Bellechasse Regional County Municipality

Bellechasse
Regional county municipality
Coordinates: 46°44′N 70°43′W / 46.733°N 70.717°WCoordinates: 46°44′N 70°43′W / 46.733°N 70.717°W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Chaudière-Appalaches
Effective	January 1, 1982
County seat	Saint-Lazare-de-Bellechasse
Government[2]
• Type	Prefecture
• Prefect	Hervé Blais
Area[2][3]
• Total	1,781.50 km^2 (687.84 sq mi)
• Land	1,749.64 km^2 (675.54 sq mi)
Population (2011)[3]
• Total	35,318
• Density	20.2/km^2 (52/sq mi)
• Pop 2006-2011	6.0%
• Dwellings	16,712
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
Area code(s)	418 and 581
Website	www.mrcbellechasse.qc.ca

Bellechasse Regional County Municipality is a regional county municipality in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec. The county seat is Saint-Lazare-de-Bellechasse.^[2]

Saint-Lazare was originally chosen as the county seat because of its central location. Other municipalities, such as Saint-Anselme, Sainte-Claire, Saint-Damien originally wanted to be the county seat because of their larger population. The region belongs to the Lévis—Bellechasse federal electoral district.

Subdivisions

There are 20 subdivisions within the RCM:^[2]

Municipalities (13) Armagh Beaumont Honfleur Saint-Anselme Saint-Charles-de-Bellechasse Saint-Gervais Saint-Henri

Saint-Lazare-de-Bellechasse Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse Saint-Nérée-de-Bellechasse Saint-Raphaël Saint-Vallier Sainte-Claire

Parishes (7) La Durantaye Notre-Dame-Auxiliatrice-de-Buckland Saint-Damien-de-Buckland Saint-Léon-de-Standon Saint-Malachie Saint-Nazaire-de-Dorchester Saint-Philémon

Demographics

(Statistics Canada, 2001)

• Population: 29,570
• Population change (1996-2001): -0.4
• Dwellings: 13,109
• Area (km²): 1,626.67
• Density (per km².): 18.2
• National rank in terms of population: 173
• Provincial rank in terms of population: 61

Transportation

Access Routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the municipality, including external routes that start or finish at the county border:^[4]

Autoroutes A-20 (TCH)

Principal Highways Route 132 Route 173

Secondary Highways Route 216 Route 218 Route 228 Route 275 Route 277 Route 279 Route 281

External Routes None

Attractions

• Beaumont Mill, 1821 (Beaumont)
• Ferme Appalaches Safari Ranch (Saint-Lazare)
• Gold Museum (Saint-Philémon)
• Horse-drawn carriages Museum (Saint-Vallier)
• Le Ricaneux Artisanal Wine (Saint-Charles)
• Massif du Sud Ski Area (Saint-Philémon)
• Notre-Dame-de-Perpetual-Secours Historical Centre (Saint-Damien-de-Buckland)

Protected Areas

• Massif du Sud Regional Park
• St-Vallier National Migratory Bird Sanctuary

See also

• List of regional county municipalities and equivalent territories in Quebec

References

1. Reference number 141116 of the Commission de toponymie du Québec (French)
2. Geographic code 190 in the official Répertoire des municipalités (French)
3. "(Code 2419) Census Profile". 2011 census. Statistics Canada. 2012.
4. Official Transport Quebec Road Map