Promontory of Quebec

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Promontory of Quebec
French: Colline de Québec
Colline de Quebec.jpg
View from Anse-au-Foulon, with Cap Diamant to the east
Quebec Hill TopoMap.svg
Topographic map of the Promontory of Quebec
Coordinates: 46°46′19″N71°18′07″W / 46.7720°N 71.3020°W / 46.7720; -71.3020
Location Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Orogeny Appalachian
Geology Schist
Dimensions
  Length13 km (8.1 mi)
  Width1–4 km (0.62–2.49 mi)
Highest elevation110 m (360 ft)
(Sainte-Foy Summit)

In Quebec City, the term promontory of Quebec refers to the area on which is built the upper part of the borough of La Cité-Limoilou, including Old Quebec (where the promontory is referred to as Cap Diamant). This area covers the eastern half of a larger plateau attested in French as colline or even plate-forme de Québec (Quebec hill). [1] The western portion of this plateau is occupied by upper Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge (ie. most of this borough — whereas for La Cité-Limoilou, less than half of it is located uptown).

Contents

History

Unrealistic painting of the climbing of the promontory, ca. 1797 PlainesAbraham.jpg
Unrealistic painting of the climbing of the promontory, ca. 1797

Although the southern slope is very steep, it was climbed by British soldiers at nighttime in September 1759, so they could take the French by surprise (who were probably expecting Wolfe's troops to arrive through a more convenient path) and engage in the decisive Battle of the Plains of Abraham. [1]

Its escarpments were historically a challenge for the authorities because of the risk of rockfall and the ways of travelling between upper and lower town. [2] Nowadays, roads, a free escalator (named du Faubourg), the Old Quebec Funicular, and 20 stairs with an official toponym connect downtown with its upper counterpart. All of the stairs are within the borough of La Cité-Limoilou. The longest, escalier du Cap-Blanc (398 steps), was designed in wood by noted architect Charles Baillairgé in 1868 (although renovated many times since then) and is the only one that truly goes to the top of the hill, to the south of the Plains of Abraham. On the northern flank of the promontory, where a majority of stairs are found, the highest portion is not steep enough to warrant their need up there. Hence, the second longest is the Franciscains, with 177 steps going up to the neighborhood of Montcalm (fr). The shortest real public stair is the Quai-du-Roi in the Petit Champlain quarter, which has 30 (anti-slip) steps. [3]

Aftermath of the rockslide of 1889. Eboulement Quebec Qc vers 1890.jpg
Aftermath of the rockslide of 1889.

53 rockfalls, causing 88 fatalities, 70 injuries and the destruction of 20 houses, have been recorded since 1775. Two events were notable: the rockslide of 1841 (32 deaths) and the rockslide of 1889 (35 deaths), and both seem to have been caused by faulty infrastructure. In 1889, a drain from the moat of the Quebec Citadelle became clogged. The water leaked through a small fracture in the rock but the pressure became too high which led to an implosion in the stone. [4] Mitigation measures such as net fences were however implemented during the 20th century, which drastically reduced the number of incidents. [4]

Geography of the Quebec hill

The cedars of Cap-Blanc. Cap-Blanc, Cap Diamant.JPG
The cedars of Cap-Blanc.

The plateau, which includes the promontory of Quebec, is 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) long, and has its maximum width in the west (4 kilometres (2.5 mi)) while the historical and eastern extremity averages 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). The highest point is located at the centre-west of the hill, in the former city of Sainte-Foy (110 metres (360 ft)). [1] Overall, it is bounded to the northeast by the Saint-Charles River and to the south by the Saint Lawrence River. In the vicinity of the Plains of Abraham, just west of Cap Diamant (100 metres (330 ft)) of altitude [1] ), the slopes are notable for containing white-cedars growing directly on the rock. [5] This area is called "Cap-Blanc" (fr) (White Cape), which is possibly a translation of a descriptive Innu toponym. Before the 20th century, there were less trees on this cape, as rockfalls were more frequent, so the greyish colour of the rock was more apparent. Its neutral tint also contrasted with the reddish minerals covering the slopes of the southwestern extremity of the hill, in the locality already named Cap-Rouge (Red Cape). [6]

Geologically, the Quebec hill is a nappe of the Appalachian Mountains as well as its only intrusion on the north side of the Saint Lawrence River. [7] On the northern side of the plateau, runs the Logan's Fault (fr), a prominent area of inactive thrust faulting first documented by William Logan, [8] and marking the boundary between the geologic provinces of the Appalachian and of the Saint Lawrence Lowlands. [9]

The western side of the plateau is mostly made of sandstone and mudstone, while towards Old Quebec the eastern half rests on stony schist. In the early days of the colony, these schist stones were used as building material but this eventually stopped as they were considered to be of poor quality. Sandstone from the hill at Sillery was then used, but also limestone from quarries in nearby Beauport, Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and Saint-Marc-des-Carrières. Beneath the plateau, the substrate is mostly made of sand and pebbles originating from the retreat of the post-glacial Champlain Sea. [1]

