Matane

Matane (French pronunciation: [matan] ) is a town on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Matane River. The town is the seat for the La Matanie Regional County Municipality. In addition to Matane itself, the town's territory also includes the communities of Petit-Matane and Saint-Luc-de-Matane. There is a ferry service which crosses the river to Baie-Comeau and Godbout on the north shore as well as a rail ferry service to Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles. The name Matane was first assigned to the river by Samuel de Champlain as "Mantanne" in 1603. Its meaning is open to different interpretations, with the most common one being that it comes from the Mi'kmaq word mtctan meaning "beaver pond", since the region had an abundant beaver population. It could also be a Maliseet 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".