Île Perrot

This article is about the island. For the municipality, see L'Île-Perrot, Quebec.

Île Perrot
Island
Map of the Hochelaga Archipelago, with Île Perrot at left
Map of the Hochelaga Archipelago, with Île Perrot at left
Île Perrot, showing its municipalities: Green: Ville de l'Île-Perrot Yellow: Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot Red: Pincourt Blue: Terrasse-Vaudreuil
Île Perrot, showing its municipalities:
Green: Ville de l'Île-Perrot
Yellow: Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot
Red: Pincourt
Blue: Terrasse-Vaudreuil
Coordinates: 45°21′01″N 73°54′09″W / 45.35028°N 73.90250°W / 45.35028; -73.90250
CountryCanada
ProvinceQuebec
RegionMontérégie
RCMVaudreuil-Soulanges
Area
 • Land41.94 km2 (16.19 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total
39,915
 • Density951.7/km2 (2,465/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Postal code span
J7V, J7W
Area code(s)(514) and (438)

Île Perrot (French pronunciation: [il pɛʁo]) is an island west of the island of Montreal in the Canadian province of Quebec. Part of the Hochelaga Archipelago, the island lies between Lake Saint-Louis and Lac des Deux-Montagnes. The island was granted by the Intendant Talon of New France to its founder François-Marie Perrot then-Governor of Montreal on 28 October 1672.

Nearly 40,000 people live in one of Île Perrot's four municipalities:

It is part of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie region. This is the only off-island suburban area of Montreal to use Montreal's own 514 area code, with all others being allocated to 450. The island is connected to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, on the West Island of Montreal, via the Galipeault Bridge.

Île Perrot holds the only working windmill in Quebec, dating from the time Île-Perrot was a seigneury in the French colony of New France. The windmill and associated miller's house were designated a National Historic Site in 1969,[1] and a Historic Monument under provincial heritage legislation in 1977.[2] In the windmill's honour, what now constitutes the commercial artery of the island was named boulevard Don-Quichotte.[3]

Geology and soils

The island is underlain by Cambrian-age quartzite. Angular blocks of this hard rock are visible on the surface over much of the island. The soil is a stony sandy loam podzol which has developed on acidic, nutrient-poor quartzite till. Over parts of the island, this till is covered with clay which is nutrient-rich and much less stony, but poorly drained and classified as gleysol.

Vegetation

Part of the island remains in forest, although housing developments have made significant inroads over recent years. Deciduous trees such as American beech, sugar maple, red maple, northern red oak, white ash, bitternut hickory and American basswood are dominant. The vegetation is more luxuriant than one would expect from the nature of the soils, and includes a great diversity of wildflowers.

See also

References

  1. ^ Round Stone Windmill and House National Historic Site of Canada, Built 1712/01/01 to 1791/01/01. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  2. ^ Moulin à vent de Pointe-du-Moulin, Built 1705/01/01 to 1708/12/01. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Tilting at windmills and Don Quichotte". The Gazette. Montreal. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2018.