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JAMES
BAY, AN EXTREME CLIMATE
James Bay is an austere and immense
territory with a cold and rigorous continental type
climate.
Winter starts at the end of October and does not end
before the beginning of May. The minimum mean temperature
is about -23 degrees C in January, sometimes plunging
to -50 degrees C at the height of the cold season.
The winds amplify the bite of the cold, harder to tolerate
than the snow. Yearly precipitations are less than in
Montreal, with 765 millimetres of rain or snow on average,
compared to 1,050 millimetres in Montreal.
Summer, however, is not cold. In July, mean temperatures
hover around 14 degrees C, with occasional bursts to
34 degrees C. Under those Nordic latitudes, the summer
nights are long, pleasant and luminous. |
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HYDROGRAPHIE
The hydrographic system of the Quebec
slope of James Bay is made up of great rivers with few
tributaries, in which flow almost directly the great
lakes of the intermediary plateau.
The area is well-watered. All the rivers are fed by
the rains and snows. After the strong spring flood created
by snow melting, come the summer low waters, higher
during some years. The fall flood, caused by rains,
is characterized by the swelling of waters. At the beginning
of November, however, the water level starts to drop.
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TAIGA
COUNTRY
The vegetation of the region is taiga:
a sparse forest mixed with peat, abundant on the coastal
plain, with mainly black spruce, grey pine, tamarack
and aspen. Tree diameter reaches only 10 to 15 centimetres.
The species are inappropriate for commercial exploitation.
Willows, lichen and moss are also present. A few leaves
survive in the few areas protected from the wind and
exposed to the sun. |
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LAND
WILDLIFE
Although the density of wildlife resources
is generally weaker than in more southern areas of Quebec,
because of the rigorous climate, there is a large diversity
of species. 39 wildlife species have been listed, moose,
caribou, beaver, muskrat, lynx, otter, red fox, black
bear, mink, American hare, red squirrel and sable. The
first three species have been fully inventoried because
of their economic or sporting interest. |
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BIRDLIFE
The James Bay coastal areas offer a large variety of
habitats favourable to migratory birds (islands, battures,
coastal wetlands, peatlands). However, the interior
region has few welcoming areas for wild birds. Among
the featured coastal species: geese, (Canada geese,
white geese), tame duck, (mallard, black duck), plunging
ducks (tufted duck, common goldeneye, merganser), sea
ducks (common eider, scoter) and shore birds (sandpiper,
plover, etc.) |
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FISHLIFE
Fish generally grow more slowly than in the southern
areas of the province, but reach comparable size because
of their longer life. Breeding is characterized by weak
fecundity, late maturing and spaced breeding cycles.
The more abundant species are the red longnose sucker,
white sucker, whitefish, lake whitefish, northern pike,
lake char, walleye, brook trout and landlocked salmon.
This last species, however, only exists in the Caniapiscau
River. The number of species diminishes from South to
North and from West to East.
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HUMAN
OCCUPANCY
Despite the harsh climate, human presence is very ancient
on the James Bay territory. According to archaeological
research performed in the areas bordered by the La Grande
complex, it originated about 4,000 years ago. The Cree
population is the main native population of this territory.
A few Inuits also live at the limits of the territory,
but most of them live north of the 55th parallel.
Finally, the jamesian population numbers more than
20,000 residents, mainly present in the southern mining
towns, except for workers living near the various working
areas and hydroelectric installations of the complex.
Radisson is the only permanent jamesian village established
north of the territory. Since construction of the Matagami-La
Grande-2 road, this area is also visited by tourists,
hunters and white fishermen.
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THE
TERRITORY
By the terms of the Law on the Development of James
Bay (1971), the James Bay territory covers 350,000 square
kilometres, equal to one-fifth of the province of Quebec,
and comparable to the size of Germany, or two-thirds
of France. Like in the rest of Quebec, it comprises
numerous rivers and lakes.
Part of the Canadian Shield, the James Bay territory
forms a vast platform made up of complex geological
formations created during the Precambrian era, some
2.5 billion years ago.
During the quaternary era, repeated attacks by glaciers
eroded the rock shelf. The last ice age, of an approximate
duration of 85,000 years, receded about 5,000 years
ago. Traces are still easily seen: rock outcrops in
the high lands, and till deposits (rocky debris brought
on by glaciers) found in the depressions and on hill
flanks.
West to East, the topography shows an argillaceous
coastal plain 150 kilometres wide and sprinkled with
peatland; a hummocked central plateau pitted with lakes,
and finally a more uneven zone in the East. About 8,000
years ago, the Tyrrell Sea covered the coastal plain
to an altitude of 290 meters. Silt clay and fine sand
were deposited on the depressions left by this marine
environment.
By the terms of the law enacted in 1971, the James
Bay territory is bordered to the West by James Bay and
the westernmost limit of Quebec, to the South by the
49th parallel of northern latitude, to the East by the
water demarcation line established between the James
Bay and St-Laurent river basin slope, and to the North
by the 55th parallel of northern latitude.
Small and sparse plantlife species make up the forest
covering this vast region, considered austere and monotonous
by many visitors. Here and there burns appear, vestiges
of fires started by lightning during the long summer
droughts and fed by cladonia, a variety of lichen covering
the earth. Peatlands, reticulated under the influence
of cold and frost, border the forest. This marshy environment,
created by plant decomposition, favours the proliferation
of mosquitoes.
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