Hochelaga Archipelago

Hochelaga Archipelago
Native name: <span class="nickname" ">Archipel d'Hochelaga

Map of the Hochelaga Archipelago
Geography
Location Saint Lawrence River
Coordinates 45°32′58″N 73°39′02″W / 45.54944°N 73.65056°W / 45.54944; -73.65056Coordinates: 45°32′58″N 73°39′02″W / 45.54944°N 73.65056°W / 45.54944; -73.65056
Total islands 320
Major islands Île de Montréal, Île Jésus, Île Perrot, Île Bizard
Highest elevation 234 m (768 ft)
Highest point Mont Royal
Administration
Canada
Province Quebec
City Montreal
Dorval Island as painted by Frances Anne Hopkins, 1866.
Nuns' Island at dusk.
Small island near Saint-Eustache in the Rivière des Mille Îles.

The Hochelaga Archipelago, also known as the Montreal Islands (French: archipel d'Hochelaga), is a group of islands at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers in the southwest part of the province of Quebec, Canada.

Size

Estimates of the number of islands in the archipelago vary. The most widely accepted number seems to be 234,[1] although the number has been put as high as 325.[2]

Islands

The largest island in the group is the Island of Montreal, which forms the main portion of the City of Montreal. The city has jurisdiction over 74 smaller islands in the archipelago, most notably Nuns' Island, Île Bizard and the two islands that served as the site of Expo 67, Saint Helen's Island and the man-made Île Notre-Dame.

The second-largest island in the archipelago is Île Jésus, which along with the Îles Laval and several smaller islands makes up the city of Laval.

Other islands include the Îles de Boucherville, featuring a Quebec National Park, Île Perrot, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and neighbouring Grande-Île, Quebec, as well as the smaller Dorval and Dowker islands.

List of Named Islands

Name

The archipelago takes its name from Hochelega, an Iroquois settlement on Island of Montreal that was later settled by the French, growing to become the modern city of Montreal.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Encyclopædia Britannica". Online encyclopedia. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  2. ↑ "International Council on Monuments and Sites". 2000 Report on Canada. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
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