| Matapedia Valley | |
|---|---|
| Vallée de la Matapédia | |
 Landscape in the Matapedia Valley at the junction of the Matapedia and Restigouche rivers | |
  Matapedia Valley | |
| Length | 375 km (233 mi) southwest |
| Geology | |
| Type | river valley |
| Geography | |
| Population centers | Amqui |
| Coordinates | 48°30′N 67°20′W / 48.500°N 67.333°W |
| Traversed by |  Route 132 |
The Matapedia Valley (French: vallée de la Matapédia) was formed by the Chic-Choc Mountains of eastern Québec. Its name is derived from the river that traverses the valley, as well as the lake that lies in its center. It is situated in the southwest of the Gaspé Peninsula and stretches 375 km (233 mi).
The land is primarily made up of forest and agriculture, and is home to more than 20,000 inhabitants in some thirty municipalities. Most of them are concentrated along the main avenue of communication, Route 132. The city of Amqui is the seat of the RCM and is home to 6,261 people.
The Mi'kmaq people first developed the valley around 500 BCE. French-Canadian settlement began in 1833 when Pierre Brochu moved to Lake Matapedia along Kempt Road.[1] Settlers began flocking to the land in the late nineteenth century with the development of land clearing, agriculture, and the logging industry.[2]
- ^ Beaupré, Jean Baptiste François (1 January 1928). Un site enchanteur de la vallée de la Matapédia: Causapscal (in French). Chez l'auteur.
- ^ "Fiche descriptive". toponymie.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 9 March 2016.