La Tuque, Quebec
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La Tuque is a city in northeastern Quebec, Canada on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. In 1960 it had a population of just over 11,000 (Latuquois).
La Tuque became the largest municipality in land area in Quebec, and second largest in Canada (29,000 km²) after it was merged with the village of Parent, the municipalities of La Bostonnais, La Croche, and Lac-Édouard, and the unorganized territories of Kiskissink, Lac-Berlinguet, Lac-des-Moires, Lac-Pellerin, Lac-Tourlay, Obedjiwan, Petit-Lac-Wayagamac, and Rivière-Windigo on March 26, 2003. The former city of La Tuque had itself been formed from the merger of La Tuque and La Tuque Falls in 1911.
The name, which dates to the eighteenth century, originates from a nearby rock formation which resembles the well-known French-Canadian hat known as the tuque. In 1823-24, the explorer François Verreault described the location as
- "un Portage nommé Ushabatshuan (le courant trop fort pour le sauter). Les Voyageurs le nomment la Tuque, à cause d'une Montagne haute, dont le pic ressemble à une Tuque. Ce portage est d'une lieue, avec des fortes côtes à monter."
- (a portage named Ushabatshuan (the rapids too strong to shoot). The voyageurs call it La Tuque, due to a tall mountain whose peak resemles a tuque. The portage is a league long, and climbs steep slopes.)
The local economy centres on pulp and paper; the city has a pulp-milling centre as well as a major hydroelectric station. The local scenery offers tourism opportunities as well; the city is known as the Queen of Haute-Mauricie and the Classique internationale de canots de la Mauricie canoeing race begins at La Tuque.
People who were born in La Tuque include Félix Leclerc.
External links
- La Tuque (Tourisme Haut-Saint-Maurice) (http://www.mrchsm.org/ville-la-tuque.html#la%20tuque)
- Ville de La Tuque (Haut-Saint-Maurice) (http://www.cldhsm.qc.ca/municipalites.html)