Nicolet, Quebec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nicolet, Quebec | |
| — Town — | |
| Ville de Nicolet | |
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Quebec |
| Region | Centre-du-Québec |
| RCM | Nicolet-Yamaska |
| Constitution | December 27th, 2000 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Alain Drouin |
| Area [1] | |
| - Land | 96.11 km² (37.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| - Total | 7,827 |
| - Density | 81.4/km² (210.8/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal code | J3T |
| Area code(s) | 819 |
| Website: http://www.ville.nicolet.qc.ca | |
Nicolet, Quebec is the county seat of Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, lying at the intersection of Route 132 and Route 259, neighbouring the city of Bécancour. The town took its name from Jean Nicolet, a French explorer.
Nicolet is a town with a great deal of religious history, and is currently home to the rather striking Saint-Jean-Baptiste Cathedral, as well as the Musée des Religions, which focuses on the historical and ethnographic context of religion. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nicolet.
The residents of the town pronounce the final "t" in Nicolet, however people outside of the region do not.
It also boasts an ecological park, L'Anse du Port, featuring an observatory offering an excellent view of the Lac Saint-Pierre. As well, Nicolet is home to Sogetel, a major independent telephone company.
One of the most infamous features of the town of Nicolet is its geology. The town was established upon the sandy, unstable soil at the mouth of the Nicolet River, which makes it prone to landslides. On November 12, 1955, eight months after a violent fire gutted its downtown area—destroying 35 commercial buildings and displacing 75 families—a landslide carried 7 acres of earth and six buildings crashing down into the river, killing three people, injuring six and causing $10 million in damages. The event was later the subject of a book by author Louis Caron entitled Le Bonhomme Sept-Heures.
[edit] Sources
- TIME.com: 1955 Nicolet Landslide
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data. Statistics Canada, 2006 Census of Population (2007-03-13). Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
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