Geography of Quebec

Geography Of Quebec

Quebec, Canada's largest province, occupies a vast territory (nearly three times the size of France), most of which is very sparsely populated. More than 90 percent of Quebec's area lies within the Canadian Shield, and includes the greater part of the Labrador Peninsula. Quebec's highest mountain is Mont D'Iberville, which is located on the border with Newfoundland and Labrador in the northeastern part of the province in the Torngat Mountains. The addition of parts of the vast and scarcely populated District of Ungava of the Northwest Territories between 1898 and 1912 gave the province its current form.

Quebec is bordered by the province of Ontario, James Bay and Hudson Bay (including the circular Nastapoka arc) the west, the provinces of New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador to the east, the United States (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York) to the south and Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay to the north. Its northernmost point is Cape Wolstenholme.

In 1927, the border between the Province of Quebec and the Dominion of Newfoundland was delineated by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The government of Quebec does not officially recognize this boundary. See The Labrador boundary dispute.

The territory of Quebec is extremely rich in resources in its coniferous forests, lakes, and rivers—pulp and paper, lumber, and hydroelectricity are still some of the province's most important industries. The far north of the province, Nunavik, is subarctic or arctic and is mostly inhabited by Inuit.

The most populous region is the Saint Lawrence River valley in the south, where the capital, Quebec City, and the largest city, Montreal, are situated. North of Montreal are the Laurentians, a range of ancient mountains, and to the east are the Appalachian Mountains which extends into the Eastern Townships and Gaspésie regions. The Gaspé Peninsula juts into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the East. The Saint Lawrence River Valley is a fertile agricultural region, producing dairy products, fruit, vegetables, maple sugar (Quebec is the world's largest producer), and livestock.

In 1899, the United States claimed Fox Island under the Guano Islands Act of 1856.