Miquelon-Langlade () is the larger but less populated of the two

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

(municipalities) making up the French

overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities ( abbreviated as COM) are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonies and other French ...

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon ( ), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, located near the Canada, Canadian prov ...

, located to the south of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It consists of three islands: Miquelon (also called ), Langlade (''Petite Miquelon'') and Le Cap, connected by narrow

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...

s (sandy isthmi). The communal seat is the settlement of Miquelon, on the northern tip, where the entire island's permanent population of 596 (as of 2022) is located. Miquelon Airport provides flights to nearby Saint-Pierre Airport.

Toponymy

The name Miquelon purportedly derived from a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

nickname for "

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

" (''Mikel''). In 1579, the names Micquetõ and Micquelle appeared for the first time in French Basque mariner Martin de Hoyarçabal's

maritime pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots know local details s ...

. The name evolved over time into Miclon, Micklon, and finally Miquelon (''Mikelune'' in Basque).

Geography

Located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, west of

Burin Peninsula The Burin Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Marystown is the largest population centre on the peninsula.Statistics Canada. 201 ...

, Miquelon-Langlade covers a total land area of . It comprises three islands connected by

s: Le Cap in the north, Miquelon (''Grand Miquelon'') in the center, and Langlade (''Petite Miquelon'') in the south. A

sandspit called ''La Dune'' connects Miquelon and Langlade, that formed in the 18th century that is long and wide. In the eighteenth century it was still possible to sail a boat between Miquelon and Langlade, but by the end of that century La Dune had closed in to form an

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

between the islands. The

connecting Miquelon and Le Cap is long and in places less than wide. The island of Saint Pierre is across a treacherous and foggy strait that fishermen named "The Mouth of Hell" () that has been the site of more than 600 shipwrecks.

Miquelon

Miquelon's coastline includes numerous sand and pebble beaches enclosing lagoons, as well as high rocky cliffs standing up to on the east coast. Its geology consists of slightly metamorphosed post-

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

volcanic rocks, mainly rhyolites with

breccia Breccia ( , ; ) is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or Rock (geology), rocks cementation (geology), cemented together by a fine-grained matrix (geology), matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

s and

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

s. On the south of the Miquelon Island is the Grand Barachois, a large lagoon which is host to a large population of

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

s and other wildlife. Miquelon is also a well known destination for bird watching.

Langlade

Located at west of

Saint Pierre Island Saint Pierre Island, also spelt as Saint-Pierre Island, is one of the three main islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. It contains the town of Saint-Pierre, which lies on the island's east coast and is the main population centre of the island gr ...

, Langlade is an ancient

peneplain In geomorphology and geology, a peneplain is a low-relief plain formed by protracted erosion. This is the definition in the broadest of terms, albeit with frequency the usage of peneplain is meant to imply the representation of a near-final (or ...

drained by numerous short rivers, including the Belle, the largest, which flows to the northwest. The coast of Langlade is lined with steep cliffs, except to the northwest.

Climate

The climate is typical of the North Atlantic and the

Labrador Current The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Canada near Nova Scotia. Near Nova Sco ...

, with frequent storms and winds that exceed for nearly six months of the year. The summers are cool and foggy. The average annual temperature is . Köppen–Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as

sub-Arctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of hemiboreal regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Fennoscandia, Northwestern Russia, Siberia, and the Cair ...

(Dfc). Summers are mild while winters are cold. It receives precipitation all year.

Etymology

The name Miquelon is of

origin and is thought to mean "Michael", as several fishermen with this name were established in the island. In 1579, the names ''Micquetõ'', ''Micquelle'' appeared for the first time in Martin de Hoyarçabal's navigational pilot. The name evolved over time into ''Miclon'', ''Micklon'', and finally ''Miquelon''. The residents are known as ''Miquelonnais(e)(s)''.

Demographics

Miquelon-Langlade consists of the commune (also called Miquelon-Langlade), with a population of 596 in 2022. The majority of the residents live in the village of Miquelon, located in the north of the island near Le Cap, north of a shallow lagoon ( barachois) and has a small harbour protected with constructed

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * ...

s along the eastern side of the isthmus. On the northern coast of Langlade, there are settlements at the coves of ''Anse du Gouvernement'', ''Anse aux Soldats'' and ''Le Ruisseau Debons'', consisting mainly of holiday cottages. The population of Miquelon-Langlade is mainly of

and

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

ancestry.

Transportation

Miquelon Airport is located adjacent to Miquelon village; Air Saint-Pierre operates regularly scheduled daily flights to Saint-Pierre Airport. SPM Ferries provides service to and from Saint Pierre town from both Miquelon village and ''Anse du Gouvernement'' on Langlade. SPM also connects Miquelon town directly with Fortune, Newfoundland, Canada once or twice weekly. A ferry service connects Miquelon town with Anse du Gouvernement on Langlade in summer months. The main asphalt road runs from the capital along the eastern coast of Miquelon, across the Langlade tombolo and ending in Le Ruisseau Debons on Langlade.

