Chibougamau, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Chibougamau is a town in central Quebec
, Canada
, located on Lake Gilman. It has a population of 7,563 people (Canada 2006 Census
), which makes it the largest community in northern Quebec. Chibougamau is completely surrounded by but not part of the Municipality of Baie-James
.
Due to its remoteness from Lac Saint-Jean
(over 200 km south-east) and Abitibi-Témiscamingue
(over 250 km south-west) areas, Chibougamau provides services for the few small communities surrounding it (Mistissini
and Chapais
) and for the regional resource-based
industries. Despite Chibougamau's remoteness, it is only about as far north as Winnipeg.
Nearby are Lake Aux Dorés and the vast Lake Chibougamau, after which the town was named. Chibougamau means "Crossed by a river" in Cree language. The neighboring Cree village of Oujé-Bougoumou
is a more traditional Cree spelling of the same name.
The area surrounding Lake Gilman is Obalski Park. Its amenities include a beach, pier, picnic tables, cabins, among others. The many trails allow for hiking, cycling, cross-country skiing, or even snowmobiling through the park's boreal forest.
Access to the town is by Route 167
from Lac Saint-Jean and by Route 113
from Lebel-sur-Quevillon. Chibougamau's airport
is along Route 113, about halfway to Chapais.
traditional hunting grounds. It was in the early 17th century that French explorers and traders, including Charles Albanel
in 1671, came to the Lake Chibougamau area. But no permanent European settlements were established at that time.
Not until the late 19th Century did the area attract the interest of mining
prospectors
. When gold was discovered in 1903, there were periods of intense exploration. Due to the difficulty of access, no lasting development took place at that time. Not until 1949 was copper first exploited, with the opening of a multi-metallic mine in the area, and a permanent community was established in 1952. Chibougamau started out as a company town
but soon after, in 1954, it was incorporated as a municipality. Many mines have exploited the area since. While still thought of as a mining town, Chibougamau is now also the centre of a large logging
and sawmill
industry.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Royal Canadian Air Force
operated a radar station in Chibougamau as part of the Pinetree Line
.
Since December 2001, the mayor
of Chibougamau is also part of the municipal council of Municipality of Baie-James
.
The city is home to an annual "Folies frettes" festival and a snowmobile
rally
.
Total private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 3311 (total: 3377)
First Language:
The English-language school is MacLean Memorial School http://www.cqsb.qc.ca/mms/, formerly Chibougamau Protestant School. There also used to be a Catholic English-language school called Holy Family School.
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located on Lake Gilman. It has a population of 7,563 people (Canada 2006 Census
Canada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
), which makes it the largest community in northern Quebec. Chibougamau is completely surrounded by but not part of the Municipality of Baie-James
Baie-James, Quebec
The Municipality of Baie-James is in northern Quebec, Canada, to the east of James Bay. It covers 297,329.66 square kilometers of land, making it the largest incorporated municipality in Canada — only eight unorganized territories are larger...
.
Due to its remoteness from Lac Saint-Jean
Lac Saint-Jean
Lac Saint-Jean is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated 206 kilometres north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of 1003 km² Lac Saint-Jean is a large, relatively...
(over 200 km south-east) and Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Abitibi-Témiscamingue is a region located in western Quebec, Canada, along the border with Ontario. It became part of the province in 1898. It has a land area of 57,674.26 km2 . As of the 2006 census, the population of the region was 143,872 inhabitants.-History:The land was first occupied...
(over 250 km south-west) areas, Chibougamau provides services for the few small communities surrounding it (Mistissini
Mistissini, Quebec
Mistissini is a Cree town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini . The town is inside the boundaries of the Baie-James Municipality, and is the largest Cree community with a population of around 4000 people...
and Chapais
Chapais, Quebec
Chapais is a community in the Canadian province of Quebec, located on Route 113 near Chibougamau in the Jamésie region. It is surrounded by, but not a part of, the municipality of Baie-James. The community was first settled in 1929, when prospector Léo Springer discovered deposits of copper, silver...
) and for the regional resource-based
Natural resource
Natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity existent in various ecosystems....
industries. Despite Chibougamau's remoteness, it is only about as far north as Winnipeg.
