Chéticamp, Nova Scotia

The name "Chéticamp" derives from the name given by the Mi'kmaq First Nations, who still live on Cape Breton Island (but not in Chéticamp). The name is Awjátúj{{cite web|url= http://www.cbu.ca/mrc/place-names|title= Mi'kmaw Place Names in Cape Breton|last1= Silliboy|first1= Helen|year= 1998|publisher= [Cape Breton University - Mi'kmaq Resource Centre]|accessdate= 25 July 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111003045048/http://www.cbu.ca/mrc/place-names|archive-date= 3 October 2011|url-status= dead}} (Francis-Smith orthography) in the Micmac language, meaning "rarely full", presumably making reference to the mouth of Chéticamp harbour that once had a large dune that grew during low tide.Anselme Chiasson. Chéticamp: History and Acadian Traditions. Translation of Chéticamp: histoire et traditions acadiennes by Jean Doris LeBlanc. Wreck Cove, NS: Breton Books, 1998. p. 6. {{ISBN|1-895415-29-2}}.

The French spelling of the town's name went through several variations including Ochatisia (1660), Ochatis (1689), "Chetecqan" (1689 Pierre Detcheverry map of the Gulf of St Lawrence for Governor Antoine Parat) Chétican, Chéticamps (1725) and Chétifcamp (1803). The current spelling appeared for the first time on 3 May 1815, in the writings of the missionary Antoine Manseau. In French, the name has been pronounced successively Le Chady, Le Grand Chady, Le Chady Grand, Île de Chedegan and finally, the current version, Chatican ({{IPA|fr|ʃatikɑ̃|IPA}}). Chéticamp is usually pronounced phonetically in French outside of the area.

The name does not always take the acute accent on the e in English (i.e., "Cheticamp").

A village in western Nova Scotia, Saint Alphonse de Clare, was originally called Chéticamp de Clare. Its name was changed to avoid confusion for postal delivery.

Chéticamp was a fishing station used during the summer months by Charles Robin, a merchant from the island of Jersey, and is considered one of the Acadian capitals of the world. In the years following the Great Expulsion, many Acadians came to this area. The first permanent settlers following that era were the families of Pierre Bois and Joseph Richard, who arrived in 1782, although both brothers John and Paul Chiasson along with many other French settlers like the AuCoin family were believed to have predated Bois, Richard and Robin by over 100 years. Chiasson is looked at today{{By whom|date=February 2012}} as the oldest family name on record in the town. Many of the original family names still reside in and around the small town. They, like all the original founding family names of Chéticamp, can be found chiseled in stone in the town still to this day. Settlement was formally established in 1785 by a grant of land to the 14 original settlers. Today Chéticamp, which is at the entrance of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, is a popular tourist spot.

File:Carte topographique Chéticamp.svg

Chéticamp is at the western entrance to Cape Breton Highlands National Park which contains the Acadian Trail. The downtown area overlooks a harbour that is protected from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Chéticamp Island. The Chéticamp River flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence approximately 5 km northeast of the village.

Chéticamp experiences a humid continental climate (Dfb). Temperature and precipitation patterns are greatly influenced by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Cape Breton Highlands. The highest temperature ever recorded in Chéticamp was {{convert|33.3|C|0}} on 10 August 2001.{{cite web

| publisher = Environment Canada

| url = http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?hlyRange=1999-02-09%7C2016-07-03&dlyRange=1998-06-01%7C2016-07-02&mlyRange=1998-06-01%7C2007-07-01&StationID=27600&Prov=NS&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&selRowPerPage=25&Line=2&searchMethod=contains&Month=8&Day=4&txtStationName=cheticamp&timeframe=2&Year=2001

| title = Daily Data Report for August 2001

| work = Canadian Climate Data

| accessdate = 8 April 2016}} The coldest temperature ever recorded was {{convert|-29.5|C|1}} on 27 January 1994.

