Val-d'Or facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Val-d'Or
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City
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Val-d'Or city
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Location within La Vallée-de-l'Or RCM.
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 Val-d'Or
Location in Western Quebec
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| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Abitibi-Témiscamingue |
| RCM | La Vallée-de-l'Or |
| Constituted | January 1, 2002 |
| Area | |
| • City | 3,955.10 km2 (1,527.07 sq mi) |
| • Land | 3,551.79 km2 (1,371.35 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 3,555.03 km2 (1,372.60 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 306 m (1,004 ft) |
| Population
(2011)
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| • City | 31,862 |
| • Density | 9.0/km2 (23/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 33,265 |
| • Metro density | 9.4/km2 (24/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2006-2011 |  2.4% |
| • Dwellings | 14,784 |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) |
J9P
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| Area code(s) | 819/873 |
| Highways |  Route 111 Route 113  Route 117 (TCH) Route 397 |
Val-d'Or ( "Golden Valley" or "Valley of Gold") is a city in Quebec, Canada with a population of 32,491 inhabitants according to the Canada 2016 Census. The city is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region near La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve.
Contents
History
Gold was discovered in the area in 1923. The name of the town is French for "Valley of Gold." While gold is still mined in the area today, base metals, such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and lead (Pb) have become increasingly important resources. The ore is usually found in volcanic rocks that were deposited on the sea floor over 2.7 billion years ago. They are referred to as volcanic-hosted (or volcanogenic) massive sulphide deposits (VMS).
The city is known for its vast parks, cycle tracks, and forests. Some other attractions include the City of Gold and the mining village of Bourlamaque, which were officially proclaimed historic sites in 1979.
The city hosted the Quebec Games in 1987. The local hockey team, the Val-d'Or Foreurs, have played in the QMJHL since 1993, winning the league championship in 1998, 2001 and 2014 to claim a spot in the Memorial Cup. They play at Centre Air Creebec. The Foreurs' mascot is called Dynamit, named after dynamite which was extensively used by the mining industry of Val-d'Or.
Val-d'Or was once home to CFS Val-d'Or, a Canadian Forces Station.
In the municipal reorganizations of January 1, 2002, Val-d'Or was merged with the neighbouring municipalities of Dubuisson, Sullivan, Val-Senneville and Vassan.
Demographics
Population:
- Population in 2016: 32,491
- 2011 to 2016 population change: +1.97%
- Population in 2011: 31,862
- Population total in 2001: 31,430
- Dubuisson: 1,686
- Sullivan: 3,529
- Val-d'Or: 22,748
- Val-Senneville: 2,479
- Vassan: 988
- Population in 1996:
- Dubuisson: 1,655
- Sullivan: 3,312
- Val-d'Or: 24,479
- Val-Senneville: 2,408
- Vassan: 988
Private dwellings (occupied by usual residents): 13,960
Mother Tongue:
- English: 2.74%
- French: 94.16%
- English and French: 0.59%
- Other only: 2.22%
City council
City council is:
- Mayor: Pierre Corbeil
- Councillors: Gilles Bérubé, Céline Brindamour, Bernard Gauthier, Lorraine Morissette, Francis Murphy, Pierre Potvin, Michael Prince, Robert Quesnel
Geography
Val-d’Or is situated on the Canadian Shield at an elevation of 1100 feet (330m) above sea level. Although its name refers to a valley (“Val”), the city is actually situated on a vast, slightly undulating plain.
Val-d’Or is at the heart of a vast hydrographic network which includes to the north Lake Blouin, the head water of the Harricana River and to the south Baie Carrière, a reservoir which feeds the Ottawa River.
Climate
Val-d'Or has a humid continental climate that closely borders on a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfb/Dfc). Winters are cold and snowy with a January mean of −17.4 °C (0.7 °F). There are 18.4 days were the temperature will fall below −30 °C (−22.0 °F) although with the wind chill factored in, it can occasionally drop below −40 °C (−40.0 °F). Snowfall totals are heavy, averaging 288 centimetres (113 in) with snow reliable snow cover from November to April. Summers are warm with a July high of 23.7 °C (74.7 °F) though highs can reach above 30.0 °C (86.0 °F) 4.3 days. Val-d'Or receives 905 millimetres (36 in) of precipitation per year which is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. Val-d'Or receives 1853 hours of sunshine per or about 39.5 of possible daylight hours, ranging from a low of 19.2% in November to a high of 52.9% in July.
