Matane

Matane is a town on the <a href="/facts/Gasp%25C3%25A9_Peninsula/T0NuDrDj">Gaspé Peninsula</a> in Quebec, Canada, on the south shore of the <a href="/facts/Saint_Lawrence_River/5DvCUBp4">Saint Lawrence River</a> at the mouth of the <a href="/facts/Matane_River/RbTRJ2FA">Matane River</a>. The town is the seat for the <a href="/facts/La_Matanie_Regional_County_Municipality/mAWmgKzh">La Matanie Regional County Municipality</a>.
In addition to Matane itself, the town's territory also includes the communities of Petit-Matane and Saint-Luc-de-Matane.
There is a <a href="/facts/Ferry/5ysqHULA">ferry</a> service which crosses the river to <a href="/facts/Baie-Comeau/6c2CYIla">Baie-Comeau</a> and <a href="/facts/Godbout%2c_Quebec/7XDYBTve">Godbout</a> on the north shore as well as a <a href="/facts/Train_ferry/wqUN7wDK">rail ferry</a> service to Baie-Comeau and <a href="/facts/Sept-%25C3%258Eles%2c_Quebec/N8Fmzrf9">Sept-Îles</a>.
The name Matane was first assigned to the river by <a href="/facts/Samuel_de_Champlain/jRhnMcAD">Samuel de Champlain</a> as "Mantanne" in 1603. Its meaning is open to different interpretations, with the most common one being that it comes from the <a href="/facts/Mi%2527kmaq_language/ULezDhSP">Mi'kmaq</a> word mtctan meaning "beaver pond", since the region had an abundant beaver population. It could also be a <a href="/facts/Malecite-Passamaquoddy_language/02Q81J5I">Maliseet</a> word for "spinal cord", referring to the course of the Matane River; or from the word Mattawa/Matawin, meaning "meeting of the waters". Finally, it could be an abbreviation of the word matandipives, meaning "shipwreck".

Matane open-in-new

Matane