Geography of Montreal

The city is geographically constrained, with the majority on the Island of Montreal in the Hochelaga Archipelago, and has several prominent features, including the eponymous Mount Royal.

The port of Montreal lies at one end of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which is the river gateway that stretches from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean.

The city is named after the most prominent geographical feature on the island, a three-head hill called Mount Royal.

Covering over 95% of Quebec, the Canadian Shield contains some of the oldest igneous rocks in the world, dating back to the Precambrian period, over 1 billion years ago.

The Canadian Shield is generally quite flat and exposed, punctuated by the higher relief of mountain ranges such as the Laurentians in southern Quebec.

The St. Lawrence lowlands are comparatively tiny in size (about 17,280 km2 (6,670 sq mi)) but disproportionately important in that they contain most of the human population of Quebec.

Further folk naming customs include giving directions involving going "up" or "down" streets that are perpendicular to the river; "up" being towards Mount Royal and "down" being towards the St. Lawrence.

Street numbers rise eastward and westward from Saint Laurent Boulevard, and northward from the St. Lawrence River and the Lachine Canal.

(Rue Charlevoix, in Le Sud-Ouest borough, is the only remaining named "north-south" street with large numbers of addresses on both sides of the Lachine Canal.

[8][9] August 9, 2024 was the rainiest day in Montreal's history, with 145 mm (5.7 in) of rain falling on the downtown core as Hurricane Debby swept over the city.

[11] Montreal and the southern Quebec region receive slightly over 2,050 hours of sunshine annually, with summer being the sunniest season.