Champlain beach in Baie Comeau, Quebec

Baie-Comeau is located on the shores of the St. Lawrence River and of the Manicouagan River, which is home to several hydroelectric dams. The most important Manicouagan hydroelectric dam is Manic 5 located about 230 kilometers north of Baie-Comeau. Those dams are owned by Hydro-Québec and they create the Manicouagan Reservoir. The town was named after Napoléon-Alexandre Comeau, a local naturalist and was founded in 1936 by Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The region is a major center of lumbering for the pulp and paper industry, owned by Abitibi Consolidated, as of October 2006. Alongside hydro-electricity and the paper industry, an aluminum plant has fed the employment for decades. In June 1982, Baie-Comeau was merged with the small town of Hauterive located about 6 kilometers west of Baie-Comeau. The eastern sector of Baie-Comeau is now known as Marquette, while the western sector of Baie-Comeau is entitled Mingan. They are separated by the 4km long boulevard Pierre-Ouellet.