La Tuque, Quebec

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Ville de La Tuque
Coat of arms
Motto: Industriis et labore cresco (Industry and work to grow)
Coordinates: 47°27′N 72°47′W / 47.45, -72.783
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Mauricie
Census division	La Tuque
Government [1]
- Type	City
- Mayor	Réjean Gaudreault
Area [2]
- Land	25,104.59 km² (9,692.9 sq mi)
- Urban	25.84 km² (10 sq mi)
- Metro	25,431.76 km² (9,819.3 sq mi)
Population (2006)[3]
- City	11,821
- Density	0.5/km² (1.3/sq mi)
- Urban	9,716
- Urban Density	376.0/km² (973.8/sq mi)
- Metro	15,293
- Metro Density	0.6/km² (1.6/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	819

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 (38,000 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 resemble 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 resembles 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.

Contents 1 Famous residents 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Famous residents

• Félix Leclerc
• Thérèse Dion, mother of world renowned Canadian French singer Céline Dion, grew up in La Tuque.

[edit] See also

• Municipal reorganization in Quebec

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (French) La Tuque (Tourisme Haut-Saint-Maurice)
• (French) Ville de La Tuque (Haut-Saint-Maurice)
• (French) Eau Quai Saint-Maurice (Kayaking on St. Maurice River)

v • d • e  Administrative divisions of Mauricie  (Region 04) Small caps indicate municipalities with over 10,000 inhabitants (2006 census). Regional county municipalities and equivalent territories Mékinac · Shawinigan · Trois-Rivières · Les Chenaux · Maskinongé · La Tuque Major1 municipalities Saint-Tite · Shawinigan · Trois-Rivières · Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel · Louiseville · La Tuque Administrative divisions of Quebec

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