Montreal (French : Montréal), located in eastern
Canada in Quebec province, is Canada's largest city and
leading port. The population of the city proper is 1,017,666
(1991) ; that of the metropolitan area, 3,127,242. The city
spreads over most of Montreal Island, in the Saint Laurence
River, adjacent to the river's first rapids and near its
confluence with Ottawa River. The urbanized are also overflows
onto several other nearby Islands (notably île Jésus)
and eastward across the St. Lawrence onto the mainland.
It's site is dominated by the volcanic hill of Mount Royal,
which rises to 233 m (764 ft) directly behind the central
business district, and for which the city was named.
Montreal climate is characterized by a long, cold winter
(January average temperature -9°C/16°F) in which
an average of about 2,540 mm (100 in) of snow falls (the
equivalent of 254 mm/10 in of rain). Summer ( July average
temperature 22°C/71°F) is mild and pleasant with
considerable rainfall. Total annual precipitation is 795
mm (31 in). Contemporary City. Montreal is about two thirds Francophone
( French-speaking) and is the second-largest Frence-language
city in the world (after Paris). The remaining third of
the populace is almost evenly divided between people of
British ancestry and those of neither British nor Frence
descent. The latter include large communities of Germans,
Italians, Jews, and Central and Eastern European. Roman
Catholicism is predominant religion.
Montreal vies with Toronto for the commercial, industrial
and financial primary of Canada. The two cities are virtually
equal in most measures of economic activity. Montreal is,
however, unrivaled as the nation's leading port, despite
ice problems in winter. It was originally at the head of
navigation of the St. Lawrence river, and even with the
completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway (1959), which allows
medium-size oceangoing vessels to enter the Lakes, it has
maintained its importance. It is a major grain-shipping
port. Many of Canada's banks and insurance and railroad
companies have their headquarters in Montreal. Trade, Industry,
and services are the main areas of economic activity in
Montreal. The city's major industries are metal products,
chemical products, transportation equipment, textiles, and
food processing.
During the 1960s and '70s the center of Montreal was greatly
transformed. Many large buildings were constructed, but
the most striking development was the integration of skyscrapers
with underground shopping complexes to provide largely self-contained
indoor environment for winter living. This climate-controlled
are exists beneath the streets and buildings of Montreal.
The excellent subway system, the metro, which connects with
the underground city was inaugurated in 1966. All of the
past has not been uprooted, however. A strong Old World
flavor is maintained in the preserved historic section of
the city along the river called Old Montreal. It is the
site of McGill University (1821) and the Université
de Montréal (1878) . Among Montreal's many museums
is the museum of Fine arts. The Place des Arts is a complex
of concert and theater halls. Montreal has many buildings
of historical significance, of which the most notable are
the cathedral Church of Notre Dame (completed 1829), St.
Sluice Seminary (c.1685), and the Château de Remarry
(1705), the former residence of French and British governors.
In recent decades Montreal has hosted two world events.
A world's fair, called Expo '67, was held in 1967 as a centenary
celebration of Canada's independence, and a very popular
permanent exhibition, Man and His World, continues to occupy
the fairgrounds on islands in the river. In 1976, Montreal
was the site of the Summer Olympic Games.
History:
Jacques Cartier discovered a Huron Indian village (Hochelaga)
at the base of Mount Royal when he visited the site in 1535.
More than a century passed, However, before the first European
settlement, a fortified mission station called Ville-Marie
de Montreal, was established (1642) on the site by the sieur
de MAISONNEUVE. The settlement languished for several decades,
and the first real development did not come until the early
1700s, when Montreal became an important base for westward
explorers and fur trades. The British captured the city
from the French in 1960 It served as Canada's capital from
1844 to 1849. At the time of confederation in 1867, Montreal
had become the dominant city of Canada, with a population
of about 100,000. By the turn of the century this total
had grown to 270,00.
Resource: Tom McKnight -
Academic American Encyclopedia |
