Rouyn-Noranda
Rouyn -Noranda is a city in the western Canadian province of Quebec. It is located about 400 kilometers northwest of Ottawa, near the border with the province of Ontario. The administrative seat of the Abitibi- Témiscamingue region is a so-called territorial equivalent of a regional municipality, since 2002, all municipalities of the former regional county municipality merged ( municipalité régional du comté ) Rouyn -Noranda with the city. The area is 6010.5 km ², the population of 41,012 ( 2011).
Geography and climate
The entire city is part of the Canadian Shield, one of the oldest geological formations on the planet. The soil is characterized by alternating layers of sedimentary rocks and volcanic rocks, which are penetrated by granite intrusions. There are more than 625 lakes, which belong to two different basins, to that of the Hudson Bay in the north and that of the Ottawa River in the south. Almost the entire area is covered with boreal forest, the terrain is flat to slightly wavy. There are two protected areas of national importance, the Réserve écologique des Dunes -de- la Moraine d'Harricana and the Parc national d' Aiguebelle.
The core city of Rouyn -Noranda, in which more than two thirds of all inhabitants, situated on the western and southern shores of Lake Osisko. Other significant settlements are, inter alia, Bellecombe, Cadillac, D' Alembert, Évain, McWatters and Montbeillard. Neighboring municipalities are Lac- Duparquet, Duparquet and Rapide - danseur in the northwest, Sainte- Germaine - Boulé, Taschereau and Launay in the north, Sainte -Gertrude - Manneville and Preissac in the northeast, Rivière- HeVa and Val- d'Or in the east, Les Lacs -du- Témiscamingue to the southeast, Laforce and Rémigny in the south and Nédélec in the southwest. To the west of Rouyn -Noranda is adjacent to the Timiskaming District of Ontario.
The climate is kaltgemäßigt. The average temperatures range from -18.6 ° C in January and 16.5 ° C in July. The lowest ever recorded temperature was -49.5 ° C on 21 January 1984, the highest 34.5 ° C on 18 June 1995. Annual rainfall averages 975 mm, with August and September are the wettest months. Snow can fall from late October to early May.
History
The area of Rouyn- Noranda has been inhabited since 8000 from First Nations. Archaeological studies indicate that the Algonquins lived here since the 13th century. In the 17th century, shortly before the arrival of Europeans, the belonging to the Algonquian Abitibi divided the area belonging to the Cree Timiskaming. Between 1630 and 1640, the allies of the English, the Iroquois in the Beaver Wars sought to defend their supremacy fur trade by force and conducted numerous raids against fur convoys of Algonquian. The information sought by the Odawa charges were in 1650 become so high that the French had to rely increasingly on the services independently run and cheaper coureurs des bois (Ranger ).
Gabriel Druillettes wrote in 1658 the first geographical description of the region. The natives turned increasingly to the English, which operated on the more northerly James Bay more accessible fur trading post. 1686 the French sent an expedition under the command of Pierre de Troyes. He managed to kill their competition, even if only for a few years. In the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, the James Bay fell definitively to the British, with the Peace of Paris of 1763 also reached Quebec City in British possession. In the first half of the 19th century, the fur fashion in Europe gradually fell out of fashion, so that the remote and almost inaccessible area was largely uninteresting.
Edmund Horne, a prospector from Nova Scotia, in 1911 went for the first time to Lac Osisko to examine the rock. Six years later, he found extensive copper deposits. Within a short time emerged on the lake two settlements. Rouyn on the south bank was settled by loggers who built forestry operations. Is named the place after the French officer Jean -Baptiste de Rouyn, who had been severely wounded in 1760 at the Battle of Sainte -Foy. On the west bank was built around the mine, the settlement Noranda. It is a portmanteau word from the North and Canada. Both places were from 1926 independent cities. They lay close together and grew up together after a few years, so that early showed a close cooperation.
