Outaouais
Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts and the Papineau region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the Ottawa River opposite Canada's capital, Ottawa. It has a land area of 30,808.69 km2 and its population was 382,604 inhabitants as of the 2016 Census.
The name of the region comes from the French name for the Ottawa River, which in turn comes from the French name for the Indigenous Odawa that lived near the region. Prior to European arrival in the region, the areas along the Ottawa River were commonly used by various tribes to trade and gather.
The oldest European settlement in the region is Hull (now a neighbourhood of Gatineau) which was founded in 1800 by Philemon Wright as Wright's Town. The settlement quickly became involved in the lumber trade, which continued along the Ottawa River until the late 20th century. None of the original town buildings remain today, as they were destroyed in the 1900 Hull–Ottawa fire. Hull remained a city until 2002, when it was merged with several neighboring cities to form the current city of Gatineau.
The name of the region comes from the French name for the Ottawa River, which in turn comes from the French name for the Indigenous Odawa that lived near the region. Prior to European arrival in the region, the areas along the Ottawa River were commonly used by various tribes to trade and gather.
The oldest European settlement in the region is Hull (now a neighbourhood of Gatineau) which was founded in 1800 by Philemon Wright as Wright's Town. The settlement quickly became involved in the lumber trade, which continued along the Ottawa River until the late 20th century. None of the original town buildings remain today, as they were destroyed in the 1900 Hull–Ottawa fire. Hull remained a city until 2002, when it was merged with several neighboring cities to form the current city of Gatineau.
Map - Outaouais
Map
Country - Canada
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| Flag of Canada | |
Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This widening autonomy was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster 1931 and culminated in the Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAD | Canadian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| IU | Inuktitut |
