[edit]
Strait of Belle Isle, Bvrd. Docteur-Camille-Marcoux, (Route nº 138), Blanc Sablon
Blanc-Sablon is located on the north coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence near the entrance of the Strait of Belle Isle. Two significant bays, Brador and Blanc-Sablon, mark its shores and the headland that separates these bays is dominated by Mont Parent, a 100 m (330 ft) high flat-topped hill named after Martin Parent, a local fisherman in the middle of the 19th century. The municipality borders Côte-Nord-du-Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent to the south-west, and L'Anse-au-Clair, Labrador, to the north-east.
The "Barachois" in Blanc-Sablon, in Quebec
The estuary of the Brador River and Blanc-Sablon River has a lagoon designated barachois, separated from the sea by sand or gravel. Seawater enters at high tide.
The Blanc-Sablon archipelago is located off the coasts of the villages of Blanc-Sablon and Brador and includes Long Island, Lazy Island, Basin Island, Island of the Parrots, Wood Island and Greenly, housing the Bird Sanctuary of Brador Bay.
The municipality of Blanc-Sablon has several land protrusions into the Gulf of St. Lawrence; from east to west, they are Point Saint-Charles, Morel's Point, Lazy Point, Hunting Point, "À la Barque" Point, Cape Crow and Point Jones.
Time zone[edit]
Blanc Sablon is located in the Atlantic Time Zone (Atlantic Standard Time or AST). The offset of the applicable time relative to UTC is -04:00 In accordance with the applicable time and longitude, the average solar noon in Blanc Sablon occurs at 11:48. Blanc Sablon is the only village where local time coincides with zone time.[citation needed]
Climate[edit]
Blanc-Sablon experiences a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc). It has short, cool summers, and very long and snowy winters: the mean snowfall is 375.3 cm (147.8 in). Although its latitude is only 51 degrees north, and its climate is tempered by the Atlantic Ocean, it experiences a much colder climate than other localities at the same latitude due to the cold Labrador Current. For example, London, England, on the same latitude, has an annual mean that is nearly 10 °C (18 °F) milder, and inland Calgary, despite being around 1,050 m (3,440 ft) above sea level, is still almost 4 °C (7.2 °F) warmer despite recording extreme minima about 11 °C (20 °F) colder.
Climate data for Blanc-Sablon (Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon Airport)WMO ID: 71808; coordinates 51°27′N 57°11′W / 51.450°N 57.183°W / 51.450; -57.183 (Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon Airport); elevation: 37.2 m (122 ft); 1991–2020 normals
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high humidex
9.6
12.6
7.3
18.6
24.4
28.0
31.4
30.6
28.7
20.8
18.0
10.4
30.6
Record high °C (°F)
9.1(48.4)
8.3(46.9)
8.2(46.8)
18.6(65.5)
25.0(77.0)
27.1(80.8)
27.1(80.8)
28.1(82.6)
24.7(76.5)
21.0(69.8)
16.2(61.2)
11.0(51.8)
28.1(82.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
−7.1(19.2)
−7.0(19.4)
−2.8(27.0)
2.0(35.6)
7.8(46.0)
12.5(54.5)
15.9(60.6)
17.1(62.8)
13.3(55.9)
7.7(45.9)
2.3(36.1)
−3.1(26.4)
4.9(40.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)
−11.8(10.8)
−11.5(11.3)
−6.9(19.6)
−1.4(29.5)
3.8(38.8)
8.4(47.1)
12.1(53.8)
13.4(56.1)
9.4(48.9)
4.4(39.9)
−1.1(30.0)
−7.0(19.4)
1.0(33.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
−16.4(2.5)
−16.0(3.2)
−11.0(12.2)
−4.8(23.4)
−0.3(31.5)
4.2(39.6)
8.3(46.9)
9.6(49.3)
5.4(41.7)
1.0(33.8)
−4.5(23.9)
