Montreal region Artist.
Mont Saint-Hilaire (in English: Mount Saint-Hilaire) (in Abenaki:
Wigwômadenizibo), is an isolated hill, 414 m (1,358 ft)
high, in the Montérégie region of southern Quebec. It is
about thirty kilometres east of Montreal, and
immediately east of the Richelieu River. It is one of
the Monteregian Hills. Around the mountains are the
towns of Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Saint-Jean-Baptiste.
Other nearby towns include Otterburn Park, Beloeil and
McMasterville.
Until the
late nineteenth century, the lack of information on more
remote summits of Quebec, as well as the relatively high
prominence (about 400 m (1,312 ft)) of Mont
Saint-Hilaire, led to it being mistaken as the highest
summit in Québec. In actuality, Saint-Hilaire's 414
metres falls far short of making it the highest mountain
in Quebec.
Mont
Saint-Hilaire is home to a wide variety of fauna and
flora, as well as a number of rare minerals, including
some which were discovered on the mountain and some
which are unique to the region. These minerals are
exploited by a quarry on the north-eastern side of the
mountain. In addition, the soil is ideal for the growth
of apple trees, and the mountain's apple orchards draws
tens of thousands of visitors each year.
The
mountain, particularly the Pain-de-Sucre summit, was
well known by the Algonquin First Nations, who used it
as a vantage point to survey the valley of the Richelieu
River below.
The mountain is located in Abenaki traditional territory
and its name, Wigwômadenizibo, which means little
house-shaped mountain. The first European to visit the
region was Samuel de Champlain, who explored the
Richelieu River in two expeditions in 1603 and 1609. It
was during the later expedition that he discovered the
mountain.
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