La Tuque, Quebec
La Tuque | |
|---|---|
Downtown La Tuque | |
| Nickname: Reine de la Haute-Mauricie ("Queen of Haute-Mauricie") | |
| Motto(s): Industriis et labore cresco (Industry and work to grow) | |
Location within the former Le Haut-Saint-Maurice RCM | |
| Coordinates: 47°26′N 72°47′W / 47.433°N 72.783°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Mauricie |
| RCM | None |
| Settled | 1850s |
| Constituted | March 26, 2003 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Luc Martel |
| • Federal riding | Saint-Maurice—Champlain |
| • Prov. riding | Laviolette |
| Area | |
• Total | 28,293.71 km2 (10,924.26 sq mi) |
| • Land | 24,809.40 km2 (9,578.96 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 6.33 km2 (2.44 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 11,129 |
| • Density | 0.4/km2 (1/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 7,464 |
| • Urban density | 1,179.0/km2 (3,054/sq mi) |
| • Pop (2016-21) | 1.2% |
| • Dwellings | 6,930 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area code | 819 |
| Highways | R-155 |
| Website | www |
.svg){kind=link}
La Tuque (/lɑː ˈtjuːk/ lah TEWK, French: [la tyk], Canadian French: [la t͡sʏk]) is a city located in north-central Quebec, Canada, on the Saint-Maurice River, between Trois-Rivières and Chambord. The population was 11,129 at the 2021 Canadian census, most of which live within the urban area. At over 28,000 km2 (11,000 sq mi), it is the largest city in Canada by area.
The Classique internationale de canots de la Mauricie canoeing race begins at La Tuque.
The name, which dates to the eighteenth century, originates from a nearby rock formation which resembles a French-Canadian knitted cap 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 ressemble à une Tuque. Ce portage est d'une lieue, avec des fortes côtes à monter ».
("a portage named Ushabatshuan ('the rapids too strong to jump'). 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 hat-shaped mountain which gave its name to the town of La Tuque is located between the Saint-Maurice River (left bank) and the WestRock paper mill. The summit of this mountain is about 245 m (804 ft). It is located 200 m (660 ft) from the river and about 400 m (1,300 ft) upstream (northeast side) of the La Tuque hydroelectric power plant.