Lac Saint-Jean is a large, relatively shallow lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 in south-central Quebec

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...

, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated 206 kilometres north of the Saint Lawrence River

Saint Lawrence River

The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...

, into which it drains via the Saguenay River

Saguenay River

The Saguenay River is a major river of Quebec, Canada.It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east, and passes the city of Saguenay. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River at Tadoussac....

. It covers an area of 1003 km² (387 sq. mi.), and is 63 metres (207 ft) at its deepest point.

The lake is fed by dozens of small rivers, including the Ashuapmushuan

Ashuapmushuan River

The Ashuapmushuan River is a river in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of the Canadian provinces of Quebec. It starts at the outlet of Lake Ashuapmushuan, and flows first in a north-easterly direction for about whereafter it continues south-east to Saint-Félicien...

, the Mistassini

Mistassini River

The Mistassini River is a river in central Quebec, Canada, draining into the north-western portion of Lac Saint-Jean. It is long and has a watershed area of...

, the Peribonka

Peribonka River

The Peribonka River is a river in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area in Quebec, Canada. It is long and drains an area of . It drains into Lac Saint-Jean at Pointe-Taillon National Park and is the largest tributary of this lake...

, the Des Aulnaies, the Métabetchouan

Métabetchouan River

The Metabetchouan River is a tributary of Lac Saint-Jean in the centre of the province of Quebec, Canada. It passes through the small town of Saint-André, and ends at Desbiens, where a cave called Le trou de la Fée is located...

, and the Ouiatchouane. The towns on its shores include Alma

Alma, Quebec

Alma is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec.-Geography:Alma is located on the southeast coast of Lac Saint-Jean where it flows into the Saguenay River, in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, approximately 175 km north of Quebec City...

, Dolbeau-Mistassini, Roberval

Roberval, Quebec

Roberval is a city on the south-western shore of Lac Saint-Jean in the Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality of Quebec, Canada. With a population of 10,544 in the Canada 2006 Census, it is the third largest city on this lake after Alma and Dolbeau-Mistassini.It is the seat of the...

, Normandin

Normandin, Quebec

Normandin is a city located on the west side of Lac Saint-Jean in the Canadian province of Quebec.Normandin is name after the surveyor Joseph-Laurent Normandin. Its history of European-Canadian settlement began in 1878 when the first pioneers arrived. Alphonse Laliberté was elected as Normandin's...

, and Saint-Félicien

Saint-Félicien, Quebec

Saint-Félicien is a city in the Canadian province of Quebec. The town is located within the Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. Its population as of 2006 is 10,477.-Geography:...

. Three Regional County Municipalities lie on its shores: Lac-Saint-Jean-Est

Lac-Saint-Jean-Est Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Lac-Saint-Jean-Est is a regional county municipality in northeastern Quebec, Canada. The county seat is in Alma. In 2006 it was 99.5% French-speaking.-Communities:* Cities & Towns** Alma** Desbiens** Métabetchouan–Lac-à-la-Croix...

, Le Domaine-du-Roy

Le Domaine-du-Roy Regional County Municipality, Quebec

right|300pxLe Domaine-du-Roy is a Regional County Municipality in northeastern Quebec, Canada. Its seat is in Roberval, Quebec. It is named for the King of France, who at the time of the colonization of Quebec owned this land...

, and Maria-Chapdelaine

Maria-Chapdelaine Regional County Municipality, Quebec

Maria-Chapdelaine is a Regional County Municipality in northeastern Quebec, Canada. Its seat is in Dolbeau-Mistassini. The RCM runs from Lac Saint-Jean in the south to the deep interior of northern Quebec in the north...

.

The lake was initially named Piékouagami (Flat Lake) by the Kakouchak Innu

Innu

The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...

 who lived on its shores. It was given its French name after Jean Dequen, a Jesuit

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

 missionary who in 1647 was the first European to reach its shores.

Industry on the lake was dominated by the fur trade

Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...

 until the 19th century. Colonization began in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region in the early 19th century and continued intensively until the early 20th century. Industry was mainly forestry

Forestry

Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

 and agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

. In the 20th century, pulp and paper

Pulp and paper industry

The global pulp and paper industry is dominated by North American , northern European and East Asian countries...

 mills and aluminum smelting rose to importance, encouraged by hydroelectric

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 dams at Alma and on the Péribonka River. Lac Saint-Jean also has an important summer resort and sport-fishing industry.

The area is featured in the classic French novel Maria Chapdelaine by Louis Hémon

Louis Hémon

Louis Hémon , was a francophone writer best known for his novel Maria Chapdelaine.- Biography :He was born in Brest, France. In Paris, where he resided with his family, he was enrolled in the Montaigne and Louis-le-Grand secondary schools...

 published in 1914 and subsequently translated into twenty languages.

In the 1940s, during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Lac Saint-Jean, along with various other regions within Canada, such as the Saguenay

Saguenay

-Places:*Saguenay, Quebec, a city in Canada*Saguenay River*Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, the region of the Saguenay*Le Fjord-du-Saguenay Regional County Municipality, Quebec , Regional County Municipality in Quebec, Canada...

, Saint Helen's Island

Saint Helen's Island

Saint Helen's Island is an island in the Saint Lawrence River, in the territory of the city of Montreal. It is situated immediately southeast of the Island of Montreal, in the extreme southwest of Quebec. It forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago...

 and Hull, Quebec

Hull, Quebec

Hull is the central and oldest part of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadian National Capital Region, it contains offices for twenty thousand...

, had Prisoner-of-war camp

Prisoner-of-war camp

A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...

s. Lac Saint-Jean's was numbered and remained unnamed just like most of Canada's other war prisons. The prisoners of war (POWs) were classified into categories including their nationality and civilian

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

 or military status. By 1942 this region had 2 camps with at least 50 POWs. Prisoners were also forced into hard labour which included lumbering the land and assisting in the production of pulp and paper

Pulp and Paper

Pulp and Paper is the name of the largest United States-based trade magazine for the pulp and paper industry. See also: Paper engineering, Pulp and Paper Merit Badge...

.

Notable people

• Birthplace of NHL Hall of Famer and Team Canada 1972 member Jean Ratelle
  Jean Ratelle
  Joseph Gilbert Yvon "Jean" Ratelle is a former Canadian ice hockey player and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. It has often been said of Jean Ratelle that he was so consistently effective at a high level of play day in and day out that he has been overlooked by some as one of the greatest to...
  
  .
• Birthplace of McGill Professor Mario Chevrette, Ph.D of Molecular and Cell Biology.