Dégelis
Dégelis | |
|---|---|
Dégelis and Madawaska River | |
| Motto(s): Par labeur grandirai ("By work I will grow") | |
Location within Témiscouata RCM | |
| Coordinates: 47°33′N 68°39′W / 47.55°N 68.65°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Bas-Saint-Laurent |
| RCM | Témiscouata |
| Settled | 1880 |
| Constituted | December 13, 1969 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gustave Pelletier |
| • Federal riding | Rimouski-Neigette— Témiscouata—Les Basques |
| • Prov. riding | Rivière-du-Loup-Témiscouata |
| Area | |
• Total | 568.00 km2 (219.31 sq mi) |
| • Land | 556.78 km2 (214.97 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 2,884 |
| • Density | 5.2/km2 (13/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2016–2021 | 0.7% |
| • Dwellings | 1,518 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code(s) | 418 and 581 |
| Highways A-85 (TCH) | R-295 |
| Website | ville |
Dégelis (French pronunciation: [deʒli]) is a city in Témiscouata Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec. Its population in the Canada 2021 Census was 2,884. The Madawaska River flows from Lake Témiscouata, through Degelis, to join the Saint John River at 32 kilometres (20 mi) to the East at Edmundston, New Brunswick.
Located on the banks of the Madawaska River (Saint John River), the city owes its name to a physical phenomenon: a zone of the river located in front the city, that never freezes. A Dégelis, in Old French, means a zone on the water free of ice (which is the phenomenon observed in Dégelis), a local winter thaw (no apparent reason), meaning an opening in the ice during the seasonal thawing.
The area corresponding to Dégelis is named Dégelé (English: thawed) in a report by Joseph Bouchette in 1815. The spelling at the time varies considerably. Clerical and administrative documents dating from 1858 to 1878 refer to the parish under the name Dégely, Ste. Rose Dégely, or (Sainte-Rose-du) Dégeli. Names "Sainte-Rose-du-Dégel" and "Dègelis" were also used for a period.
The inhabitants are appointed Dégelisiens for males and Dégelisiennes for females.