Facilities

At Miquelon village facilities include (as of 2024): *The ''Centre Médical de Miquelon'' (basic medical care; more advanced services are available in Saint-Pierre and St. John's) *Football (soccer) pitch ''Stade de l'Avenir'' ("stadium of the future") of the ''Association Sportive Miquelonnaise'' (Miquelon sports association) *Police, fire and ferry stations, library, post office, public restrooms, tourist information office *Government offices: ''mairie'', ''prefecture'', and ''délégation territoriale''

Schools

*Ecole du socle de Miquelon, which houses: As of the 2014–2015 school year the junior high school had 25 students. **the private contracted nursery school / preschool ''Soeur Hilarion'' **public elementary school ''Les Quatre Temps'' **public junior high school ''Collège de Miquelon'' The government high school / sixth-form programmes serving Miquelon are at Lycée-Collège d'État Émile Letournel on Saint-Pierre island.

Museums and activities

The ''Maison de la Nature et de L'Environnement'' ("Nature and Environment Center") provides self-guided tours of both the Cormorandière Valley and of the whole island. It hosts the art/craft vendor ''Art passion''. Its ''Centre d'interprétation'' ("interpretation centre") features exhibits on geography, climate, biodiversity, and history through and interactive permanent axibilts that leads visitors through nature habitats. The ''Musée de Miquelon'' ("museum of Miquelon") explains the origin of the island's people, including objects, customs and activities. In summer, ''Saveurs Fermièrres'' ("farm flavours"), a goat farm, teaches about goats and cheesemaking, and offers tastings of local farm products. There are numerous hiking routes: ''Le Chemin des Boeufs'', ''Pointe Plate'', ''Les Buttes dégarnies et la Grand Barachois'', ''Belliveau'', ''Le Cap de Miquelon'', ''La Tête Pelé'', and ''Les Trois Sapins''. There is a nature observatory ''Observatoire du Grand Barachois'' and several camping areas.

At Anse du Gouvernement

At Anse du Gouvernement on Langlade as of 2024, there is a bar, ferry station, grocery store, health care point, public restroom and restaurant, as well as the ''Sainte-Thérèse'' Roman Catholic chapel and the ''Centre de vacances de Langlade'' summer camp.

Landmarks

*Ampersand (&) sculpture,

Festivals and events

*''Les 25 km de Miquelon'' ("the 25 km of Miquelon") half marathon race *

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

celebration with games, food, fireworks and dancing *''Le Festival des Produits de Mer'' (Seafood Festival) *''Le Dunefest'' music festival

Gallery

File:Miquelon shore.jpg, Miquelon shore File:Miquelon 9.jpg, The north coast of Miquelon, next to Le Cap File:Village de Miquelon.jpg, The village of Miquelon seen from the west File:Miquelon avion.jpg , Aerial view of Miquelon village File:Maison de Miquelon.jpg, Houses in Miquelon village File:Ecole à Miquelon.jpg, Miquelon's school building File:Borne kilométrique à Miquelon.jpg, Milestone to Miquelon village File:Port of saint-pierre, SPM.jpg, The port of Miquelon File:Monument acadien.jpg, Acadien monument File:Flag of Miquelon-Langlade.svg, Flag of Miquelon–Langlade File:Depuis le phare de Pointe Plate.jpg, View from the Pointe Plate lighthouse on Langlade towards Miquelon File:Chevaux - isthme de Langlade.jpg, Horse on Langlade isthmus File:De Miquelon vers Langlade.jpg, The road from Miquelon to Langlade File:Langlade - Anse du gouverneur.jpg, Langlade: ''Anse du Gouverneur'' cove.jpg File:Miquelon & Langlade Islands, FR.jpg, Snowcovered isthmus File:Pont sur belle rivière.jpg, Bridge over the ''Belle Rivière'' (river)

External links

*
Le Phare: Association of Tourism Professionals

Local Airline Air Saint-Pierre

References

{{Geographic Location , Centre = Miquelon-Langlade Commune , North = ''

Fortune Bay Fortune Bay () is a fairly large natural bay located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada.Fortune Bay Fortune Bay () is a fairly large natural bay located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada.Division No. 2,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

) , Southeast = '' Gulf of St. Lawrence''
( Saint Pierre) , South = ''

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

'' , Southwest = , West = '' Gulf of St. Lawrence'' , Northwest = Communes of Saint Pierre and Miquelon Islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean Islands of France