)
Unorganized Territory (1)
Native Reserves (2)
(not associated with RCM)

Transportation

Sea - Air - Ground

Until the arrival of The Whale Route (Route 138)[4] [5] in 1976 and 1996, the only regular means of access to the area was the boat service maintained during the navigation season by Clarke Steamship Company, Ltd.[6] The regularity of the service becomes more and more uncertain from the month of September, depending on the date of the arrival of winter with its snow, ice, storms and fog. However, it is possible to reach the area by chartering seaplanes that can easily land under favourable atmospheric conditions in many deep bays and on windward waters sheltered by islands.[7]

Route & trails

Highways and numbered routes that run through the RCM, including external routes that start or finish on its borders.[8]

In 2024, the Côte-Nord region is part of the network of the 33 000 km of trails of The Federation of Snowmobile Clubs of Quebec and La Minganie Snowmobile Club, based in Les Escoumins,[9] offer detailed interactive maps on the different circuits and their points of services.

River basins

There are a number of large rivers that flow in a generally north–south direction through Minganie to enter the Gulf. Near the coast the river basins tend to narrow in towards the river mouth, and between their mouths are areas that drain into the Gulf through smaller streams. From west to east, the larger river basins, which may cover parts of Labrador, Sept-Rivières or Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent, are:

River Basin size Mouth coordinates Map link
km2 sq. mile
684km2 50.2819°N -65.5147°W EFPVK
87.7km2 50.2928°N -65.4431°W EIBXJ
793km2 50.3008°N -65.3742°W EIHTJ
2653km2 50.2978°N -65.2414°W EHDEJ
202km2 50.2931°N -65.1219°W EFVQV
1183km2 50.2717°N -64.9292°W EIDHB
692km2 50.2736°N -64.7794°W EIHQL
223km2 50.2872°N -64.5844°W EGURN
7646km2 50.3197°N -64.4589°W EHCNP
5599km2 50.2833°N -64.3344°W EIACM
Mingan2321km2 50.2958°N -63.9894°W EHGSU
14510km2 50.3022°N -63.8033°W EHXDD
260km2 50.2983°N -63.0581°W EHMZM
563km2 50.2844°N -62.8981°W EFZNQ
386km2 50.2864°N -62.8053°W EHQDT
1017km2 50.3103°N -62.7239°W EHTZO
111km2 50.3108°N -62.7033°W EIKWH
1044km2 50.2694°N -62.6925°W EIMMB
413km2 50.2719°N -62.6317°W EIMMC
154km2 50.2775°N -62.3486°W EHOAQ
2086km2 50.2331°N -62.2206°W EHJDV
5777km2 50.2181°N -62.0861°W EKVRE
16005km2 50.1186°N -61.8072°W EHJNH

Flora

With the exception of a few enclaves, the ecological region of Minganie is mainly covered by large Spruce forests and a few laricinin fields (Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch). There are also White spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.), Dwarf birch (Betula glandulosa Minchx), Rough alder (Alnus rugosa (DuRoi Spreng.) and Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michaux).[10]

Brothers Marie-Victorin and Rolland Germain F.E.C. explored the region from 1924 to 1928. Their work has raised awareness in the scientific community of the enormous value of the Mingan Archipelago. Since then, other scientists have added to the ecology and phytogeography knowledge of this sector.[11]

The vegetation of the Mingan Islands belongs to the Chibougamau-Natashquan boreal forest region, which is dominated by Black spruce. The high latitude and low altitude, combined with the proximity of the cold currents of Labrador, explain the subarctic vegetation specific to the Minganie.

The entirely calcareous nature of the horizontal stratified rocks, which make up the Anticosti - Minganie, exerts a profound influence on the structure of the flora and on the choice of species.

Remarkable for its richness, the flora includes 350 vascular plants including the presence of two rare taxa: Cirsium foliosum var. Minganense and Cypripedium passerinum var. Minganense. Sixty species are new to the list of Minganie harvests compiled by Marie-Victorin and Rolland-Germain (1969). There were also 150 bryophytes and 152 lichens, 29 of which were additions to the Nouveau Catalogue des lichens, published by Lepage (1972).[12] [13]

Overwiew of the diversity

Fauna

Terrestrial mammals

During the summers of 1964 and 1965, during geological research, Jean Depatie with a team of geologists and students, assisted by 3 canoemen and lumberjacks, plus a cook, explored 440 square miles of a territory stretching from Sept-Îles to Blanc Sablon, in the Lac à l'Ours region. In the field, scientists noted an abundance of Canadian beavers, a few otters and American mink, many hares, partridges and a multitude of ducks. Caribou and moose are scarce while black bears and red foxes abound.[14]

Marine mammals

The waters of the St. Lawrence Estuary are internationally recognized as a vital feeding ground for rare or common species of marine mammals.

