Cap-Chat | |
|---|---|
 View of the harbour at Cap-Chat, Quebec | |
 Location within La Haute-Gaspésie RCM | |
  Cap-Chat Location in eastern Quebec | |
| Coordinates:49°06′N66°41′W / 49.100°N 66.683°W /49.100; -66.683[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine |
| RCM | La Haute-Gaspésie |
| Settled | 1815 |
| Constituted | March 15, 2000 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Marcel Soucy |
| • Federal riding | Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj |
| • Prov. riding | Gaspé |
| Area | |
• Total | 208.99 km2 (80.69 sq mi) |
| • Land | 181.31 km2 (70.00 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 2,516 |
| • Density | 13.9/km2 (36/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016-2021 |  1.6% |
| • Dwellings | 1,405 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area codes | 418 and 581 |
| Highways |  R-132 |
| Website | ville |
Cap-Chat (French pronunciation:[kapʃa]) is a town in theCanadian province ofQuébec, in theRegional County Municipality ofHaute-Gaspésie, and in the administrative region ofGaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Cap-Chat is found 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west ofSainte-Anne-des-Monts. As of 2021[update], Cap-Chat's population is 2,516.[4]
In addition to Cap-Chat itself, the town's territory also includes the communities of Cap-Chat-Est, Capucins, and Petit-Fonds.
There are two theories about the origin of the town's name. One simply holds that the headland called Cap-Chat bore a likeness to acat ("chat" inFrench). The other theory is a bit more fanciful. According to a local legend, a cat walking along the shore killed and ate various animals, whereupon the "cat fairy" accused him of having eaten her offspring. For his punishment, the cat was turned into stone forever.[5]
It seems most likely, however, that the town's name is a corruption of "Aymar de Chaste", who wasNew France's lieutenant-general in 1603.Samuel de Champlain named this area C. de Chatte in 1612, then Cap de Chatte in 1626. The name became Cap de Chat in 1685.[5]
The waterfront boardwalk at Cap-Chat has a display of photographs and informative plaques regarding the Second World WarBattle of the St. Lawrence between U-Boats and coastal defence ships.
On October 19, 1968, The Town of Cap-Chat was formed through the merger of Parish Municipality of Saint-Norbert-du-Cap-Chat and the Village Municipality of Cap-Chat.[6]
Cap-Chat was one of the prime viewing areas for the totalsolar eclipse of July 10, 1972. Unfortunately, cloudy skies prevented most observers from viewing the total phase of the eclipse.
On March 15, 2000, the Municipality of Capucins was amalgamated into the Town of Cap-Chat.[1]
| Climate data for Cap-Chat (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1993–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.7 (58.5) | 12.9 (55.2) | 15.6 (60.1) | 21.8 (71.2) | 27.8 (82.0) | 33.5 (92.3) | 31.4 (88.5) | 34.5 (94.1) | 32.5 (90.5) | 24.9 (76.8) | 22.7 (72.9) | 18.1 (64.6) | 34.5 (94.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −6.1 (21.0) | −5.8 (21.6) | −1.2 (29.8) | 4.6 (40.3) | 11.1 (52.0) | 16.5 (61.7) | 19.7 (67.5) | 19.1 (66.4) | 15.3 (59.5) | 9.3 (48.7) | 3.8 (38.8) | −1.9 (28.6) | 7.0 (44.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −10.0 (14.0) | −9.7 (14.5) | −5.0 (23.0) | 1.4 (34.5) | 7.3 (45.1) | 12.6 (54.7) | 16.1 (61.0) | 15.6 (60.1) | 11.6 (52.9) | 6.0 (42.8) | 0.8 (33.4) | −5.0 (23.0) | 3.5 (38.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −13.9 (7.0) | −13.3 (8.1) | −8.7 (16.3) | −1.9 (28.6) | 3.5 (38.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 12.4 (54.3) | 12.0 (53.6) | 7.9 (46.2) | 2.7 (36.9) | −2.2 (28.0) | −8.2 (17.2) | −0.1 (31.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −33.1 (−27.6) | −29.2 (−20.6) | −26.9 (−16.4) | −15.6 (3.9) | −3.6 (25.5) | −1.2 (29.8) | 5.7 (42.3) | 2.3 (36.1) | −0.8 (30.6) | −6.0 (21.2) | −14.0 (6.8) | −26.3 (−15.3) | −33.1 (−27.6) |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 15:00 LST) | 77.3 | 76.0 | 74.6 | 72.5 | 72.5 | 74.2 | 76.4 | 76.9 | 77.8 | 78.6 | 77.0 | 79.4 | 76.1 |
| Source:Environment and Climate Change Canada[7] | |||||||||||||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Cap-Chat had a population of2,516 living in1,225 of its1,405 total private dwellings, a change of1.6% from its 2016 population of2,476. With a land area of 181.31 km2 (70.00 sq mi), it had a population density of13.9/km2 (35.9/sq mi) in 2021.[3]
| 2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,516 (+1.6% from 2016) | 2,476 (-5.6%% from 2011) | 2,623 (-5.5%% from 2006) |
| Land area | 181.31 km2 (70.00 sq mi) | 182.05 km2 (70.29 sq mi) | 181.89 km2 (70.23 sq mi) |
| Population density | 13.9/km2 (36/sq mi) | 13.6/km2 (35/sq mi) | 14.4/km2 (37/sq mi) |
| Median age | 58.8 (M: 58.8, F: 59.2) | 57.0 (M: 56.5, F: 57.4) | 53.7 (M: 53.1, F: 54.5) |
| Private dwellings | 1,405 (total) 1,225 (occupied) | 1,333 (total) | 1,368 (total) |
| Median household income | $50,800 | $44,971 | $37,511 |
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| Source:[11] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cap-Chat has become synonymous withwind energy. There is awind farm there containing 76wind generators in revenue service. Each one of these is ahorizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), but there is also to be seen there one called Éole, which is the world's tallestvertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) at 110 m. It is capable of producing 4MW of power, but has not been in use for more than ten years following damages sustained during a wind storm. Everything that there is to know about wind power at Cap-Chat may be learnt at the interpretative centre at the wind farm.
Cap-Chat has other things that are worth seeing, such as the aforesaid cat-shaped headland, and alighthouse.
Those interested in wilderness and spectacular scenery can explore the areas inland from Cap-Chat, where there was once a village called Saint-Octave-de-l'Avenir (which ironically means Saint Octavius of the Future, though it's long in the past now).Salmon fishing andmoosehunting are other activities available in the Cap-Chat area, as arehiking,horseback riding, and off-roadfour-wheel drive excursions in the back country.
In winter, Cap-Chat has adownhill skiing centre, as well as trails forcross-country skiing,snowshoeing, andsnowmobiling.
List of former mayors:[6]
Adjacent Municipal Subdivisions | |
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 Subdivisions ofLa Haute-Gaspésie Regional County Municipality | |
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| Municipalities | |
| Villages | |
| Unorganized territories | |
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