Mékinac Regional County Municipality

Mékinac () is a regional county municipality (RCM) of 5,607 km2 located in the administrative region of Mauricie, along the Saint-Maurice River, which also crosses the RCM from one end to the other, and the Matawin River, a tributary of the Saint-Maurice. Located in the province of Quebec, Canada.

Established in January 1982, the Mékinac RCM is made up of 10 or 11 municipalities depending on the source, Saint-Tite is the most populous city, four unorganized territories occupying two-thirds of its surface area.

Geography

Eleven municipalities and Unorganized Territories make up the RCM de Mékinac. It is distinguished by a huge forest dotted with more than 2,000 lakes, agriculture adapted to the environment, popular holiday sites and picturesque villages. The Mékinac RCM is located on both sides of the Saint-Maurice River, between the upper and central Mauricie regions. It is adjacent to the RCMs of Matawinie, Maskinongé, Centre-du-Québec, Les Chenaux, Portneuf and Haut-Saint-Maurice. As part of the Mauricie administrative region, it is divided into two provincial electoral districts; Portneuf and Laviolette, while the federal riding is Champlain.

Photos

The Mauricie region river's Saint-Maurice, Batiscan, Sainte-Anne (Les Chenaux) and their tributaries cross the territory of Mékinac RCM

File:Riviere Saint Maurice 1994 002.jpg|Saint-Maurice, lumber floating, (formerly Saint-Jean-des-Piles) Shawinigan 1994

File:Embouchure rivière Batiscan, Batiscan 006.jpg|Batiscan, near its mouth, iron bridge, Chemin du Roy, Batiscan

File:Glace 005 Jeffrey-Alexandre-Rousseau bridge.jpg|Sainte-Anne (Les Chenaux), Jeffrey-Alexandre-Rousseau Bridge, Chemin du Roy, Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade

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File:Riviere a la Tortue 003.jpg| Dam, Turtle River, Lac-à-la-Tortue sector, Shawinigan

File:Herouxville 0024.jpg| South Mékinac River, Petit Lac du Castor Road, Hérouxville

File:Rivière des Envies mai 2020.jpg| Rivière des Envies, Goulet Falls, Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka

File:Saint Tite 089.jpg| Rivière des Envies, from bridge P-03960, steel-wood (1918), rang du Haut-du-Lac Nord, Saint-Tite

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Toponymy

<blockquote>Mékinak, (Algonquin). — Lake, river and township of Champlain County. The Mékinac River flows into the Saint-Maurice twelve miles upstream of Les Piles, and 57 miles from Trois-Rivières.

A few spell it Mékinac, but the geographic office of Canada considers the ending in k.

This word means turtle, and according to Father N. Caron, it was given because of a mountain that had more or less the shape of a turtle.

In the Cree idiom, this word also has the same meaning.

In his lexicon of the Algonquin language, Father Cuoq translates Micinimakina as "big turtle" and brings this word of mici which would have lengthened in micini, and mikinak.

—Translate from french, source: Publications de la Société du Parler français au Canada 1906

</blockquote>

The Algonquin Mikinak means turtle. Native Americans often referred to places based on the naming of the animal kingdom. Once well known, the toponym made it possible to refer to the same place in conversations. The designation Mikinak would have been assigned to a nearby mountain. However, it remains possible that the abundance of turtles in this portion of the territory explains this name

However, the name is also similar to the historical Algonquin word mekanâc, pronounced /me:kana:ʃ/, meaning "small path". The toponym Mekinac was assigned to the Mékinac River, Mékinac Lake, at Mékinac (township), in the ex-municipality of Saint-Joseph-de-Mékinac, Quebec, and town of Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac.

The foothills of the Laurentians are located in Saint-Tite. The Laurentide hinterland is developed for hunting and fishing; it includes, among others, the Tawachiche, Gros-Brochet and Chapeau-de-Paille zecs, as well as the Saint-Maurice Wildlife Reserve

! Density hab./km2

|- valign="top"

| Grandes-Piles

| Village municipality

| align ="right" |

| Hérouxville

| Parish municipality

| align ="right" |

| Lac-aux-Sables

| Parish municipality

| align ="right" |

| Lac-Boulé

| Unorganized area

| align ="right" |

| Lac-Masketsi

| Unorganized area

| align ="right" |

| Lac-Normand

| Unorganized area

| align ="right" |

| Notre-Dame-de-Montauban

| Municipality

| align ="right" |

| Rivière-de-la-Savane

| Unorganized area

| align ="right" |

| Saint-Adelphe

| Parish municipality

| align ="right" |

| Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac

| Parish municipalityh

| align ="right" |

| Saint-Séverin

| Parish municipality

| align ="right" |

| Saint-Tite

| City

| align ="right"|

| Sainte-Thècle

| Municipality

| align ="right" |

| Trois-Rives

| Municipality

| align ="right" |

| colspan="2" | Total

| align ="right" |

File:Herouxville 006a.jpg|Rivière à la Tortue, rang Saint-Pierre Sud, Hérouxville

File:Riviére Batiscan, Notre-Dame de Montauban 002.jpg|Batiscan River, spring flood, Notre-Dame-de-Montauban

File:Saint Adelphe 039.jpg|Patrick Douville Fire Station (1930), Principale Street, Saint-Adelphe

File:Saint-Severin 008.jpg|Rivière des Envies, chemin des Moulins, Saint-Séverin

File:Saint Tite 075.jpg| Catholic Church and Presbytery, Notre-Dame Street, Saint-Tite

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Between 2006 and 2011, the population grew by 2.0%. The RCM has 8,237 private dwellings whose 6,096 private dwellings are occupied by usual residents. The median age of the population is 52.6 years old. Statistics Canada reports that in 2011, 88.5% of the population was aged 15 and over, meanings 11,430 individuals (including 5700 men and 5730 women), divided into 3,940 private households. This census indicates that 2,070 people lived alone. Of this population, 1,880 individuals have mastered both French and English, or 14.6%.

Autoroutes
None

Principal Highways

Secondary Highways

External Routes
None

References

Geography

Photos

Toponymy

See also

References