Volume 2, numéro 2, 1957

EN :

The littoral morphology of the Bermudas is an erosional morphology in limestones, the main processes being mechanical action and solution. The temperatures, in January and February, of the waters washing the Bermudas, are low enough to prevent the growing of true coral reefs. Therefore, it is not the morphology of a coral reef.

The predominance of wave-cut cliffs is the most striking feature, despite the low and gently rolling topography. There are, however, other types of coasts on the islands, the mangrove being found on many sheltered shores. The writer thus opposes the sheltered shores of the sounds to the ones exposed on the southcoast, while the shores of the north and north-east coasts belong to an intermediate type.

The steplike arrangement of the coastal forms of solution of the Bermudas limestones is primarily linked to the amount of the tidal range. These features are similar to those described on the shores of the warm seas, where the tide is negligible or weak.

The Bermudas occupy an intermediate position between the regions where reefs are built by corals, and those, to the north, where solution, helped by other processes, occurs without compensation.

EN :

Hydrology, one of the most neglected branches of geography, is primarily the study of flowing waters derived from precipitations. Hence, the words « discharge » , «  flow » and « run-off » are at the core of research in this field. There is much confusion about these terms which are not given the same meanings by the various authors. The best definitions would be the following : « discharge » means the quantity of water that flows ; « flow » concerns rather the action of flowing, and « run-off » is the part of the rainfall that flows, or the quantity of rainfall using streams when leaving a region.

The epithets added to these basic terms are also very different from one researcher to another or from one country to another. Trying to eliminate this looseness of terminology, the author bas attempted to define the main qualificatives applied to the three fundamental words. Hence the hydrological studies will gain in accuracy. French and English terms used in scientific publications should be as much equivalent as possible.

EN :

Geographical research and production in France have known a remarkable development during the last half century. One of the leaders of this contemporary movement bas been Professor Raoul Blanchard who was not only a chef d'école, but also a leader for his students and colleagues. Professor Blanchard has shown the way himself in publishing numerous important works on several parts of the world, and, of special interest to Canadians, his collection of regional monographs about French Canada. Not so well known to Canadian geographers and readers are his works (12 volumes) on the Alpes occidentales. In this article, a prominent French geographer, Professor Maurice Parde, of Grenoble, studies the influence of Professor Blanchard on the contemporary geographical movement in France. He also analyses more especially the sixth and last part of this monumental work on the Alps.

Mr. Blanchard, who is an honorary president of the Canadian Association of Geographers, has recently been awarded a golden medal by the American Geographical Society.

EN :

During the summer of 1954, a study of Ile-aux-Coudres was undertaken by the writer on behalf of the Planning Service of the Province of Québec. The results of this survey are based primarily on the demographic and economic factors relevant to the island.

The 1728-1790 period is considered as a period of settlement at the end of which there are 500 inhabitants. The second period (1790-1870) is marked by two facts, a demographical stability, with a total increase of population from 566 to 710, and an economic stagnation due principally to the lack of resources. The dominant economic activity is agriculture, with some fishing and « navigation » as part-time occupations. Several islanders are sailors and navigators on the schooners and steamers that sail on the Saint-Lawrence.

From 1870 until 1954, the population bas more than doubled and the main economic activities in 1954 are illustrated in table V, with agriculture in first place followed by the group of « seasonal employees » that leave the island in the summer to work as stevedores in Montréal.

After 1930, the Ile-aux-Coudres is not isolated as it used to be, due to a new ferry-boat plying between the island and the mainland and the improvement of the main highway from Québec to Baie-Saint-Paul.

The problem of the island is the lack of equilibrium between its resources and its population. Too many residents gain their living outside the island, and agriculture as a basic activity, even if improved, is unable to sustain its present population. A « rational depopulation » of the island should be initiated.