Notre Dame Island (Île Notre-Dame)
Notre Dame Island (Île Notre-Dame) is an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is immediately to the east of Saint Helen's Island and west of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the city of Saint-Lambert on the south shore. Together with Saint Helen's Island, it makes up Parc Jean-Drapeau, which forms part of the Hochelaga Archipelago. To the southeast, the island is connected to the embankment separating the seaway and Lachine Rapids.
Parc Jean-Drapeau is registered as a leg of the Route Verte and Trans Canada Trail.
It houses the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, host of the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One.
Notre Dame Island was built in ten months from 15 million tons of rock excavated for the Montreal Metro underground rail in 1965. It was created for Expo 67 to celebrate Canada's centennial.
Nearly all of the remaining Expo 67 pavilions were demolished in 1975 to make way for a long rowing and canoeing basin for Montreal's 1976 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Basin is still North America's largest artificial rowing basin. The former pavilion of France and the pavillon of Quebec was gutted, redecorated, and became the Montreal Casino, as a large gambling establishment owned and operated by the Government of Quebec. The Canadian Pavilion now serves the administration of the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau, a para-municipal body of the city of Montreal, manager of Parc Jean-Drapeau.
The park area on the island's southern tip has a small lake with a beach open throughout the summer for swimming, volleyball and watercraft rentals. During the decades since Expo 67, the city of Montreal has embellished the island with plants and trees, making it look less artificial.
In 1980 the greening and beautification of the island was accelerated when it was the host to the Floralies Internationales, a horticultural exhibition and competition gathering plant masterpieces from dozens of countries. Still accessible today from spring to autumn, these magnificent gardens cover over 25 ha. The Floralies gardens are preserved and arranged creatively by the Parc Jean-Drapeau team of gardeners. In addition, the micro-climate created in part by the lagoons crisscrossing the island promotes the uniqueness of these gardens by allowing plants usually intolerant of Montreal's cold climate to grow.
The park hosted the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in 1986.
Parc Jean-Drapeau is registered as a leg of the Route Verte and Trans Canada Trail.
It houses the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, host of the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One.
Notre Dame Island was built in ten months from 15 million tons of rock excavated for the Montreal Metro underground rail in 1965. It was created for Expo 67 to celebrate Canada's centennial.
Nearly all of the remaining Expo 67 pavilions were demolished in 1975 to make way for a long rowing and canoeing basin for Montreal's 1976 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Basin is still North America's largest artificial rowing basin. The former pavilion of France and the pavillon of Quebec was gutted, redecorated, and became the Montreal Casino, as a large gambling establishment owned and operated by the Government of Quebec. The Canadian Pavilion now serves the administration of the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau, a para-municipal body of the city of Montreal, manager of Parc Jean-Drapeau.
The park area on the island's southern tip has a small lake with a beach open throughout the summer for swimming, volleyball and watercraft rentals. During the decades since Expo 67, the city of Montreal has embellished the island with plants and trees, making it look less artificial.
In 1980 the greening and beautification of the island was accelerated when it was the host to the Floralies Internationales, a horticultural exhibition and competition gathering plant masterpieces from dozens of countries. Still accessible today from spring to autumn, these magnificent gardens cover over 25 ha. The Floralies gardens are preserved and arranged creatively by the Parc Jean-Drapeau team of gardeners. In addition, the micro-climate created in part by the lagoons crisscrossing the island promotes the uniqueness of these gardens by allowing plants usually intolerant of Montreal's cold climate to grow.
The park hosted the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in 1986.
Map - Notre Dame Island (Île Notre-Dame)
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 |