Native name: Île Notre-Dame | |
|---|---|
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  Notre Dame Island Site by Montreal Island, in St. Lawrence River | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Saint Lawrence River |
| Coordinates | 45°30′15″N73°31′35″W / 45.50417°N 73.52639°W /45.50417; -73.52639 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Quebec |
| City | Montreal |
| Borough | Ville-Marie |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Notre Dame Island (French:Île Notre-Dame) is anartificial island in theSaint Lawrence River inMontreal,Quebec, Canada. It is immediately to the east ofSaint Helen's Island and west of theSaint Lawrence Seaway and the city ofSaint-Lambert on thesouth shore. Together with Saint Helen's Island, it makes upParc Jean-Drapeau, which forms part of theHochelaga Archipelago. To the southeast, the island is connected to the embankment separating the seaway andLachine Rapids.
Parc Jean-Drapeau is registered as a leg of theRoute Verte andTrans Canada Trail. The island contains theCircuit Gilles Villeneuve, which hosts theFormula OneCanadian Grand Prix.
Notre Dame Island was built in ten months from 15 million tons of rock excavated for theMontreal Metro in the early 1960s. It was created forExpo 67 to celebrateCanada's centennial.[1][2]
Nearly all of the remaining Expo 67 pavilions were demolished in 1975 to make way for a longrowing andcanoeing basin for Montreal's1976 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Basin is still North America's largest artificial rowing basin. The former pavilion ofFrance and thepavillon of Quebec was gutted, redecorated, and became theMontreal Casino, as a large gambling establishment owned and operated by theGovernment of Quebec. TheCanadian Pavilion now serves the administration of theSociété du parc Jean-Drapeau, a para-municipal body of the city of Montreal, manager of Parc Jean-Drapeau.
The park area on the island's southern tip has a small lake with a beach open throughout the summer for swimming, volleyball and watercraft rentals. During the decades since Expo 67, the city of Montreal has embellished the island with plants and trees, making it look less artificial.
In 1978,Circuit Île Notre-Dame was opened, which uses the roads of the island for motorsport events in the summer months.[3] The circuit was renamed in 1982 after Canadian Formula One driverGilles Villeneuve following his death earlier that year.[4]
In 1980, the greening and beautification of the island was accelerated when it was the host to theFloralies Internationales, a horticultural exhibition and competition gathering plant masterpieces from dozens of countries. Still accessible today from spring to autumn, these gardens cover over 25 hectares (62 acres). The Floralies gardens are preserved and arranged creatively by the Parc Jean-Drapeau team of gardeners. In addition, the micro-climate created in part by the lagoons crisscrossing the island promotes the uniqueness of these gardens by allowing plants usually intolerant of Montreal's cold climate to grow.
The park hosted theICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in1986.
In fall and spring, visitors to Notre Dame Island primarily consist of gamblers at the casino and rowers andcanoers at the Olympic Basin. During the coldest part of winter, ice skaters use the basin as a rink. City workers clear the snow from its icy surface as part of the annual winter festival, "La Fête des Neiges de Montréal". However, the ice rink was located on Saint Helen's Island, close to theJean-Drapeaumetro station, the past few years.Cross-country skiers andsnowshoers can also tour the area.
Each summer, Notre-Dame Island'sCircuit Gilles Villeneuve hosts theFormula OneCanadian Grand Prix race and used to host theNAPA Auto Parts 200 ofNASCAR's Nationwide Series (now known as theXfinity Series). The circuit is accessible to the public when it is not being used for motorsports for walking, running, biking, in-line skating, and driving.[5]
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| Montreal Olympic Park |  | |
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| GreaterMontreal | ||
| Football venues | ||
| Handball venues | ||
| Other venues | ||
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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