Matagami | |
|---|---|
 View of Matagami | |
  Matagami | |
| Coordinates (195, boulevard Matagami[2]):49°45′30″N77°37′19″W / 49.75833°N 77.62194°W /49.75833; -77.62194[1][3] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Nord-du-Québec |
| RCM | None |
| Constituted | 1 April 1963 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | René Dubé |
| • Federal riding | Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou |
| • Prov. riding | Ungava |
| Area | |
• City | 65.10 km2 (25.14 sq mi) |
| • Land | 75.12 km2 (29.00 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1.73 km2 (0.67 sq mi) |
| There is an apparent contradiction between two authoritative sources | |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
• City | 1,402 |
| • Density | 18.7/km2 (48/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,340 |
| • Urban density | 776.5/km2 (2,011/sq mi) |
| • Pop (2016–21) |  3.5% |
| • Dwellings | 736 |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code | 819 |
| Highways |  R-109 |
| Website | www |
Matagami (/mətɑːɡəmi/,French pronunciation:[mataɡami]) is a small town inQuebec, Canada. It is located north ofAmos, onMatagami Lake, at the northern terminus ofRoute 109 and the start of theJames Bay Road (French:Route de la Baie James). It is enclaved within thelocal municipality ofEeyou Istchee James Bay, but administratively independent of it. The town had a population of 1,526 as of theCanada 2011 Census.
Matagami was founded in 1963 with the development ofmining in the area. Previously, it existed only as a very smallprospecting camp accessible only byfloat plane, but after a viable mineral deposit was found in the late 1950s a permanent settlement began to be established. In 1962, the Quebec Toponomy Commission attempted to name the new communityMazenod afterCharles-Joseph-Eugène de Mazenod, the founder of theMissionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, but after a public outcry by local residents the community was named after Matagami Lake.
The name Matagami means "the confluence of waters" in theCree language.[5]
The first church service in Matagami was held on 17 April 1962.
Matagami lies in a sparsely populated area several parallels north ofMontreal andQuebec City. It is located in the geographic centre of Quebec quite far to the west and on similar parallels toWinnipeg andVancouver further west in Canada – both of which have milder climates to a certain degree. Compared to other continents, Matagami is on the same parallel as the hot Rhine shift aroundMannheim inGermany, whose yearly mean temperature is about 11 °C or 20 °F hotter.
Nearby lakes includeLake Olga.
In spite of being located below the50th parallel, Matagami has asubarctic climate[6] (KöppenDfc). The winter season is long and cold with a January daily mean of −20 °C (−4 °F),[7] but summer temperatures during the short season are quite warm for subarctic climates. The cold air is dominant with 224.4 days of the year averagingair frost,[8] while around 133 afternoons each year do not top freezing,[8] and a full 30.5 days of the year should fall to below −30 °C (−22 °F). Around three days in summer are warm enough to reach 30 °C (86 °F),[8] indicating a very continental climate.
| Climate data for Matagami (1971–2000 normals; extremes until 2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record highhumidex | 6.1 | 6.7 | 15.1 | 29.0 | 35.4 | 35.8 | 44.5 | 41.1 | 35.9 | 25.3 | 19.0 | 15.7 | 44.5 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.1 (43.0) | 9.1 (48.4) | 15.5 (59.9) | 28.7 (83.7) | 32.4 (90.3) | 32.8 (91.0) | 39.4 (102.9) | 36.7 (98.1) | 33.2 (91.8) | 23.0 (73.4) | 17.8 (64.0) | 13.5 (56.3) | 39.4 (102.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −13.4 (7.9) | −10.2 (13.6) | −3.1 (26.4) | 5.5 (41.9) | 14.7 (58.5) | 19.7 (67.5) | 23.1 (73.6) | 20.8 (69.4) | 14.0 (57.2) | 6.8 (44.2) | −1.2 (29.8) | −10.4 (13.3) | 5.5 (41.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −20 (−4) | −17.3 (0.9) | −10.7 (12.7) | −1 (30) | 7.7 (45.9) | 12.8 (55.0) | 16.1 (61.0) | 14.3 (57.7) | 8.8 (47.8) | 2.5 (36.5) | −5.2 (22.6) | −16.1 (3.0) | −0.7 (30.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −26.6 (−15.9) | −24.3 (−11.7) | −18.3 (−0.9) | −7.5 (18.5) | 0.6 (33.1) | 5.8 (42.4) | 9.0 (48.2) | 7.8 (46.0) | 3.5 (38.3) | −1.9 (28.6) | −9.1 (15.6) | −21.8 (−7.2) | −6.9 (19.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −43.2 (−45.8) | −43.2 (−45.8) | −44.1 (−47.4) | −28.9 (−20.0) | −18.3 (−0.9) | −6 (21) | −0.6 (30.9) | −1.7 (28.9) | −5.6 (21.9) | −15.6 (3.9) | −31.3 (−24.3) | −42 (−44) | −44.1 (−47.4) |