| Climate data for Val-d'Or (1981−2010) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high humidex | 10.6 | 11.9 | 17.9 | 29.0 | 39.3 | 46.0 | 47.9 | 41.5 | 39.9 | 31.5 | 20.8 | 16.2 | 47.9 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.7 (49.5) |
12.3 (54.1) |
25.0 (77.0) |
28.2 (82.8) |
32.8 (91.0) |
34.0 (93.2) |
36.1 (97.0) |
36.1 (97.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
13.7 (56.7) |
36.1 (97.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −10.9 (12.4) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
7.2 (45.0) |
15.9 (60.6) |
21.1 (70.0) |
23.7 (74.7) |
21.9 (71.4) |
16.0 (60.8) |
8.9 (48.0) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
7.3 (45.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −17.4 (0.7) |
−14.7 (5.5) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
1.4 (34.5) |
9.2 (48.6) |
14.6 (58.3) |
17.5 (63.5) |
15.9 (60.6) |
10.5 (50.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
1.4 (34.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −23.9 (−11.0) |
−21.4 (−6.5) |
−14.7 (5.5) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
2.5 (36.5) |
7.9 (46.2) |
11.3 (52.3) |
9.8 (49.6) |
5.0 (41.0) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−18.0 (−0.4) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −43.9 (−47.0) |
−42.2 (−44.0) |
−36.1 (−33.0) |
−26.1 (−15.0) |
−11.1 (12.0) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−13.3 (8.1) |
−30.0 (−22.0) |
−40.6 (−41.1) |
−43.9 (−47.0) |
| Record low wind chill | −55.2 | −53.5 | −47.2 | −32.8 | −18.7 | −9.2 | 0.0 | −2.9 | −10.0 | −18.3 | −36.0 | −50.1 | −55.2 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 51.7 (2.04) |
39.3 (1.55) |
58.6 (2.31) |
66.4 (2.61) |
85.1 (3.35) |
90.4 (3.56) |
97.4 (3.83) |
93.5 (3.68) |
94.8 (3.73) |
83.7 (3.30) |
83.9 (3.30) |
60.4 (2.38) |
905.1 (35.63) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 5.6 (0.22) |
4.2 (0.17) |
16.5 (0.65) |
35.3 (1.39) |
82.3 (3.24) |
90.3 (3.56) |
97.4 (3.83) |
93.5 (3.68) |
93.3 (3.67) |
70.8 (2.79) |
40.9 (1.61) |
9.4 (0.37) |
639.4 (25.17) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 52.2 (20.6) |
39.6 (15.6) |
44.3 (17.4) |
29.9 (11.8) |
2.6 (1.0) |
0.07 (0.03) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.5 (0.6) |
12.6 (5.0) |
46.6 (18.3) |
58.8 (23.1) |
288.1 (113.4) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 18.3 | 15.6 | 14.4 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.5 | 16.6 | 17.8 | 20.6 | 21.4 | 196.8 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 2.1 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 8.9 | 13.7 | 14.4 | 15.3 | 14.4 | 16.6 | 13.8 | 7.7 | 2.7 | 115.1 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 18.2 | 14.9 | 12.6 | 8.3 | 1.7 | 0.27 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 6.9 | 16.3 | 20.9 | 101.0 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 86.5 | 124.4 | 162.3 | 177.8 | 220.7 | 243.0 | 255.9 | 227.2 | 139.9 | 99.0 | 53.7 | 62.9 | 1,853.4 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 31.5 | 43.3 | 44.1 | 43.5 | 47.0 | 50.7 | 52.9 | 51.3 | 37.0 | 29.4 | 19.2 | 24.0 | 39.5 |
| Source: Environment Canada | |||||||||||||
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La Motte Rivière-Héva |
La Corne, Barraute, Belcourt | Senneterre (parish) | |
| Malartic Lac-Fouillac Rouyn-Noranda |
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Senneterre (city) | ||
 Val-d'Or  |
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| Les Lacs-du-Témiscamingue, Lac-Granet, Matchi-Manitou, Réservoir-Dozois | Lac-Metei |
Economy
Air Creebec, a regional airline, has its headquarters in Val-d'Or and the Val-d'Or Airport serves as its hub.
Val-d'Or's proximity to the Abitibi gold belt has made it a large gold producer, being part of a region that produced 45 million ounces of gold since the 1930s.
In 2012, Quebec Lithium Corp. re-opened a lithium mine which had operated as an underground mine from 1955–65, planning to carve an open pit mine over pegmatite dikes. the mine is about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Val d'Or, 38 kilometres (24 mi) southeast of Amos, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) km west of Barraute. Access to the mine is via paved road from Val d'Or.
Education
The Centre de services scolaire de l'Or-et-des-Bois operates French-language public schools, while the Western Quebec School Board operates English-language public schools.
The city also hosts campuses of Cégep de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue and of UQAT.
Images for kids
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Centrale Street in Val-d'Or in 1959
See also
In Spanish: Val-d'Or para niños
