Île Bizard
| Île Bizard | ||
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| Waters | Lac des Deux Montagnes | |
| Archipelago | Hochelaga archipelago | |
| Geographical location | 45 ° 30 '0 " N , 73 ° 53' 24" W | |
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| length | 7 km | |
| width | 4 km | |
| surface | 22.77 km² | |
| Highest elevation | 50 m | |
| Residents | 14,000 615 inhabitants / km² |
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The Île Bizard is an island in the southwest of the Canadian province of Québec . It lies at the mouth of the Ottawa in the Lac des Deux Montagnes . It is separated from the Île de Montréal to the southeast by the Rivière des Prairies . The island is 22.77 km² and is the fourth largest in the Hochelaga archipelago . It has been part of the Montreal metropolitan area since 2002 .
description
Around 14,000 people live on the Île Bizard. The built-up area is concentrated on the east bank. Smaller settlements exist on the north and north-west banks. Otherwise, green areas, forests and small lakes shape the landscape. There are three golf courses: Royal Montreal Golf Club , Golf Saint-Raphaël and Elm Ridge Country Club. In the north of the island is the Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park, and part of the Cap-Saint-Jacques Nature Park in the southwestern shore area . The Pont Jacques-Bizard leads over the Rivière des Prairies to the Sainte-Geneviève district , a ferry connects with Laval . The main attraction is the Saint-Raphaël-Archange church, built in 1843.
history
In the first decades of French colonial rule, the island was still called Île Bonaventure. In 1678 Jacques Bizard , a Swiss officer from Bevaix near Neuchâtel , was granted manorial power over the island. Settlement of the previously uninhabited island began in the first half of the 18th century, when the name Île Bizard became established.
The manor, which last belonged to the influential politician Denis-Benjamin Viger after several changes of ownership , was dissolved in 1855. It was replaced by the new self-governing municipality of Saint-Raphaël-de-l'Île-Bizard. The island remained agricultural until well into the 20th century, but a nearby motorway provided a boost to development. In 1995 the municipality received city status and was renamed L'Île-Bizard.
On January 1, 2002, L'Île-Bizard merged with the city of Montreal. A referendum was held against the merger ordered by the provincial government. Although a majority voted in favor of detachment on June 20, 2004, the required quorum (approval of 35% of all voters) was not achieved. Since January 1, 2006, L'Île-Bizard and Sainte-Geneviève together form the arrondissement of L'Île-Bizard – Sainte-Geneviève .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Île Bizard. Commission de toponymie Québec, accessed June 18, 2011 (French).
- ↑ L'Île-Bizard. Commission de toponymie Québec, accessed June 18, 2011 (French).
- ↑ Référendums du 20 juin 2004. Directeur général des élections du Québec, accessed on June 18, 2011 (French).