Geography of Saint Pierre and Miquelon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article may require rewriting and/or reformatting. The current version of the article was imported from the CIA World Factbook. Please discuss this issue on the talk page. Editing help is available. |
|
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
|
||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Capital | Saint-Pierre |
|
| Largest city | Saint-Pierre | |
| Area | ||
| - | Total | 242 km² 93.4 sq mi |
| Population | ||
| - | July 2007 census | 7,036 |
| - | Density | 25/km² (176th) 66/sq mi |
Contents |
[edit] Geography
[edit] Geographic location
The Saint Pierre and Miquelon islands are situated south of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic Ocean. The distance north-south is 60 kilometres (32 nmi). The long Burin Peninsula that stretches south-west from the southern coast of Newfoundland is even closer to Saint Pierre and Miquelon, ending just east of the islands at a distance of circa 25 kilometres (13 nmi). There is also a small Canadian island with a lighthouse (Green Island), belonging to Newfoundland, halfway between the southern part of Langlade and Newfoundland at . It is about 10 kilometres (5 nmi) from both Langlade and St. Pierre.[1]
[edit] Physical geography
Saint Pierre and Miquelon is an archipelago of eight islands, Saint-Pierre (25 km²) and Miquelon-Langlade (216 km²) being the major ones. Collectively the area of the islands is 242 km², which is about the size of Brooklyn in New York City. The total coastline is 120 km. The territory also include the surrounding fishing areas in the North Atlantic Ocean.
[edit] Saint-Pierre
The island of Saint-Pierre is surrounded to the south-east by smaller dependencies, Petit Colombier, Île aux Marins, Île aux Pigeons and Île aux Vainqueurs, and Grand Colombier to the north. These islands have alle been inhabited at one time or another[2].
St. Pierre is separated from Miquelon-Langlade by a 6 kilometres (3.2 nmi) strait with very fierce currents. Fishermen call this section of ocean "The Mouth of Hell". The waters around these islands are very treacherous, and there have been over 600 shipwrecks along the coasts of the islands.
[edit] Miquelon-Langlade
The island(s) of Miquelon-Langlade consists of three formerly separate islands Miquelon (110 km²), Langlade (91 km²) and Le Cap. In the 18th century an isthmus of sand was formed naturally between Miquelon and Langlade. The isthmus was reinforced by hand with sand and Quaternary deposits to what is now an 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) sand dune. Along the isthmus there are over 500 wrecked ships[3].
What was originally the island Miquelon is now also called Grande Miquelon while Petite Miquelon refers to Langlade.[1]
[edit] Origin of name
The term 'Miquelon' is Basque for "Michael". The island name 'Langlade' is a corruption of 'l'île à l'Anglais' (which is translated as Englishman's Island). Saint-Pierre is the patron saint of fishermen (along with St. Andrew, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Benno, St. Nicholas of Myra, St. Zeno of Verona[4]).
[edit] Environment
The climate is very damp and windy and winters are harsh and long. The spring and early summer are foggy and cool. Late summer and early fall are sunny.
Seals and other wildlife can be found in the Grand Barachois lagoon of Miquelon. Every spring, whales migrating to Greenland are visible off the coasts of Miquelon and St Pierre.
Trilobite fossils have been found on Langlade. There were a number of stone pillars off the island coasts called "L'anse aux Soldats" that have been eroded away and disappeared in the 1970s.[5]
[edit] From the CIA Factbook
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles (370 km)
territorial sea: 12 nautical miles (22 km)
Climate: cold and wet, with much mist and fog; spring and autumn are windy
Terrain: mostly barren rock
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne de la Grande Montagne 240 m
Natural resources: fish, deepwater ports
Land use:
arable land: 13%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 4%
other: 83% (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard
Environment - current issues: The fishing beds have been overfished, and may or may not recover.
Geography - note: vegetation scanty
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Janzen, Olaf Uwe (2001). St. Pierre et Miquelon. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
- ^ From the official site of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon http://www.st-pierre-et-miquelon.com/english/index.php
- ^ From the official site of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon http://www.st-pierre-et-miquelon.com/english/index.php
- ^ PATRON SAINT INDEX TOPIC: fishermen, anglers. Catholic Community Forum. Archived from the original on 2007-02-20.
- ^ La Géologie des îles Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (French). Encyclopédie des îles Saint-Pierre & Miquelon. Miquelon Conseil. Archived from the original on 2006-01-11.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||
