Aguanish

Aguanish is a small waterfront municipality on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the Minganie region, on the North Shore in eastern Quebec, on the Route des Baleines and the Route Nature aux mille délices (gourmet route).

Aguanish is a larger-than-life haven of relaxation, on the Whale Route. This village offers services to travellers from Route 138. The main attractions of Aguanish are:
 * the Watshishou Bird Sanctuary (and located west of Pointe Pashashibou (east of the mouth of the Pashashibou River) and shared with the municipality of Baie-Johan-Beetz);
 * the magnificent fine sandy beaches stretching for several kilometers both east and west of the mouth of the Aguanish River; in addition, several natural bays near the hamlet of Île-Michon are worth the detour;
 * its ATV and snowmobile trails that connect to the route Blanche of the Lower North Shore.

Geography
Aguanish covers the townships of Drucourt and Costebelle. The municipality includes the main village and the hamlet Île-Michon.

History
Aguanish was founded in 1849 with the arrival of brothers Xavier and Olivier Rochette, originally from Berthier; they had settled at the mouth of the Nabissipi River. The toponym of the hamlet of Île-Michon would evoke the November 1876 sinking of Captain Jean-Phidyme Michon's ship; other sources rather attribute the origin of the toponym to the fact that Jean Michon, a craftsman landed on the island opposite the village to build fishing boats there. In subsequent years, other settlers from the Magdalen Islands joined the fledgling community. The subsistence economy was centered in the summer on cod and salmon fishing; in the winter, the men would trap to produce fur.

The toponym Agyanish means "little shelter" in innu-aimun.

Get in
The Route 138 bridge spanning the Aguanish River in the village of Aguanish is located 339 km by road, east of downtown Sept-Îles.

By car
Route 138 from Sept-Îles is the only national road in the region. It continues east through Havre-Saint-Pierre (67 km), Natashquan (83 km) and up to Kegaska (135 km) where Route 138 ends. route 138 reappears approximately 400 km further on at Vieux-Fort, near Blanc-Sablon.

Route 138 arrived in Aguanish in 1996. For 20 years, from 1976 to 1996, Havre-Saint-Pierre was the end point east of Route 138, which runs along the north shore of the St. Lawrence; which generated a considerable tourist development. The engineers' challenge was to build infrastructure to span several rivers, including (in order from west to east from Sept-Îles): Moisie, Matamec, aux Loups Marins, Pigou, au Bouleau, du Sault Plat, Tortue, at Sault Blanc, Manitou, at Graines, at La Chaloupe, Sheldrake, Couture, Jim-Hearst, Moyac, Duck, at Tonnerre, Brûlée, Béline, Magpie, Saint-Coeur, Saint-Jean, Mingan, Kamenakapeu and Romaine. In 1996, another segment of Route 138 was opened up to Natashquan, further east. Finally, in 2013, the final segment of this road reached Kegaska.

By plane
The hydrobase (designated "Aguanish Waterdome") is located at the wharf on the west bank of the barachois at the mouth of the Auguanish River.

Get around
Route 138 (east-west direction) is the main road through Aguanish.

Connect
The three main cellular/mobile telephone networks provide coverage in and around the municipality; however, there are large areas along the routes to Sept-Îles and Kegaska (December 2018) not served.