Travel Destinations
 
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The Lake St. John and Saguenay Region
 The Lake St. John and Saguenay Region is located north of the Central and Eastern Laurentians and west of the North Shore. In the midst of 41,000 square miles of rugged, forested plateau country, lies a tiny occupied area of 1,500 square miles. It is a downfaulted area surrounding Lake St. John (375 square miles) and opening to the St. Lawrence by the fjord-like Saguenay. Land settlement began here in 1849, soon to be followed by forest exploitation, first for lumber and later for pulpwood. The availability of water power and the accessibility of the area have led to the development of one of the largest aluminum industries in the world. Today more than half of the people are urban dwellers.Chicoutimi
Located on the right bank of the Saguenay River at the confluence of two tributaries, Chicoutimi and Du Moulin Rivers, it has the farthest upstream deep water harbour. With a population estimated at 65,450 it is not the most populous urban centre, but it is the most important by reason of its diversified functions.
The city is built on low semi-circular terraces around "the basin" and is surrounded by hills three to four hundred feet high. Viewed from the rocky cliffs along the road to Arvida, Chicoutimi looks as picturesque as one of the cities in the narrow gorge of the Rhine Valley.
It has grown because it is the focus of favourable transportation facilities, its harbour, its railway and highway connections. The C.N.R. line to Quebec was opened in 1893. A more direct highway now puts it only 125 miles from Quebec. The Bagotville airport is just ten miles away.
Chicoutimi was first a lumbering centre and the gateway of an expanding pioneer agricultural settlement; it is now a commercial, manufacturing and administrative centre. Many labourers live here and find employment at Arvida or elsewhere. Racine Street, along the waterfront is the focus of business activity. To the observer who lingers here, the character of the city is quickly revealed. Large retail stores are seen on both sides and there are, a crowded bus terminal, a railway station and freight yards, the City Hall, the county court house and many hotels and restaurants. The cathedral sits on the bluff overlooking the river and is surrounded by educational institutions. Chicoutimi is the capital of the whole region.
Jonquière
The adjoining towns of Jonquière (54,842), 8 miles west of Chicoutimi, constitute the largest urban agglomeration in the region. They are located mainly on the right bank and below the last fall of the Au Sable River which flows from Lake Kénogami into the Saguenay. A large pulpmill is located at Jonquière and a pulp and paper mill at Kénogami. There are a few small manufacturing plants and a retail trade almost as important as that of Chicoutimi. Many people who live here work in Arvida.
Arvida
Arvida, situated about half-way between Chicoutimi and former Kénogami, is a planned town founded by the Aluminum Company of Canada in 1927. The site which was originally farmland extends over a large flat terrace about 450 feet above sea level, giving ample room for expansion. A model town was built which during World War II grew to have a population of about 14,000. The plant extends for a mile along the railway near the townsite. Modern principles of town planning have been applied here. Nothing ugly is to be seen; the view from the Saguenay Inn, the best hotel in the region, is unique. The panorama of the mighty river and the two great Shipshaw power houses is impressive and explains why Arvida was called into being. The geographic factors behind this enterprise are abundant water power, ease of transportation and a facile labour force supplied by the rural population of this region and the rest of the province. Its future is linked with the prosperity of the aluminum industry.
Other Centres
Alma, Riverbend and Ile Maligne are three towns in a group at the source of the Saguenay. Leaving Lake St. John, the river flows in two branches around Alma Island. St. Joseph d'Alma and Riverbend face one another across Petite Décharge, the southern branch while Ile Maligne lies beside a waterfall on the northern branch or Grande Décharge. The latter was developed as a model town when an aluminum reduction plant was opened during World War II. It is Arvida in miniature. Riverbend is the site of a big pulp and paper mill while Alma is a residential town of factory workers, lumberjacks and retired farmers. Its main function is more commercial than industrial.
Bagotville-Port Alfred, is another twin-town located at the west end of HaHa Bay, one of the best natural harbours in Eastern Canada. Mars River, a small stream separates Port Alfred on the south from Bagotville to the north. Port Alfred has a large pulp and paper mill and extensive docks at which bauxite ore is transhipped for Arvida and from which aluminum metal is exported. Bagotville is more residential and its wharf in summer time is the terminal of a daily steamship service to Quebec and Montreal. The surroundings are scenic, both sides of the fjord are high, steep and well forested. Inland, farms are found on the terraces which rise gradually to 400 and 500 feet above the water. A modern airport was built during World War II on the upper terrace about five miles west of the town.
Roberval, 60 miles west of Chicoutimi is the regional centre of the farming district around Lake St. John. Having few industries, it is the main commercial and administrative town of the county. It has a landing strip and a hydroplane base and serves as the point of departure for the new mining fields of Chibougamau and Lake Mistassini.
Dolbeau, is an industrial town located at the confluence of the Mistassini and Mistassibi rivers. The large tracts of forests upstream have attracted the lumberman and, more recently, a pulp and paper mill has been established. It is also an outfitting centre for hunting and fishing.
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