Both mountains are popular with hikers (the International Appalachian Trail traverses them both) and share a unique ecology for its latitude: snow cover for 9 months of the year and alpine tundra vegetation. Furthermore, the territory is also home to migratory woodland caribou, the only remaining herd south of the Saint Lawrence.[4][6]
Communities
The only population centre within the territory is Cap-Seize, located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts along Quebec Route 299. It was established circa 1940 as a forestry centre and named after the nearby Cap-Seize Creek, a tributary of the Sainte-Anne River. While the name literally means "Cape Sixteen", it is actually a transformation of the English word "capsize", the creek's original name. A post office operated there from 1946 to 1969.[7]
The ghost town of Saint-Octave-de-l'Avenir is about 18 kilometres (11 mi) south-southeast of Cap-Chat, at an altitude of 380 metres (1,250 ft). It was formed in 1932 as part of the Vautrin Settlement Plan to encourage colonization of Gaspésie's interior and intended to bring relief during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The settlement was named after founding priest Louis-Octave Caron (1879–1942) and a hopeful outlook of the future (avenir is French for "future"). It grew to 1200 residents in 1937 but then declined until it was abandoned in 1971. Only summer camps remain.[8]
Climate
Climate data for Mont-Albert (Cap-Seize), Quebec 225 m (738 ft) (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1967–1994)
Notes: Income data for this area has been suppressed for data quality or confidentiality reasons. References: 2021[11] 2016[12] 2011[13] earlier[14][15]
Historical Census Data - Mont-Albert, Quebec
Year
Pop.
±%
1986
240
—
1991
227
−5.4%
1996
207
−8.8%
2001
222
+7.2%
Year
Pop.
±%
2006
218
−1.8%
2011
204
−6.4%
2016
179
−12.3%
2021
167
−6.7%
Population counts are not adjusted for boundary changes. Source: Statistics Canada[3][16]