During the world economic crisis in 1929, the provincial government encouraged the settlement of workers and their families in resource-rich north to counter the emigration to New England. Both cities had a very diverse population. Although the French Canadians presented with the exception of a few years, always the majority, it lived here but also many English Canadians. There were many immigrant Poles, Ukrainians, Italians, German and Yugoslavs. Since the 1950s, the proportion of English-language gradually began to wane, as they went in the other Canadian provinces. Within three decades Rouyn Noranda and were almost purely French-speaking. As mining required fewer workers, the importance of other sectors of the economy increased markedly.
In 1973 the diocese of Rouyn -Noranda was established. 1986 merged the two cities and there was the new city of Rouyn -Noranda. This counted ten years later 30,936 inhabitants in an area of 348.07 km ². As part of administrative reform, the Regional County Municipality of Rouyn -Noranda was on 1 January 2002 dissolved and merged into the city. To her now included the former municipalities Arntfield, Bellecombe, Cadillac, Cloutier, Cléricy, D' Alembert, Destor, Évain, McWatters, Mont- Brun, Montbeillard and Rollet, as well as the unorganized territories Lac- Montanier, Lac- Surimau and Rapides - the - Cedars.
Population
According to the 2011 census counted Rouyn -Noranda 41,012 inhabitants, which corresponds to a population density of 6.8 inh. / Km ². 96.0 % of the population reported French as the main language, the proportion of English was 2.1 %. As a bilingual ( French and English) is designated 0.6 %, to other languages and multiple responses accounted for 1.3%. Only 67.3 % spoke French. In 2001, 93.4 % of the population were Roman Catholic, 1.6 % Protestant, and 4.2 % non-denominational.
Transport and the economy
In Rouyn -Noranda intersect two regional headquarters through local streets. The Route 101 runs south-north direction and connects with Témiscaming Macamic. In the east-west direction of the route 117, which belongs to the Trans-Canada Highway and leads towards Montreal runs. The city is accessible by four local bus routes, it is also served by long-distance bus. Rouyn -Noranda is located on the railway line between Cochrane ( Ontario) and Senne Terre, however, is used only for freight. The airport Rouyn -Noranda is located 16 km east of the city center and has a paved runway and landing strip with a length of 2,286 m; offered regular scheduled and charter flights.
The economic events based on agriculture and forestry, exploitation and processing of mineral resources and the production of equipment for these industries. There is also a well-developed services sector. At the headwaters of the Ottawa River Hydro-Québec operates the hydroelectric plants Rapide -2 and Rapide - seventh
Sports
Most famous sports team in the city is the Hockey Team Huskies de Rouyn -Noranda, which plays since 1996 in the Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec. The home games are played in Aréna Iamgold, which offers 3,500 spectators.
About 30 km west of the city is located on Mont Kanasuta a small winter sports area. A chair lift and a ski lift open 16 slopes with a maximum height difference of 147 m.
Education
Rouyn -Noranda is the training center in northwestern Québec. The city is since 1983 the seat of the Université du Québec en Abitibi- Témiscamingue, a linking Université du Québec belonging University with offices in Val- d'Or and Amos. Since 1967 there is also a Cégep for secondary education.
Personalities
Rouyn -Noranda is the birthplace of many prominent hockey players. These include, inter alia, Jacques Cloutier ( born 1960 ), Éric Desjardins (born 1969 ), Réjean Houle ( born 1949 ), Dave Keon ( born 1940 ), Jacques Laperrière (* 1941), Pit Martin ( 1943-2008 ), Stephane Matteau (* 1969), Bob Sullivan ( born 1957 ), Dale Tallon ( born 1950 ), Pierre Turgeon (born 1969 ) and Sylvain Turgeon (born 1965 ).
Were born here also the actors Paule Baillargeon ( born 1945 ) and Bruce Greenwood ( born 1956 ), the engineer Suzanne Lacasse (* 1948) and the Country singer Hal Willis ( born 1933 ).