Les Méchins
Les Méchins | |
|---|---|
View of downtown Les Méchins, Quebec | |
Location within La Matanie RCM | |
Les Méchins Location in eastern Quebec | |
| Coordinates: 49°00′N 66°59′W / 49.000°N 66.983°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Quebec |
| Region | Bas-Saint-Laurent |
| RCM | La Matanie |
| Settled | 1850s |
| Constituted | November 27, 1982 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mathieu Isabel |
| • Federal riding | Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj |
| • Prov. riding | Matane-Matapédia |
| Area | |
• Total | 474.31 km2 (183.13 sq mi) |
| • Land | 441.39 km2 (170.42 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 995 |
| • Density | 2.3/km2 (6.0/sq mi) |
| • Pop (2016-21) | 0.8% |
| • Dwellings | 671 |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Postal code(s) | |
| Area codes | 418 and 581 |
| Highways | R-132 |
| Website | www |
Les Méchins (French pronunciation: [le meʃɛ̃]) is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, about 47 kilometres (29 mi) east of Matane along Quebec Route 132.
In addition to Les Méchins (formerly known as Grands-Méchins) itself, the municipality also includes the communities of Anse-des-Méchins, Cherbourg, Cherbourg-Centre, Les Îlets Méchins, and Petits-Méchins.
The name Méchins is of uncertain origin although according to one theory, it may come from the French word méchants, meaning "wicked", and referring to rocks in the sea that would make navigation there dangerous. Another, less likely suggestion is that it may be a transformation of "Matsi", a 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) tall one-eyed monster of Mi'kmaq folklore who would come down from the mountains with a stick as big as a tree to terrorize the local people.