La Vallée-du-Richelieu (The Valley of the Richelieu) is a regional county municipality in the Montérégie region in southwestern Quebec, Canada. Its seat is McMasterville.

La Vallée-du-Richelieu
Regional county municipality
Location in province of Quebec.
Coordinates: 45°34′N 73°12′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Montérégie
Effective	January 1, 1982
County seat	McMasterville
Government [2]
• Type	Prefecture
• Prefect	Gilles Plante
Area [3]
• Total	605.50 km2 (233.78 sq mi)
• Land	588.60 km2 (227.26 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[3]
• Total	124,420
• Density	211.4/km2 (548/sq mi)
• Change 2011-2016	6.5%
• Dwellings	49,971
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	450 and 579
Website	www.mrcvr.ca
[4]

It surrounds the Richelieu River as the river flows north from Lake Champlain in the United States to the Saint Lawrence River northeast of Montreal at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. Dramatically different from the mountainous terrain to the south, the river valley is a vast plain that has been developed with extensive farmlands.

In the 21st century, the Richelieu River is very popular for both U.S. and Canadian recreational boaters, providing a connection that can bring boaters all the way from the outlet of the Saint Lawrence River to New York Harbor. A number of old fortifications exist dating back to the 17th century; they were built by the French in an effort to try to prevent the Iroquois from using the river as a way to attack the French settlers in the area. Fort Richelieu is at the mouth of the Richelieu River. Fort St. Louis (now Fort Chambly) at Chambly, Fort Sainte-Thérèse, and Fort Saint-Jean at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, are on the way. Fort St. Anne Isle La Motte, Vermont in Lake Champlain is near the river's source. The region is informally known as la Vallée-des-Forts.

Subdivisions

There are 13 subdivisions within the RCM:[2]

Demographics

Population

Language

Canada Census Mother Tongue - La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec[10]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2016		123,485		114,405	5.7%	92.6%		3,990	1.7%	3.2%		1105	19.5%	0.80%		3985	61.0%	2.14%
2011		115,690		108,230	9.5%	93.55%		4,060	0.6%	3.51%		925	55.5%	0.80%		2,475	4.4%	2.14%
2006		105,870		98,870	8.6%	93.39%		4,035	41.9%	3.81%		595	43.3%	0.56%		2,370	2.1%	2.24%
2001		118,635		108,215	5.8%	91.22%		6,950	2.7%	5.86%		1,050	8.8%	0.88%		2,420	3.2%	2.04%
1996		112,920		102,310	n/a	90.60%		7,145	n/a	6.33%		965	n/a	0.85%		2,500	n/a	2.21%

Transportation

Access Routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the municipality, including external routes that start or finish at the county border:

See also

• List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec

References

External links

• Fort Richelieu official site^{[permanent dead link]}

На других языках

[de] La Vallée-du-Richelieu