{{Weather box

|location = Chéticamp, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1935–present

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|Jan record high C = 18.9

|Feb record high C = 19.0

|Mar record high C = 20.3

|Apr record high C = 25.1

|May record high C = 29.5

|Jun record high C = 31.7

|Jul record high C = 32.0

|Aug record high C = 33.3

|Sep record high C = 30.0

|Oct record high C = 28.0

|Nov record high C = 23.4

|Dec record high C = 19.2

|year record high C = 33.3

|Jan high C = -0.3

|Feb high C = -0.8

|Mar high C = 2.6

|Apr high C = 7.6

|May high C = 14.0

|Jun high C = 19.4

|Jul high C = 23.6

|Aug high C = 23.3

|Sep high C = 19.4

|Oct high C = 13.5

|Nov high C = 8.4

|Dec high C = 3.2

|year high C = 11.2

|Jan mean C = -4.0

|Feb mean C = -5.1

|Mar mean C = -1.7

|Apr mean C = 3.4

|May mean C = 9.0

|Jun mean C = 14.4

|Jul mean C = 18.8

|Aug mean C = 18.7

|Sep mean C = 15.0

|Oct mean C = 9.7

|Nov mean C = 5.0

|Dec mean C = 0.2

|year mean C = 6.9

|Jan low C = -7.7

|Feb low C = -9.4

|Mar low C = -6.0

|Apr low C = -0.9

|May low C = 4.0

|Jun low C = 9.3

|Jul low C = 14.0

|Aug low C = 14.1

|Sep low C = 10.5

|Oct low C = 5.8

|Nov low C = 1.6

|Dec low C = -3.0

|year low C = 2.7

|Jan record low C = -29.5

|Feb record low C = -29.0

|Mar record low C = -27.8

|Apr record low C = -14.0

|May record low C = -6.7

|Jun record low C = -1.8

|Jul record low C = 3.5

|Aug record low C = 1.1

|Sep record low C = -1.1

|Oct record low C = -6.0

|Nov record low C = -16.0

|Dec record low C = -19.5

|year record low C = -29.5

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 113.3

|Feb precipitation mm = 101.2

|Mar precipitation mm = 92.9

|Apr precipitation mm = 88.4

|May precipitation mm = 82.3

|Jun precipitation mm = 88.3

|Jul precipitation mm = 92.7

|Aug precipitation mm = 102.5

|Sep precipitation mm = 127.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 136.2

|Nov precipitation mm = 134.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 143.8

|year precipitation mm = 1303.4

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 61.3

|Feb rain mm = 40.1

|Mar rain mm = 52.2

|Apr rain mm = 66.4

|May rain mm = 83.3

|Jun rain mm = 96.4

|Jul rain mm = 90.0

|Aug rain mm = 114.4

|Sep rain mm = 124.1

|Oct rain mm = 129.1

|Nov rain mm = 121.3

|Dec rain mm = 84.6

|year rain mm = 1063.0

|Jan snow cm = 81.6

|Feb snow cm = 67.7

|Mar snow cm = 51.1

|Apr snow cm = 21.7

|May snow cm = 2.0

|Jun snow cm = 0.0

|Jul snow cm = 0.0

|Aug snow cm = 0.0

|Sep snow cm = 0.0

|Oct snow cm = 0.7

|Nov snow cm = 19.3

|Dec snow cm = 68.0

|year snow cm = 312.0

|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 21.2

|Feb precipitation days = 16.8

|Mar precipitation days = 17.5

|Apr precipitation days = 15.6

|May precipitation days = 16.2

|Jun precipitation days = 14.4

|Jul precipitation days = 15.0

|Aug precipitation days = 14.4

|Sep precipitation days = 16.4

|Oct precipitation days = 19.9

|Nov precipitation days = 20.4

|Dec precipitation days = 22.4

|year precipitation days = 210.1

|unit rain days = 0.2 mm

|Jan rain days = 6.4

|Feb rain days = 4.6

|Mar rain days = 6.8

|Apr rain days = 10.9

|May rain days = 15.3

|Jun rain days = 14.7

|Jul rain days = 14.6

|Aug rain days = 14.4

|Sep rain days = 16.8

|Oct rain days = 18.7

|Nov rain days = 17.2

|Dec rain days = 10.1

|year rain days = 150.2

|unit snow days = 0.2 cm

|Jan snow days = 17.4

|Feb snow days = 12.6

|Mar snow days = 10.4

|Apr snow days = 3.2

|May snow days = 0.39

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.18

|Nov snow days = 4.8

|Dec snow days = 14.7

|year snow days = 63.6

|source 1 = Environment Canada (rain, snow 1981–2010){{cite web

| publisher = Environment Canada

| url = http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?stnID=6322&lang=e&province=NS&provSubmit=go&dCode=0