Nearby are Lake Aux Dorés and the vast Lake Chibougamau, after which the town was named. Chibougamau means "Crossed by a river" in Cree language. The neighboring Cree village of Oujé-Bougoumou
Oujé-Bougoumou, Quebec
Oujé-Bougoumou is the newest Cree community located on the shores of Lake Opemisca, in the Jamésie region of Quebec, Canada...
is a more traditional Cree spelling of the same name.
The area surrounding Lake Gilman is Obalski Park. Its amenities include a beach, pier, picnic tables, cabins, among others. The many trails allow for hiking, cycling, cross-country skiing, or even snowmobiling through the park's boreal forest.
Access to the town is by Route 167
Quebec Route 167
Route 167 is an isolated provincial highway in Quebec, Canada. It begins at the shore of Lac Saint-Jean in Saint-Félicien. It proceeds north-west to Chibougamau away. There are no services along this long stretch. At Chibougamau, the highway turns north-east towards Mistissini.Maps are conflicting...
from Lac Saint-Jean and by Route 113
Quebec route 113
Route 113 is a north/south two lane highway in northern Quebec, Canada. It starts at Route 117 just north of Louvicourt and continues north and north-east roughly until Waswanipi from where it continues east until it ends at Route 167 in Chibougamau...
from Lebel-sur-Quevillon. Chibougamau's airport
Chibougamau/Chapais Airport
Chibougamau/Chapais Airport is located southwest of Chibougamau, Quebec, Canada, or about halfway to Chapais along Route 113.-Incidents:On October 25, 2007 at approximately 0900 local. A Beech King Air 100A operating as "Cree" 501 crashed on approach into Chibougamau . Both pilots were fatally...
is along Route 113, about halfway to Chapais.
History
The area has long been part of the CreeCree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
traditional hunting grounds. It was in the early 17th century that French explorers and traders, including Charles Albanel
Charles Albanel
Charles Albanel was a Freech missionary explorer in Canada, and Jesuit priest. In 1649, he arrived in Canada, at Tadoussac. In 1672, at the time when the Hudson's Bay Company was beginning operations, he was a leader of a French party that went by the Saguenay River, Lake Mistassini, and the...
in 1671, came to the Lake Chibougamau area. But no permanent European settlements were established at that time.
Not until the late 19th Century did the area attract the interest of mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
prospectors
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
. When gold was discovered in 1903, there were periods of intense exploration. Due to the difficulty of access, no lasting development took place at that time. Not until 1949 was copper first exploited, with the opening of a multi-metallic mine in the area, and a permanent community was established in 1952. Chibougamau started out as a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
but soon after, in 1954, it was incorporated as a municipality. Many mines have exploited the area since. While still thought of as a mining town, Chibougamau is now also the centre of a large logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
industry.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
operated a radar station in Chibougamau as part of the Pinetree Line
Pinetree Line
The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by NORAD , over half were manned by United States Air Force...
.
Since December 2001, the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Chibougamau is also part of the municipal council of Municipality of Baie-James
Baie-James, Quebec
The Municipality of Baie-James is in northern Quebec, Canada, to the east of James Bay. It covers 297,329.66 square kilometers of land, making it the largest incorporated municipality in Canada — only eight unorganized territories are larger...
.
The city is home to an annual "Folies frettes" festival and a snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
rally
Rallying
Rallying, also known as rally racing, is a form of auto racing that takes place on public or private roads with modified production or specially built road-legal cars...
.
Demographics
Population:- Population in 2006: 7563
- Population in 2001: 7922
- 2001 to 2006 population change: -4.5 %
- Population in 1996: 8664
- Population in 1991: 8855
Total private dwellings, excluding seasonal cottages: 3311 (total: 3377)
First Language:
- English : 2 %
- French : 97 %
- Both English and French : 0.1 %
- Others : 1 %
Education
French-language schools in Chibougamau, past and present, are:- École Bon-Pasteur
- École Vatican II
- École Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire
- École La Porte-du-Nord
- Le Centre l'Élan
- École Vinette (closed 1991)
- Centre de formation professionnelle de la Jamésie
- Centre d'études collégiales Chibougamau
The English-language school is MacLean Memorial School http://www.cqsb.qc.ca/mms/, formerly Chibougamau Protestant School. There also used to be a Catholic English-language school called Holy Family School.
Sources
- St.-Hilaire, Marc. "Chibougamuau", in The Canadian Encyclopedia, Volume 1, p. 407. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishing, 1988.