Labrador Peninsula

Lore & Background

The peninsula is a plateau threaded by river valleys. There are several mountain ranges. The Torngat Mountains, located in the northern part of the peninsula, contain the highest point of the peninsula, Mount Caubvick, which at 1,652 metres (5,420 ft) is also the highest point of mainland Canada east of Alberta. The mountains also host Torngat Mountains National Park, the only national park of Canada in Labrador. The park is located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the adjacent Kuururjuaq National Park is located in the province of Quebec. Due to it being covered almost entirely by the Canadian Shield—a vast, rocky plateau with a history of glaciation—the peninsula has a large number of lakes. The province of Quebec alone has more than half a million lakes of varying size. The largest body of water on the Labrador Peninsula is the Smallwood Reservoir, but the largest natural lake is Lake Mistassini. Other lakes of note include the Manicouagan Reservoir, the Caniapiscau Reservoir, and the La Grande 2 and La Grande 3 reservoirs. Due to a history of hydroelectric development, the majority of the larger freshwater lakes on the peninsula are reservoirs. In addition to an abundance of lakes, the peninsula also has many rivers. The longest, the La Grande River, is 900 kilometres (560 mi) long and flows westwards across nearly half the peninsula, emptying into James Bay. Other rivers of note include the Eastmain River, Rupert River, and Churchill River.

Reader's Guide

Prior to European colonization, the peninsula was inhabited chiefly by Cree and Inuit peoples. The Innu Nation in the southeast area of the peninsula referred to as Nitassinan (ᓂᑕᔅᓯᓇᓐ, meaning 'our land' in the Innu language) and the Naskapi whose territories just to the north called St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, also meaning 'our land') speak closely related languages; while the East Cree of Eeyou Istchee (ᐄᔨᔨᐤ/ᐄᔨᔫ/ᐄᓅ ᐊᔅᒌ) speak a more distantly related language. Inuit homelands are Nunavik (ᓄᓇᕕᒃ) in northern Quebec, Nunatsiavut (ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) in northern Labrador and NunatuKavut (ᓄᓇᑐᑲᕗᑦ) in southern Labrador. The area became known as Markland in Greenlandic Norse and its inhabitants were known as the Skræling. It is widely accepted that the peninsula is named after Portuguese explorer João Fernandes Lavrador. He was granted a patent by King Manuel I of Portugal in 1499 that gave him the right to explore that part of the Atlantic Ocean as set out in the Treaty of Tordesillas. Together with Pero de Barcelos, he first sighted Labrador in 1498, and charted the coasts of southwestern Greenland and of adjacent the northeastern North America around 1498 and gave notice of them in Portugal and Europe. His landowner status allowed him to use the title lavrador, Portuguese for 'farmer' or 'landholder', but 'labrador' in Spanish and Galician means 'agricultural worker' (Portuguese pronunciation: [lɐvɾɐˈðoɾ]). He actually gave the name of Terra do Lavrador to Greenland, which was the first land that he sighted, but eventually, the name was spread to all areas until it was set for Labrador.

Did You Know?

• The northernmost point of the Labrador Peninsula is Cape Wolstenholme, which also serves as the northernmost point of the province of Quebec.
• Mount Caubvick, at 1,652 metres (5,420 ft), is the highest point of mainland Canada east of Alberta.
• The largest body of water on the Labrador Peninsula is the Smallwood Reservoir, but the largest natural lake is Lake Mistassini.
• The peninsula was known as Markland in Greenlandic Norse, and its inhabitants were called Skræling.
• Portuguese explorer João Fernandes Lavrador first sighted Labrador in 1498 and originally gave the name Terra do Lavrador to Greenland.