| title = Chéticamp, Nova Scotia

| work = Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010

| accessdate = 12 April 2015}}{{cite web

| publisher = Environment Canada

| url = http://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_stations_e.html?searchType=stnName&timeframe=1&txtStationName=cheticamp+cs&searchMethod=contains&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2016&Year=2016&Month=7&Day=4&selRowPerPage=25

| title = Cheticamp CS

| work = Canadian Climate Data

| accessdate = 8 April 2016}}{{cite web

| publisher = Environment Canada

| url = http://climate.weather.gc.ca/historical_data/search_historic_data_stations_e.html?searchType=stnName&timeframe=1&txtStationName=cheticamp&searchMethod=contains&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=1944&Year=2016&Month=7&Day=4&selRowPerPage=25

| title = Cheticamp

| work = Canadian Climate Data

| accessdate = 8 April 2016}}{{cite web

| publisher = Environment Canada

| url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1991_2020_e.html?searchType=stnName_1991&txtStationName_1991=cheticamp&searchMethod=contains&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=31000000&dispBack=1

| title = Normals

| work = Canadian Climate Normals

| accessdate = 13 December 2024}}

|date=28 April 2017

}}

Apart from an important gypsum mine which operated off and on until the Second World War, the main industry in Chéticamp historically has been fishing. As ground fish quotas have declined, tourism has taken on more importance and is one of the two largest industries at this time along with the shellfish fisheries, lobster and crab.

The tourism industry is based on culture and the scenery found in the coastal village at the entrance of Cape Breton's national park. Chéticamp has also marketed its traditional rug hookers ("tapis hookers"), Acadian music and food. Activities for visitors include whale watching, hiking, swimming, cross country skiing, golfing, snowmobiling, cultural events and festivals and photography. They also host an International Dance Festival,[http://www.festivallescaouette.com/ Festival de l'Escaouette] and La fête nationale de l'Acadie (August 15).

The local beach named St. Peter's Beach [http://plagestpierrebeachandcampground.com/ La Plage St. Pierre] gives the locals as well as tourists a place for swimming, camping, and other recreational activities. There are a great deal of accommodations for visitors and hospitality is a trademark.

The Northern Inverness Recreational Association also manages the local golf course, Le Portage,[http://www.leportagegolfclub.com/ Le Portage Golf Course] which is considered part of "Cape Breton's Fabulous Foursome"[http://www.golfcapebreton.com/ Cape Breton's Fabulous Foursome] and is renowned for the beautiful views and challenging course.

Chéticamp extends itself for four kilometres along the Cabot Trail. One kilometre northeast is Petit Étang, then further east is La Prairie. South of La Prairie is Le Platin and Belle-Marche. Even further south is Pointe-à-la-Croix (Point Cross). From Main street Chéticamp, you can view the typical Chéticamp houses. Saint Peter's is unique and rich in Acadian history.

The Université Sainte-Anne has a campus in Saint-Joseph-du-Moine.

Image:Acadian monument Chéticamp.JPG|Acadian Monument to their Return (1790)

Image:Rue principale Chéticamp.jpg|Main street in Chéticamp.

Image:Houses in Chéticamp.jpg|Houses in Chéticamp.

Image:Cheticamp-port.jpg|Fishing boats at Chéticamp.

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://www.cheticamp.ca The Official Chéticamp Website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927025923/http://ns1763.ca/inverco/chetcmpwar.html Photographs of Cheticamp war memorial]

{{Subdivisions of Nova Scotia}}

{{Acadia}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheticamp, Nova Scotia}}

Category:Communities in Inverness County, Nova Scotia

Category:Populated places in the Municipality of the County of Inverness, Nova Scotia

Category:Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia