Geography of Montreal
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Montreal is located in the southwest of the province of Quebec, approximately 275 kilometres (168 miles) southwest of Quebec City, the provincial capital, and 167 kilometres (104 mi) east of Ottawa, the federal capital. It also lies 502 kilometres (312 mi) northeast of Toronto, 407 kilometres (253 mi) northwest of Boston and 530 kilometres (329 mi) directly north of New York City.[1]
The city is located on the central and eastern portions of the Island of Montreal at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. The port of Montreal lies at one end of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which is the river gateway that stretches from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean.[2] Montreal is defined by its location in between the St. Lawrence river on its south, and by the Rivière des Prairies on its north. The city is named after the most prominent geographical feature on the island, a three-head hill called Mount Royal.[3]
Montreal is at the centre of the Montreal Metropolitan Community, and is bordered by the city of Laval to the north, Longueuil to the south, Repentigny to the east and the West Island municipalities to the west. The anglophone enclaves of Westmount, Montreal West, Hampstead, Côte Saint-Luc, the Town of Mount Royal and the francophone enclave Montreal East are all entirely surrounded by the city of Montreal.[4]
[edit] Climate
Montreal lies at the confluence of several climatic regions. Usually, the climate is classified as humid continental or hemiboreal (Köppen climate classification Dfb).
Precipitation is abundant with an average snowfall of 2.25 metres (84 in) per year in the winter. Regular rainfall throughout the year averages 900 mm (35.3 in). Summer is the wettest season statistically, but it is also the sunniest.[citation needed]
The coldest month of the year is January which has a daily average temperature of −10.4 °C (13 °F) — averaging a daily low of −14.9 °C (5.2 °F), colder than either Moscow (-10 °C) or Saint Petersburg (-6 °C).[citation needed] Due to wind chill, the perceived temperature can be much lower than the actual temperature, and wind chill factor is often included in Montreal weather forecasts. The warmest month is July which has an average daily high of 26.3 °C (79.3 °F); lower nighttime temperatures make an average of 20.9 °C (69.6 °F) thus air exchangers often achieve the same result as air conditioners. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −37.8 °C (−36.0 °F) on 15 January 1957 and the highest temperature ever was 37.6 °C (99.7 °F) on 1 August 1975.[5] High humidity is common in the summer which makes the perceived temperature higher than the actual temperature. In spring and autumn, rainfall averages between 55 and 94 millimetres (2.2 and 3.7 in) a month. Some snow in spring and autumn is normal. Similarly, late heat waves as well as "Indian summers" are a regular feature of the climate.[6]
2006 was noted as the only year in the history of Montreal when there was more rain than there was snow.[citation needed] There were 122.3 cm (48.1 in) of snow, and there were 122.5 cm (48.2 in) of rain. That year, Montreal received more rain than Vancouver, British Columbia.[7][8]
| Weather averages for Montreal, Quebec | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C | -5.7 | -3.9 | 2.2 | 10.7 | 19.0 | 23.6 | 26.2 | 24.8 | 19.7 | 12.7 | 5.3 | -2.2 | 11.1 |
| Average low °C | -14.7 | -12.9 | -6.7 | 0.6 | 7.7 | 12.7 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 9.4 | 3.4 | -2.1 | -10.4 | 1.4 |
| Precipitation mm | 78.3 | 61.5 | 73.6 | 78.0 | 76.3 | 83.1 | 91.3 | 92.7 | 92.6 | 77.8 | 92.6 | 81.3 | 978.9 |
| Average high °F | 21.7 | 25.0 | 36.0 | 51.3 | 66.2 | 74.5 | 79.2 | 76.6 | 67.5 | 54.9 | 41.5 | 28.0 | 52.0 |
| Average low °F | 5.5 | 8.8 | 19.9 | 33.1 | 45.9 | 54.9 | 60.1 | 57.7 | 48.9 | 38.1 | 28.2 | 13.3 | 34.5 |
| Precipitation inches | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 38.5 |
| Source: Environment Canada[5] 2006-12-18 | |||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ Cities located close to Montreal. Distance Calculator. Time and Date AS (1995-2008). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ The St. Lawrence River. Great Canadian Rivers (2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Island of Montreal. Geographical Names of Canada. Natural Resources Canada (2007-09-17). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Découpage du territoire montréalais en 2006 (PDF) (French). Montréal en statistiques. Ville de Montréal (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ a b Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000 (English). Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
- ^ Average Weather for Montreal, QC - Temperature and Precipitation. Weather.com.
- ^ Montreal Monthly Data Report for 2006
- ^ Vancouver Monthly Data Report for 2006
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