Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
| Flag of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean |
| | Flag of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean |
| Map of Quebec showing Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean |
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| Map of Quebec showing Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean |
The
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region in
Quebec,
Canada is distinguished by its physical beauty, especially the
Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the
Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as
Sagamie in French, from the first part of "Saguenay" and the last part of "Piekouagami", the
montagnais name for the
lac Saint-Jean (meaning « flat lake »), with the final "e" added to follow the model of other existing region names such as
Mauricie,
Témiscamie,
Jamésie,
Matawinie, etc. [
1] Ranging over 104,000 km², the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean 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 region is considered the heartland of the Quebec sovereignty movement.
The beauty of the region can be seen in the
1991 film
Black Robe, directed by
Bruce Beresford.
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 agglomerations) (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.
Regional County Municipalities*
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)
Independent City*
Ville de Saguenay (pop. 154,000)
Indian Reserve*
Mashteuiatsh, Quebec (pop. 1,908
Montagnais over a total of 289,121
indigenous in the region)
Sources: Government of Quebec, 2003;Statistics Canada, 2001 Survey*
List of Saguenéens*
List of Quebec regions
