The nature, evolution and present extension of the ecumene in the shield section of the Saint-Maurice Valley

Abstract

The Saint-Maurice valley, a great natural north-south corridor linking the Saint Lawrence lowlands with the rolling plateaus of interior Québec, was a well-travelled exploration, missionary and fur-trading route from 1650 unti l the late nineteenth century, and is today the seat of sprawling pulp and paper empires based on the region's abundant forest and hydro-electric resources. But this valley is also one of southern Québec's truly empty areas, with a low density rural population, a minimal acreage in farmland (in contrast with adjoining valleys, where physical conditions are similar) , and almost no tourism or recreational development . The purpose of this article is to attempt to explain this paradox by describing in détai l the évolution and présent extension of the ecumene, agricultural and other-wise, in the Shield section of the valley between the Grand'Mère - Shawinigan conurbation in the south and the tiny farming parishes of La Croche and Saint-Jean-Bosco on the northern fringes of seulement .