Île d'Orléans

The Île d' Orléans is an island in the southeast of the Canadian province of Quebec. It lies at the mouth of St. Lawrence River, about five kilometers northeast of the provincial capital of Quebec. After the Île de Montréal is the second largest island in the stream.

Geography

The 191.78 km ² island is about 33 kilometers long and eight kilometers wide. While the coastal slopes relatively steep, is the interior of the island from a consistently flat plane whose central part is forested. The soil is fertile and used for agriculture intensive. The highest point is 137 meters above sea level. There is an extensive tidal At the northern tip.

On the island there are six municipalities with a total of around 7000 inhabitants, which together form the Regional County Municipality of L' Île- d'Orléans. The Pont de l' île d' Orléans, a suspension bridge with a total length of 4.43 km, will connect the city of Québec. Opposite the southern tip is the Montmorency Falls.

History

The Hurons called the island originally Minigo. The French explorer Jacques Cartier reached for the first time in 1535 and named it because of the many wild vines there Ile de Bacchus. But on May 6, 1536, he renamed it Île d' Orléans, in honor of the Duke of Orléans, the son of King Francis I.

Due to its favorable location, the Île d' Orléans belonged from 1636 to the first regions of Québec, which were colonized by French colonists (mainly from Normandy and Poitou ). After the first settlers had been killed in 1656 during a raid of the Iroquois, in 1660 began the repopulation.

In 1759 the island was occupied and looted by British troops, of the 350 farms were only three intact. These were used before the battle on the Plains of Abraham as a base for the conquest of the city of Québec by General James Wolfe. Since 1935, the island is connected by a suspension bridge to the mainland; previously only existed a ferry.

Today the economy is based mainly on agriculture ( wheat and maize cultivation, viticulture, production of cider, animal husbandry ). Also, a significant role is played by the tourism; many inhabitants of the city of Québec have weekend homes on the island or go sailing.

Pictures

Church of Saint- Pierre (built 1717)

Sailing port of Saint -Laurent

Boat Museum in Saint -Laurent

The Île d' Orléans with the Pont de l' Île d' Orléans in the background