Les Éboulements, Quebec
Encyclopedia
Les Éboulements is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale
Capitale-Nationale
Capitale-Nationale is one of 17 administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. Quebec City, Quebec's centre of government, is located in this region. It has a land area of 18,638.7 km2...

 region of Quebec, Canada.

Its population centres include Les Éboulements (located along Route 362
Quebec route 362
Route 362 is a scenic 50 km two-lane highway which follows the Saint Lawrence River in the Charlevoix region in Quebec, Canada. It starts at the junction of Route 138 in Baie-Saint-Paul and ends again at the junction of Route 138 in La Malbaie...

 on the plateau overlooking 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...

), Éboulements-Est (at the feet of Mount Éboulements), Cap-aux-Oies, Sainte-Marie-de-Charlevoix, and Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive (47°27′30"N 70°22′05"W on the shores of the Saint Lawrence facing Saint-Bernard-sur-Mer
L'Isle-aux-Coudres, Quebec
L'Isle-aux-Coudres is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, part of the Charlevoix MRC in the Charlevoix area of the Capitale-Nationale region. It is located on and contiguous with Coudres Island , located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence about south from the mainland.The island was named by Jacques...

). Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive, formerly known as Les Éboulements-en-Bas and Quai-des-Éboulements, is the departure point for ferries to L'Isle-aux-Coudres
L'Isle-aux-Coudres, Quebec
L'Isle-aux-Coudres is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, part of the Charlevoix MRC in the Charlevoix area of the Capitale-Nationale region. It is located on and contiguous with Coudres Island , located in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence about south from the mainland.The island was named by Jacques...

.

The municipality is member of the Association of Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec
Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec
The Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec is an association created in 1997 by Jean-Marie Girardville and inspired from similar associations in France, Belgium, and Italy. Its objective is to promote the preservation and the enhancement of the architectural and historical heritage of villages in...

 due to its country heritage and to the beautiful architecture and character of its houses.

Geography

Les Éboulements is located in the centre of the Charlevoix crater
Charlevoix crater
The Charlevoix crater is a large eroded meteorite impact crater in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. Only part of the crater is exposed at the surface, the rest being covered by the Saint Lawrence River. The original crater is estimated to have been in diameter and the age is estimated to...

. Mount Éboulements (Mont des Éboulements), in the eastern part of the municipality, is considered the central rebound of the earth's crust following moments after the meteor impact some 350 million years ago. This mountain, appearing on a map in 1837 by H. W. Bayfield as "Mt Eboulemens" , has an altitude of 770 metres (2,526.2 ft).

Rivers within the municipality include the Boudreault and Seigneur Rivers, both small tributaries of the Saint Lawrence River.

History

In February 1663, a strong earthquake shook the Charlevoix region and triggered a large landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...

 down the slopes that characterize the hills of the area to the Saint Lawrence coast. Among the many eyewitnesses that testified to the significance of the event, priest Lalement wrote: "near the Bay called St. Paul, there was a small mountain alongside the river, a quarter of a league in circumference, which was abyssed, and as if it had not done that dive, it came out of the bottom to change into an islet." Thereafter the area was known as les Éboulements (French for "the landslides").

On April 1, 1683, the Éboulements Seignory was granted to Pierre Lessard by Governor La Barre
Joseph-Antoine de La Barre
Joseph-Antoine le Fèbvre de LaBarre was the Governor of New France from 1682 to 1685. He had previously been Governor of Auvergne and of the French Antilles ....

 and Intendant de Meulles
Jacques de Meulles
Jacques de Meulles, seigneur of La Source , was intendant and interim governor general of New France. He was the son of Pierre de Meulles, king's councillor, treasurer-general of war supplies; d. 1703....

, having an area of 1¼ league
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...

 wide by 2 leagues deep. In 1710, the seignory was acquired by Pierre Tremblay who really began its development and granted concessions to settlers arriving at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1732, the parish was founded.

In 1810, the seignory was sold to Pierre de Sales Laterrière
Pierre de Sales Laterrière
Pierre de Sales Laterrière , was an adventurer who left France in 1766. He was inspector and director of the Forges du Saint-Maurice and seigneur of Les Éboulements in New France ....

. In 1845, the municipality was originally established as L'Assomption-de-Notre-Dame-des-Éboulements, but abolished two years later. In 1855, it was reestablished as L'Assomption-de-la-Sainte-Vierge, and in 1859, the seignorial system was abolished by the municipal council.

In 1931, the Village Municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive was formed when it separated from the Municipality of L'Assomption-de-la-Sainte-Vierge. In 1956, the municipality was renamed to Les Éboulements. In 2001, Les Éboulements and Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive were merged and formed the new Municipality of Les Éboulements.

On October 13, 1997, a bus travelling down the steep road to Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive failed to slow down and negotiate a turn, crashed through the barriers and plunged over 10 meters into a ravine. This accident
1997 Les Éboulements bus accident
The 1997 Les Éboulements bus accident, also known as the St. Joseph Bus Accident, occurred on Thanksgiving Day, October 13, 1997, in Les Éboulements , Quebec, Canada...

killed 44 persons, making it the deadliest road accident in Canadian history.

Demographics

Population trend:
  • Population in 2006: 1264 (2001 to 2006 population change: 1.2 %)
  • Population total in 2001: 1249
    • Les Éboulements (Municipality): 1027
    • Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive (Village): 222
  • Population in 1996:
    • Les Éboulements (Municipality): 1013
    • Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive (Village): 204
  • Population in 1991:
    • Les Éboulements (Municipality): 1013
    • Saint-Joseph-de-la-Rive (Village): 225


Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 515 (total dwellings: 770)

Mother tongue:
  • English as first language: 0 %
  • French as first language: 99.2 %
  • English and French as first language: 0 %
  • Other as first language: 0.8 %
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