Related Research Articles

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Quebec City, officially Québec, is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is the twelfth-largest city and the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Canada. It is also the second-largest city in the province, after Montreal. It has a humid continental climate with warm summers coupled with cold and snowy winters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sainte-Foy, Quebec City</span> Districts in Quebec, Canada

Sainte-Foy is a former city in central Quebec, Canada alongside the Saint Lawrence River. It was amalgamated into Quebec City at the start of 2002. Most of the formerly independent municipality of Sainte-Foy is located in the borough of Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge — initially as one of the two constituent districts of the former borough of Sainte-Foy–Sillery. On 1 November 2009, Sainte-Foy was subdivided into four separate districts: Cité-Universitaire, Plateau, Saint-Louis, Pointe-de-Sainte-Foy, when the borough of Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge was formed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cap-Rouge, Quebec City</span> Neighbourhood in Quebec City, Canada

Cap-Rouge is a former city in central Quebec, Canada, since 2002 within the borough Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge in Quebec City. The site of the first attempted permanent French settlement in North America, Charlesbourg-Royal, is located at the confluence of the Rivière du Cap Rouge and the Saint Lawrence River. Its population was 13,153 as of the Canada 2011 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boroughs of Quebec City</span>

Quebec City is divided into six arrondissements or boroughs. These boroughs are the result of several waves of amalgamation and reorganization of the political boundaries of Quebec City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quebec Route 132</span> Highway in Quebec

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sillery, Quebec City</span> District in Quebec, Canada

Sillery, a former independent city founded in 1637, is one of 35 administrative sectors, which are unincorporated places, located in the post-expansion jurisdiction of the City of Quebec, Quebec, Canada. Sillery was one of multiple self-governing municipalities amalgamated into a vastly expanded Quebec City, that went into legal effect on January 1, 2002, as part of the province-wide 2000–06 municipal reorganization in Quebec. Located alongside in what pre-merger was the southwestern border of Quebec City, Sillery is a constituent district of the borough of Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge. The territorially expanded City of Quebec consists of six boroughs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Quebec</span> Place in Quebec, Canada

Old Quebec is a historic neighbourhood of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Comprising the Upper Town and Lower Town, the area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Administratively, Old Quebec is part of the Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–colline Parlementaire district in the borough of La Cité-Limoilou.

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Cap Diamant is a cape on an edge of the Promontory of Quebec and on which Quebec City is located, formed by the confluence of a bend in the St. Lawrence River to the south and east, and the much smaller Saint-Charles River to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Cité-Limoilou</span> Borough of Quebec City in Canada

La Cité-Limoilou is the central borough of Quebec City, the oldest, and the most populous, comprising 21.85% of the city's total population. As an administrative division, it is very new, having only been formed on November 1, 2009, from the former boroughs of La Cité and Limoilou.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament Hill (Quebec City)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petit Champlain</span> Place in Quebec, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–Colline Parlementaire</span> Quartier in Québec, La Cité-Limoilou

Vieux-Québec–Cap-Blanc–Colline Parlementaire is one of the 35 districts of the City of Quebec, and one of six that are located in the borough of La Cité-Limoilou. The district is the most visited and toured location in the city. It is in this partly fortified area where the Château Frontenac is found, with its large terrace overlooking the city of Lévis, across the Saint Lawrence River. A large concentration of cafes, tourist shops, restaurants, hotels and inns are situated in the district. In its most recent census count in 2016, Statistics Canada reported that the district had a population of 5,770 residents, whom comprise 1.1% of the city's total population.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Serge Courville; Robert Garon (2001). Québec: ville et capitale (in French). Presses Université Laval. pp. 22–23. ISBN   978-2-7637-7674-3.
  2. "Champlain Street below the Citadel, Quebec City, QC, 1865". McCord Museum.
  3. Louis-Guy Lemieux (November 7, 2004). "Trente escaliers racontent l'histoire de Québec". Québec Urbain (in French). Le Soleil.
  4. 1 2 F . Baillifard; et al. (2004). "Towards a GIS-based rockfall hazard assessment along the Quebec City Promontory". Landslides: Evaluation and Stabilization. CRC Press. pp. 208–. ISBN   978-0-415-35665-7.
  5. "Falaise du promontoire de Québec, secteur du Cap-Blanc". Parcs et espaces naturels des régions de Québec et Chaudière- Appalaches (in French).
  6. Société Historique de Québec (March 25, 2015). "Le Cap-Blanc". Facebook (in French).
  7. Baillargeon, Guy (1981). Zonation et modification de la composition de la flore vasculaire dans un région urbaine : la colline de Québec (PDF) (Thesis) (in French). Université Laval. p. 9.
  8. "Upper Town / Lower Town: A Major Geological Fault". Canadian Geoscience Education Network.
  9. "Québec fortified City: Geological and Historical Heritage Fieldtrip Guidebook" (PDF). Government of Canada Publications. 2005.