Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/181

Rh Q U E Q U E 165 various works. His MS. material for Syriac has been utilized in Payne Smith's Thesaurus ; of the slips he collected for a projected Arabic, Persian, and Turkish lexicon soine account is given in the prefac-e to Dozy, Supp. aux Dictt. Arabes. They are now in the Munich library. ate II. QUEBEC, a province of Canada in British North America, lying between 52 30' and 45 N. lat., and be- tween 57 7' and 79 33' 20" W. long., and bounded on the N. by Labrador and Hudson's Bay, on the E. by Labrador and the Gulf of St Lawrence, on the S. by the Bay of Chaleurs, New Brunswick, and the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York, and on the S.W. and W. by the river Ottawa and the province of Ontario. Its length, from Lake Temiscamingue to Anse au Sablon in the Straits of Belle Isle, is nearly 1000 miles on a due east and west course, and from Lake Temiscamingue to Cape Gaspe" it is 700 miles ; its breadth is 300 miles, and the area 188,694 square miles (120,764,651 acres). The sur- face of the country is exceedingly varied and picturesque, embracing several ridges of mountains and lofty hills, -mn- diversified by numerous rivers, lakes, and forests. There are ns - many islands of great fertility and beauty, cascades and falls of considerable height, and extensive tracts of cultivable land, rendering the scenery everywhere bold and striking. Mountain ranges extend from south-west to north-east and run parallel to each other. The Notre Dame or Green Mountains, which are a continuation of the Appalachian range, extend along nearly the whole of the south side of the St Lawrence, terminating at the gulf of the same name, between the Bay of Chaleurs and Gaspe Point, where they form an elevated table-land 1500 feet high. Their chief summits are Mount Logan and Mount Murray, very nearly 4000 feet high. In the eastern townships the mountains of this range are capable of cultivation. The Laurentian range (called by Garneau the Laurentides) skirts the northern bank of the St Lawrence, forming undulat- ing ridges of 1000 feet in elevation, and extending from Labrador to the vicinity of Quebec, where it leaves the river. Keeping nearly parallel with it until within 30 miles west of Montreal, it rounds the Ottawa for 100 miles, crosses it, and curves in the direction of Kingston. From this point the range extends north- westward to the shores of Lakes Huron and Superior. The Mealy Mountains, stretching from 75 W. lat. to Sandwich Bay, are always covered with snow, and are about 1500 feet high. There are many rocky masses connected with the mountain chains lining the St Lawrence which form precipitous cliffs, often rising to a considerable height. Some of the hills of the Laurentian range are 1300 feet high, and below the city of Quebec their altitude is 3000 feet. They enclose numberless small lakes, many of which are still unexplored. Irers. The whole country is exceptionally well watered, and abounds in numerous large rivers, bays, and lakes. The principal river is the ST LAWRENCE (q.v.), which flows through the entire length of the province. A short dis- tance above Montreal it receives from the north-west the Ottawa, an interesting and beautiful stream over 600 miles in length, with its tributaries the Gatineau, the Lievre, and the Rouge. The St Lawrence is navigable for ships of the line as far as Quebec, and for steamships of over 5000 tons to Montreal. Between Montreal and Lake Ontario the navigation is interrupted by rapids, the most important of which are the Cedar and Lachine Rapids, the latter about 9 miles above Montreal. The total elevation between tide water and Lake Ontario is about 230 feet. This is overcome by eight canals, varying from |- mile to 11^ miles in length, in the aggregate only 41 miles of canals, with locks 200 feet long between the gates, and 45 feet wide. The St Maurice, rising in Lake Oskelaneo near the Hudson's Bay Territory, and flowing into the St Lawrence at Three Rivers, is over 400 miles long. It has many tributaries, and drains an area of 21,000 square miles. Twenty-four miles above Three Rivers is the fall of Shawenegan, 150 feet high. The Batiscan river enters the St Lawrence at Batiscan. Jacques Cartier, Ste Anne, and Montmorency are all on the northern side of the St Lawrence. The Montmorency is famous for its falls situated about 8 miles from Quebec city, 250 feet high and the natural steps on its rocky bank, 1 miles above the cataract. Near the falls is Haldimand House, once the residence of the duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria. The Saguenay, sometimes called the River of Death, is one of the most remarkable bodies of water in the world. 1 It rises in Lake St John, and discharges into the St Law- rence at Tadousac, after a course of 100 miles. At its mouth the Saguenay is 2| miles wide, and the depth ex- ceeds 100 fathoms. The depth in other parts varies from 100 to 1000 feet. In the upper part of the river are many pretty falls and rapids. The Saguenay is navigable for large vessels as far as Chicoutimi, 98 miles from the mouth of the river. Fifteen miles south of Chicoutimi there re- cedes from the Saguenay Ha Ha Bay, at the head of which is the village of St Alphonse. On the south side of the St Lawrence is the Richelieu river, which drains Lake Cham- plain, and enters Lake St Peter at Sorel, and flows in a northerly direction for 75 miles. Champlain sailed up this river in 1609. Other important streams are the St Francis, rising in Lake Memphremagog ; the Chaudiere, the outlet of Lake Megantic, with its beautiful falls, 125 feet high, and situated 10 miles above Quebec; the Chateau- guay, Yamaska, Etchemin, Loup, Assumption, Becancour, and North. All these rivers are navigable, and contain fish. Besides the rapids mentioned, there are situated a short distance above Rigaud on the Ottawa the Carillon Falls, a series 12 miles in length. Near Ottawa city are the Chaudiere Falls, or " boiling pot," less than 40 feet in height, and extending over 6 miles. Les Chats, a series of rapids 30 miles further up the Ottawa, are striking and grand. At Calumet there is another rapid. The Falls of Ste Anne are on the north shore of the St Lawrence, 22 miles below Quebec ; the Falls of St Fereol, the Long Sault, Cedars, and Lachine Rapids by no means complete the list. The principal lakes are Lake St John, which possesses Lakes, an area of 360 square miles, Lake Temiscamingue, 126 miles, St Peter, Metapedia, Kempt, Megantic, Memphrema- gog, Pipmuakan, the northern part of Lake Champlain, Manouan, Grand Wayagamack, Asturagamicook, Piscaton- que, Kakebonga, Mijizowaja, Keepawa, Papimonagace, Edward, Matawin, St Louis, Massawipi, Pamouscachiou, Graves, Grand, St Francis, and hundreds of others of lesser note, and all stocked with fish. The chief bays along the coasts are Chaleurs (in part), with its bold and precipitous cliffs, Malbaie, Mille Vaches, Ha Ha, &c. Quebec's prin- cipal islands are Anticosti, sterile and almost uninhabited, Bonaventure, an important fishing station to the east of Gaspe", and the Magdalen Islands, situated in the Gulf of St Lawrence, about 50 miles north of Prince Edward Island. This group is inhabited by about 3200 persons, mostly French fishermen. Other islands are the island of Montreal, St Helen's, Jesus, the island of Orleans, 22 miles long, below Quebec, Grosse Isle, Isle aux Coudres, Hare, Bic Island, all in the St Lawrence ; and the islands of Calumet and Allumette in the Ottawa river. 1 Bayard Taylor says it is " not properly a river. It is a tremen- dous chasm, like that of the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, cleft for 60 miles through the heart of a mountainous wilderness. Every- thing is hard, naked, stern, silent. Dark grey cliffs of granite gneiss rise from the pitch-black water; firs of gloomy-green are rooted in their crevices and fringe their summits ; loftier ranges of a dull indigo hue show themselves in the background ; and over all bends a pale, cold, northern sky. "