Country Canada Constituted 9 March 1916 Postal code(s) G0L 4K0 Area 9.6 km² Local time Saturday 4:40 AM | Region Bas-Saint-Laurent Time zone EST (UTC−5) Area code(s) 418 and 581 Population 3,456 (2011) Province Québec | |
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Weather -1°C, Wind NW at 19 km/h, 75% Humidity RCMs Bas-Saint-Laurent, Les Basques RCM | ||
Explore trois pistoles quebec 2016
Trois-Pistoles is a city in Les Basques Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is also the county seat. The town is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.
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Map of Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada
A ferry crosses the river to Les Escoumins on the north shore. The port facilities are also used by fishing boats and scuba divers.
The town is the site of the University of Western Ontario's annual French immersion program, which has existed since 1932. It is the oldest such program in Canada.
Just offshore of the town lies Île aux Basques, an island that was used by Basque whalers in the sixteenth century. The island, part of the surrounding Municipality of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, is a National Historic Site of Canada and is now a migratory bird sanctuary.
The town has hosted the Festival Échofête de Trois-Pistoles, an environmentalism-themed music festival and fair each July since 2002. It is Quebec's largest environmental festival.
Etymology
The town is said to have been named for a silver goblet worth three pistoles, an old French coin, that was lost in the river in the 17th century.