−11.0(12.2)
−3.0(26.6)
Record low °C (°F)
−32.3(−26.1)
−34.1(−29.4)
−32.5(−26.5)
−23.0(−9.4)
−11.1(12.0)
−3.6(25.5)
0.0(32.0)
0.9(33.6)
−4.8(23.4)
−10.4(13.3)
−18.9(−2.0)
−30.2(−22.4)
−34.1(−29.4)
Record low wind chill
−48.5
−48.2
−47.6
−34.4
−16.2
−7.3
0.0
0.0
−8.6
−22.4
−31.4
−47.4
−48.5
Average precipitation mm (inches)
76.5(3.01)
81.2(3.20)
91.2(3.59)
53.2(2.09)
66.9(2.63)
78.3(3.08)
93.9(3.70)
91.2(3.59)
101.7(4.00)
85.0(3.35)
83.8(3.30)
98.4(3.87)
1,001.1(39.41)
Average rainfall mm (inches)
12.3(0.48)
6.9(0.27)
11.9(0.47)
21.2(0.83)
63.5(2.50)
79.4(3.13)
92.8(3.65)
86.6(3.41)
102.1(4.02)
77.1(3.04)
58.9(2.32)
31.7(1.25)
644.2(25.36)
Average snowfall cm (inches)
66.2(26.1)
70.0(27.6)
73.9(29.1)
32.4(12.8)
6.8(2.7)
0.1(0.0)
0.0(0.0)
0.0(0.0)
0.0(0.0)
3.9(1.5)
24.2(9.5)
68.3(26.9)
345.9(136.2)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm)
16.6
16.4
17.5
14.2
14.3
14.7
16.7
15.0
14.6
15.4
15.6
17.1
188.1
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm)
3.2
2.2
4.2
7.5
12.6
14.5
16.6
14.2
14.2
14.5
10.1
5.5
119.2
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm)
15.3
15.4
14.9
8.4
2.7
0.15
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.8
8.0
14.7
81.3
Average relative humidity (%) (at 1500 LST)
73.3
72.4
75.7
76.6
72.7
75.8
81.2
79.6
76.8
76.6
76.8
76.2
76.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours
93.9
106.7
111.7
137.6
157.5
165.3
141.9
159.0
128.9
106.2
85.1
75.8
1,469.4
Percentage possible sunshine
36.0
37.9
30.4
33.1
32.6
33.3
28.4
35.2
33.9
32.0
31.8
30.8
32.9
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (sunshine 1981–2010)
Communities[edit]
The municipality includes three villages: Blanc-Sablon, Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, and Brador Bay.
Blanc-Sablon[edit]
Blanc-Sablon is located about one kilometre (1000 yards) east of Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon directly on the Blanc-Sablon Bay. It had a population of 116 in 2016. The wharf and the ferry to St. Barbe, Newfoundland and Labrador are located in the town.
Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon[edit]
Indigenous peoples, Vikings, Basques, Bretons, English and Acadians frequented, at different times, the waters of the territory of this important village on the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula. Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon (51°24′41″N 57°12′11″W / 51.41139°N 57.20306°W / 51.41139; -57.20306) is the largest community in the municipality, and is located on the headland that separates Brador Bay from Blanc-Sablon Bay. It was originally known as Longue-Pointe (Long Point) until the beginning of the 20th century. It has a small natural harbour, and long depended on the fishing business.
Brador[edit]
Brador or Brador Bay (51°27′40″N 57°14′44″W / 51.46111°N 57.24556°W / 51.46111; -57.24556) is on the eastern shore of the namesake bay, 7 km (4.3 mi) north of the village of Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon. While known in the 18th century as Fort Pontchartrain and Phélipeaux Bay, its current name is the shortened form of Labrador. In French, the syllable la is a definite article, and in documents from the 17th and 18th century, this syllable was considered as such and separated from the rest of the name. François Martel de Brouague, the King's Commander of this region from 1714 to 1760, referred to this location as: "A la Baye de Phélipeaux, coste de la Brador" ("At the Bay of Phélipeaux, coast of the Brador").
