page_title: Matapedia Valley
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Matapedia Valley / Geography / Demographics
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Vue aérienne de la ville d'Amqui, dans la région du Bas-Saint-Laurent, au Québec.
context_page_description: The Matapedia Valley was formed by the Chic-Choc Mountains of eastern Québec. Its name is derived from the river that traverses the valley, as well as the lake that lies in its center. It is situated in the southwest of the Gaspé Peninsula and stretches 375 km.
  The land is primarily made up of forest and agriculture, and is home to more than 20,000 inhabitants in some thirty municipalities. Most of them are concentrated along the main avenue of communication, Route 132. The city of Amqui is the seat of the RCM and is home to 6,261 people.
  The Mi'kmaq people first developed the valley around 500 BCE. French-Canadian settlement began in 1833 when Pierre Brochu moved to Lake Matapedia along Kempt Road. Settlers began flocking to the land in the late nineteenth century with the development of land clearing, agriculture, and the logging industry.
context_section_description: The geographic territory of the valley comprises the regional county municipalities of La Mitis, La Matapédia and Avignon, which cover thirty municipalities. Important economic centers include Amqui, Causapscal and Sayabec. The valley is currently home to more than 20,000 inhabitants. Its population density is much higher along Lake Matapedia and the Matapedia River than the more remote areas of the valley. Indeed, along the lake and river, the population density is 12 inhabitants per km² while in the valley's uplands, it is 5.0/km² (13/sq mi). The unincorporated territories of the valley are nearly uninhabited.
caption: Amqui, the biggest city in the valley
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