Gaspé

Landing in the Gaspé in 1534, Jacques Cartier raised a cross symbolizing the taking of possession of Canada in the name of the king of France. Located in the Gulf of the Saint Lawrence at the entrance to the Baie des Chaleurs, the Gaspé peninsula had been called by many Amerindian place names. During his first expedition to Tadoussac, Samuel de Champlain spoke of Gachepay. Ten years later he used the present form of the place name.