LA TUQUE

town, MauricieBois-Francs region, southern Quebec province, Canada, situated on the Saint-Maurice River. During the French regime, the site was occupied by a trading post of the Company of New France. The original lumbering settlement of 1908 was named for a rock on the river's edge that was shaped like a tuque, the woolen headgear that was worn by early French trappers. The town's economy depends chiefly on forestry and allied industries (pulp and paper) and a large hydroelectric installation on the river. The area is noted for its hunting, fishing, and skiing. A three-day lumberjacks' canoe race from La Tuque to Trois-Rivires city (103 miles south) is held annually in late summer. Inc. town, 1911. Pop. (1991) 10,003.