Cap-Chat is a town in the Canadian province of Québec, in the Regional County Municipality of Haute-Gaspésie, and in the administrative region of Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Cap-Chat is found west of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. , Cap-Chat's population is 2,777. In addition to Cap-Chat itself, the town's territory also includes the communities of Cap-Chat-Est, Capucins, and Petit-Fonds.

History

There are two theories about the origin of the town's name. One simply holds that the headland called Cap-Chat bore a likeness to a

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

("chat" in French). The other theory is a bit more fanciful. According to a local legend, a cat walking along the shore killed and ate various animals, whereupon the "cat fairy" accused him of having eaten her offspring. For his punishment, the cat was turned into stone for ever. It seems most likely, however, that the town's name is a corruption of " Aymar de Chaste", who was

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

's lieutenant-general in 1603. The waterfront boardwalk at Cap-Chat has a display of photographs and informative plaques regarding the Second World War Battle of the St. Lawrence between U-Boats and coastal defence ships. Cap-Chat was one of the prime viewing areas for the total solar eclipse of July 10, 1972. Unfortunately, cloudy skies prevented most observers from viewing the total phase of the eclipse. On March 15, 2000, the Municipality of Capucins was amalgamated into the Town of Cap-Chat.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Cap-Chat had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Economy

Cap-Chat has become synonymous with

wind energy Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically, w ...

. There is a

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...

there containing 76

wind generator A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gi ...

s in revenue service. Each one of these is a horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT), but there is also to be seen there one called Éole, which is the world's tallest vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) at 110 m. It is capable of producing 4 MW of power, but has not been in use for more than ten years following damages sustained during a wind storm. Everything that there is to know about wind power at Cap-Chat may be learnt at the interpretative centre at the wind farm. Cap-Chat has other things that are worth seeing, such as the aforesaid cat-shaped headland, and a lighthouse. Those interested in wilderness and spectacular scenery can explore the areas inland from Cap-Chat, where there was once a village called Saint-Octave-de-l'Avenir (which ironically means Saint Octavius of the Future, though it's long in the past now).

Salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

fishing and

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

are other activities available in the Cap-Chat area, as are

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

, and off-road

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...

excursions in the back country. In winter, Cap-Chat has a downhill skiing centre, as well as trails for cross-country skiing,

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

ing, and

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

Images

File:Capchatwindturbines.png, Wind turbines at Cap-Chat File:Cap-chat_032.JPG, Wind farm File:Cap_Chat_-_panoramio.jpg, The village, as seen from the sea File:Phare de Cap-Chat.jpg, Lighthouse File:Arriere pays.jpg, Backcountry

References

External links