Блан-Саблон тарихы және географиясы

During the 16th and 17th centuries, Basque and Portuguese fishermen seasonally frequented the area. In 1704, Augustin le Gardeur de Courtemanche, landlord of the lower Côte Nord at that time, built Fort Pontchartrain at the current location of Brador. Permanent settlement did not begin until the 19th century with the arrival of French Canadians, Acadians, and Jersey settlers. In 1858, the Mission of Longue Pointe de Blanc Sablon was established and took the name Lourdes de Blanc Sablon or Notre Dame de Lourdes at the end of 19th century. In 1884, the post office opened. The area was first incorporated in 1963 as part of the Municipality of Côte Nord du Golfe du Saint Laurent, but separated on January 1, 1990, and became the Municipality of Blanc Sablon.

Blanc Sablon is located on the north coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence near the entrance of the Strait of Belle Isle. Two significant bays, Brador and Blanc Sablon, mark its shores and the headland that separates these bays is dominated by Mont Parent, a high flat topped hill named after Martin Parent, a local fisherman in the middle of the 19th century. The municipality borders Côte Nord du Golfe du Saint Laurent to the south west, and L'Anse au Clair, Labrador, to the north east. The estuary of the Brador River and Blanc Sablon River has a lagoon designated barachois, separated from the sea by sand or gravel. Seawater enters at high tide. The Blanc Sablon archipelago is located off the coasts of the villages of Blanc Sablon and Brador and includes Long Island, Lazy Island, Basin Island, Island of the Parrots, Wood Island and Greenly, housing the Bird Sanctuary of Brador Bay. The municipality of Blanc Sablon has several land protrusions into the Gulf of St. Lawrence; from east to west, they are Point Saint Charles, Morel's Point, Lazy Point, Hunting Point, "À la Barque" Point, Cape Crow and Point Jones.

Blanc Sablon is located in the Atlantic Time Zone (Atlantic Standard Time or AST). The offset of the applicable time relative to UTC is 04:00 In accordance with the applicable time and longitude, the average solar noon in Blanc Sablon occurs at 11:48. Blanc Sablon is the only village where local time coincides with zone time.

Blanc Sablon experiences a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc). It has short, cool summers, and very long and snowy winters: the mean snowfall is Although its latitude is only 51 degrees north, and its climate is tempered by the Atlantic Ocean, it experiences a much colder climate than other localities at the same latitude due to the cold Labrador Current. For example, London, England, on the same latitude, has an annual mean that is nearly milder, and inland Calgary, despite being around above sea level, is still almost warmer despite recording extreme minima about colder.

The municipality includes three villages: Blanc Sablon, Lourdes de Blanc Sablon, and Brador Bay.

Blanc Sablon is located about one kilometre east of Lourdes de Blanc Sablon directly on the Blanc Sablon Bay. It had a population of 116 in 2016. The wharf and the ferry to St. Barbe, Newfoundland and Labrador are located in the town.

Lourdes de Blanc Sablon is the largest community in the municipality, and is located on the headland that separates Brador Bay from Blanc Sablon Bay. It was originally known as Longue Pointe (Long Point) until the beginning of the 20th century. It has a small natural harbour, and long depended on the fishing business.

Brador or Brador Bay is on the eastern shore of the namesake bay, north of the village of Lourdes de Blanc Sablon. While known in the 18th century as Fort Pontchartrain and Phélipeaux Bay, its current name is the shortened form of Labrador. In French, the syllable la is a definite article, and in documents from the 17th and 18th century, this syllable was considered as such and separated from the rest of the name. François Martel de Brouague, the King's Commander of this region from 1714 to 1760, referred to this location as: "A la Baye de Phélipeaux, coste de la Brador" ("At the Bay of Phélipeaux, coast of the Brador").

At present, Blanc Sablon is inaccessible directly via the rest of the Quebec road network. From the west, Route 138 has been built to the village of Kegashka; then following a gap, a segment restarts at the village of Old Fort and continues to Blanc Sablon, ending at the border with Labrador near L'Anse au Clair where it becomes the Trans Labrador Highway (Route 510). To travel to the rest of Quebec from Blanc Sablon, a traveller can take the Relais Nordik ferry (not drive on/off, but can accommodate cars in shipping containers), or drive via Route 510 through Labrador for approximately to re enter Quebec at the town of Fermont; then of Route 389 from Fermont to Baie Comeau, passing to the east of Manicouagan Reservoir. From there Route 138 leads west to points further on like Quebec City or Montreal. This trip by the north (between Baie Comeau and Blanc Sablon) is Once Route 138 is eventually completed, the road distance between Baie Comeau and Blanc Sablon is estimated to be between to ; thereby reducing the distance about 38%. The Quebec government annually plans, invests and works towards connecting Quebec with Labrador via Blanc Sablon with the completion of Route 138.

The Lourdes de Blanc Sablon Airport provides scheduled air service to Blanc Sablon.