Birds

Many species of birds can be observed in the Côte-Nord region and the Mingan RCM, including Havre-Saint-Pierre and in Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Minganie, toponymy . Quebec Gouvernement . Quebec Toponymy Commission . 24 June 2024 . fr . 7 March 1985 . The Mingan archipelago and the adjoining coastline, famous for their limestone erosion patterns, and Anticosti Island, which forms a small world in itself, remain the great natural features of the Mingan region..
  2. Web site: Visit Minganie . Regional County Municipality of Minganie . 23 June 2024 . fr . 3 June 2024 . Between the boreal forest and the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River, only the immensity of the sky equals the grandeur of this vast region..
  3. Web site: Minganie--Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent, Census division (CDR) Quebec. 2021 Census of Population . www12.statcan.gc.ca . 9 February 2022 . Government of Canada - Statistics Canada . 5 June 2024.
  4. Web site: Network of observation sites along the Whale Route (Route 138) . 11 May 2024 . 12 . 2010-05-21 . Whale-watching sites for everyone.
  5. Web site: Whales of the St. Lawrence river . Whales Online . 18 April 2024 . 2024 . The estuary is home to belugas all year round. In summer, the estuary also hosts rorquals and other species of toothed whales that benefit from the abundance of krill, capelin and other small fish..
  6. Web site: The Clarke Steamship Co Ltd . 17 May 2024 . 41 of 74 . 7 June 2014 . The North Shore service now sailed from Quebec every Tuesday at 9 am, serving no fewer than thirty locales, consisting of pulpwood ports, native villages, trading posts and fishing settlements,.
  7. Web site: Jacques Claveau . The North Shore of the St. Lawrence, from Aguanish to Washicoutai Bay, Saguenay County . Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources naturelles - Gouvernement du Québec . 18 May 2024 . 8 of 78 . fr . 1950 . Aguanish is about 515 miles downstream from the city of Quebec and about 90 miles due east of the village of Mingan..
  8. http://www.quebec511.gouv.qc.ca/fr/carte_routiere/ Official Transport Quebec Road Map
  9. Web site: La Minganie Snowmobile Club . Côte-Nord entre nature et démesure . 15 May 2024 . 2024 . In order to preserve our magnificent North Shore in its wild state, we invite you to adopt the principles of the Leave No Trace code of ethics..
  10. Web site: Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife, Forêt Québec, Forest Inventory Branch . Guide to the Recognition of Ecological Types: Ecological Region Anticosti Island, Mingan Islands . Quebec Gouvernement . 19 January 2024 . fr . July 2007 . an ecological region is a homogeneous unit in relation to the dynamics of vegetation and variables in the physical environment.
  11. Web site: Marie-Victorin (1885–1944) . Avant-pays Anticosti-Minganie . florelaurentienne.com . 19 January 2024 . 56 of 920 . fr . 2003 . Because of the importance and biological autonomy of this archipelago, we have given it the name of Minganie.
  12. Web site: Flora of a thousand faces . Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve . 29 May 2014 . Gouvernement of Canada . 19 January 2024 . The woodlands of the Mingan Islands are made up of Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea), Black Spruce (Picea mariana) and White Spruce (Picea glauca)..
  13. Web site: Line Couillard and Pierre Grondin . The rare plants of Mingan archipelago . Environnement Canada Parks . 19 January 2024. 3 January 2023 . picking of all plants is strictly prohibited in national parks..
  14. Web site: Jean Depatie . Preliminaty Report on L'Ours lake area . Ministère de l'Énergie et des Ressources naturelles - Gouvernement du Québec . 29 January 2024 . 21 . 1967 . This study focuses on several coastal islands, which are part of the Mingan Archipelago, and covers 400 square miles of Duplessis County.
  15. Web site: George Kolenosky . Black bear . Minister of Environment, Minister of Supply and Services Canada . 30 January 2024 . 1992 . Favourite fruits include blueberries, buffalo berries, strawberries, elderberries, saskatoons, black cherries, and apples..
  16. Web site: Parks Canada . Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve . Government of Canada . 2024-01-16 . 2022-11-19 . Seabirds, Seals, Whales, Land Mammals, occasionally, Black Bears and Moose.
  17. Web site: St. Lawrence Estuary Marine Protected Area (MPA) Project . Fisheries and Oceans Canada . 31 January 2024 . 13 of 76 . March 2010 . Nearly half a dozen marine mammal species found in the estuary regularly or occasionally are species at risk listed.
  18. Web site: Centre d'interprétation de la Station de Recherche des Îles Mingan . Bonjour Quebec . 31 January 2024 . 2024 . Take a guided tour of the museum with field biologists and learn more about the marine mammals that inhabit the St. Lawrence River.
  19. Web site: Park Canada . Betchouane Migratory Bird Sanctuary . Government of Canada . 30 January 2024 . 2019-10-24 . this sanctuary including large numbers of razorbill, Atlantic puffin, herring gull and great black-backed gull. Black-legged kittiwake and black guillemot.
  20. Web site: Bird Watching in Côte-Nord . Quebec by the sea . 30 January 2024 . Côte-Nord is home to hundreds of bird species..
  21. Web site: Government of Canada . Marine Birds . Parks Canada . 2024-01-18 . 2020-12-24 . In order to ensure the reproductive success of these birds, certain islands or sectors of the islands are closed to public during the nesting period.