| Record lowwind chill | −54 | −50.1 | −44.9 | −34.4 | −21.4 | −10.7 | −0.9 | −3.5 | −9.7 | −16.5 | −37.2 | −52.8 | −54 |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 55.0 (2.17) | 34.1 (1.34) | 48.1 (1.89) | 55.4 (2.18) | 77.4 (3.05) | 101.1 (3.98) | 109.3 (4.30) | 110.2 (4.34) | 108.9 (4.29) | 86.0 (3.39) | 65.6 (2.58) | 54.5 (2.15) | 905.5 (35.65) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.7 (0.03) | 2.3 (0.09) | 10.5 (0.41) | 24.6 (0.97) | 68.9 (2.71) | 99.9 (3.93) | 109.3 (4.30) | 110.2 (4.34) | 105.1 (4.14) | 58.9 (2.32) | 24.4 (0.96) | 3.0 (0.12) | 617.7 (24.32) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 60.4 (23.8) | 35.6 (14.0) | 40.6 (16.0) | 32.1 (12.6) | 8.6 (3.4) | 1.2 (0.5) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3.6 (1.4) | 27.7 (10.9) | 45.9 (18.1) | 58.1 (22.9) | 313.8 (123.5) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 17.6 | 13.5 | 14.6 | 12.1 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 16.7 | 17.9 | 18.0 | 19.4 | 19.6 | 194.6 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.50 | 0.72 | 2.8 | 5.7 | 12.1 | 15.6 | 15.5 | 16.7 | 17.5 | 11.9 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 105.0 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 17.5 | 13.1 | 13.4 | 8.0 | 3.2 | 0.53 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 9.1 | 16.7 | 19.3 | 102.1 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 67.1 | 61.4 | 55.6 | 54.7 | 50.4 | 52.6 | 52.9 | 56.8 | 65.0 | 68.4 | 75.8 | 73.1 | 61.2 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 78.0 | 128.4 | 153.7 | 183.3 | 234.4 | 239.3 | 249.7 | 203.7 | 125.2 | 93.5 | 46.6 | 66.7 | 1,802.5 |
| Source:Environment Canada (sun 1951–1980)[9][10] | |||||||||||||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Matagami had a population of1,402 living in617 of its736 total private dwellings, a change of-3.5% from its 2016 population of1,453. With a land area of 75.12 km2 (29.00 sq mi), it had a population density of18.7/km2 (48.3/sq mi) in 2021.[11]
Population trend:[12]
Mother tongue:
The two primary employers in the city areXstrata andDomtar. Domtar has been in Matagami since 1988 when the company bought out Bisson & Bisson.[13]
Xstrata entered Matagami in 2006 when it acquiredFalconbridge Ltd. In 2008, Xstrata put Perseverance, a zinc-coppervolcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit, into production. Perseverance has a mine life of 5.5 years.[14] Since 1957 ten deposits, including the world class Matagami Lake deposit (25.6 million tonnes grading 8.2% Zn, 0.56% Cu, 20.91 g/t Ag, 0.41 g/t Au), have been discovered and mined out for a total of "44.4 million tonnes with a similar average grade."[15]
Further exploration is continuing in the camp through a 50–50 joint venture agreement between Xstrata and Donner Metals.[16] In late 2008,Donner Metals Ltd. announced that Xstrata Zinc Canada was in the process of completing a scoping study at their jointly owned Bracemac-McLeod property.[17] It is the nearest city to theLac Doré Vanadium Deposit.[18]
The community is also one of the distribution points for goods and services to theJames Bay Hydroelectric Project. As well, Matagami has a small tourism industry due to the popularity of fishing and hunting in northern Quebec. Hotel Matagami and motel caribou include full-service bars.
Policing in Matagami is done by theSurete du Quebec.
Matagami is served by a community radio station,CHEF-FM, as well as by arebroadcaster ofPremière Chaîne'sCHLM-FM.
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