Lake Blouin
Name
Lake Blouin takes its name from Alphonse Blouin, a surveyor for Quebec’s Ministry of Lands and Forests who made a number of journeys to the area in 1905 and 1906 . At the time, the lake was called Pakitanika which means "Lake of the Goose" in the Algonquian language.
History
Lake Blouin played a key role in the development of Val-d’Or and the gold mines on which its economy is based. It was the main access route for prospectors and surveyors at the beginning of the 20th century. In the early 1920s, when a number of gold mines were starting up around what was to become Val-d’Or, Lake Blouin allowed heavy equipment required for mining operations to be transported by boat from the town of Amos. A dock was built for that purpose at the south east end of the lake in 1925. Settlers and miners also use this route to access the area.
As early as 1920, the lake was used as landing site for floatplanes providing services to the area. In 1946, a dock and fuelling station for these planes was opened on the south east shore of the lake. In 1949, a daily flight, using amphibious aircraft landing on Lake Blouin, linked Val-d’Or to Montreal.
Lake Blouin was also for a brief period used for timber rafting logs from the Val-d’Or area to the sawmill in Amos.
Fauna
Fish species found in lake Blouin are: brown bullhead, yellow walleye, black walleye, Northern pike, Burbot, White sucker, Longnose Sucker, and Yellow perch.
Culture
Lake Blouin is featured in a popular song by Val-d’Or native Raôul Duguay called "La bitt à Tibi".
The Rotary municipal beach on Lake Blouin is a popular summer attraction.
References
Sources
Chabot, Denys (1999), L'Abitibi centenaire, 1898-1998, Société d’histoire de Val-d’Or ISBN 2980471925
Chabot, Denys, Robitaille, Jean, L’Houmeau, Jean (1995), Histoire de Val-d’Or : des origines à 1995, Société d’histoire de Val-d’Or, ISBN 2980471909
Notes
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Développement durable, Environnement et Parcs Québec, [1], 2008, ISBN 978-2-550-52651-3
- ^ Kent, JON (1966). "Agriculture in the Clay Belt of Northern Ontario". The Canadian Geographer. 10 (2): 117–126. doi:10.1111/j.1541-0064.1966.tb00530.x.
- ^ Commission de toponymie du Québec, http://www.toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/fiche.aspx?no_seq=6391
- ^ Ferguson, Jean (2003). L'Algonquin Gabriel Commandant, Septentrion, ISBN 2894483651
- ^ "Nos Racines / Our Roots". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ "Nos Racines / Our Roots". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ Our roots
- ^ "Nos Racines / Our Roots". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ "Nos Racines / Our Roots". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ "Nos Racines / Our Roots". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ "Nos Racines / Our Roots". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ Ministry of Environment
- ^ "Partitions - la bittt à Tibi - Raoul Duguay (Accords et paroles ♫)".
- ^ "Plage municipale Rotary du lac Blouin - Val-d'Or | Beaches - Abitibi-Témiscamingue".