Rigaud is located at the northwestern part of the
Suroît region, on the south shore of
Lake of Two Mountains, a widening of the
Ottawa River, leading north towards the
Laurentians region. It extends along the
Rigaud River back from Ottawa, and several hamlets are built for certain
riparian areas of the lake, others as old industrial centers in the plains, or more recently, rural residential developments. The western limit of the municipality constitutes the interprovincial border with the
United Counties of Prescott and Russell, in Ontario.
Dairy and
cattle farms dominate the western part of the territory, while the
equine farms propagate in the east and north, and that several
sugar bushes are exploited on the mountain. In addition to this agricultural activity, there are
sand pits, as well as resort and leisure areas, and particularly
winter and hiking sports and
camping, as well as commercial and service areas serving both the surrounding population and traffic. transit . The population of Rigaud is around 7,854 inhabitants, as per the 2021 Census. Rigaud remains a regional community, unlike neighboring cities to the east, which have been integrated into the
Montreal Metropolitan Area. Neighbouring municipalities are
Hudson,
Vaudreuil-Dorion,
Sainte-Marthe,
Très-Saint-Rédempteur,
East Hawkesbury, and
Pointe-Fortune. The municipality located across Ottawa River is
Saint-André-d'Argenteuil. The geographic location of Rigaud, at the head of the Ottawa River and between the Montreal and Ottawa metropolitan areas, has contributed largely to its economic development throughout its history. The municipality covers a total area of , of which are terrestrial. The relief is composed, on the North side, of the Ottawa River plain, which is part of the
St. Lawrence Lowlands and, on the South side, of the Rigaud Mountain. The plain is partly agricultural, partly wooded and partly urbanized. It has three subspaces:
wetlands and lowlands, which are prone to flooding as they are located along the Ottawa River; the indentations and
embankments of the Rigaud and
Raquette rivers; and, the flat
terrace, which makes up most of the territory. The soils of the plain consist of
alluvial deposits, and Pointe à la Raquette is particularly alluvial and muddy. Lake of Two Mountains and the Rigaud mountain dominate the landscape. The Rigaud mountain covers , and is divided into three physiographic units: the
escarpment to the north-west; the central plateau modulated by local peaks; and the lower slopes to the east and north. The forest mainly composed of rocky surface and
loam, and approximately a third of its area is rocky and rugged . This bottom moraine consists of pieces of rock that a glacier has torn from its bed, the bedrock of the
Canadian Shield, chunks it shrunk and rounded as it rolled over them, carrying them and dropping them in this bowl, a few thousand years ago, at the end of the
Wisconsin Ice Age.
8,500 years ago, when the
lowlands of the St.Lawrence rose directly to the
Champlain Sea, the Rigaud stadium was characterized by the powerful rivers which drained water from the present-day
Great Lakes, transporting immense quantities of sand, thus forming the terraces of Rigaud and the plateau of Saint-Lazare. The
lithology of Rigaud is characterized by three zones: • a
Cambrian substrate composed of
sandstone,
conglomerate,
limestone and
dolomite in the waterfront area from Rigaud to Vaudreuil; • dolomite and sandstone area of
Ordovicien, less than the circumference of the Rigaud River; • and the
granite of the
Proterozoic on Rigaud mountain. The Rigaud Mountain is home to one of the only two
ancient forests of Suroît. The forest is generally intermediate there, with mature areas on the northern flank. Areas of young forest also line the shore of the Ottawa River. The forest stand is characteristic of the
bioclimatic domain of the maple
hickory stand. The hill is populated mainly with
maple and
beech groves. The
exceptional forest ecosystems foster an extensive catalogue, of which a
hemlock grove/red spruce forest, a
red oak grove, a moist
cedar forest with
fir, a maple hickory and a maple
linden forest on Rigaud mountain, as well as a
silver maple with red ash, a
maple hickory, and a group of
oval hickory around the edges of
Brazeau and Quesnel bays. The Rigaud Mountain is home to about 250
white-tailed deer, as well as to the
spotted salamander. It is also home to 250 species of birds, including the
great woodpecker, the
wild turkey, the
ruffed grouse, as well as to
owls. A large number of aquatic and migratory birds also live in wetlands, particularly on the shores of the Brazeau and Rigaud bays, as well as at Pointe à la Raquette.
Land use The plain offers favorable conditions for agriculture, infrastructure and urban development. Rigaud Mountain, because of its slope and the poor quality of its soil, has kept its forest cover, although it has had extensive residential and recreational development. The cadastre and the arterial road network of Rigaud are structured around nine original concessions of the seigneury of Rigaud. Several
hamlets and built-up areas dot the countryside: • La Baie, on the edge of Rigaud Bay to the west of the village; • Rigaud-sur-le-Lac (Bas-de-la-Rivière), on the Ottawa River at the mouth of the Rigaud River, consists of old chalets, many of which have been transformed into residences, and is experiencing recent residential development; • Dragon (Grande Ligne), near Pointe à la Raquette on the edge of the railroad, was developed during the First World War. The toponym of the hamlet comes from the golden dragon represented on the logo of the company
Northern Explosive which was established there; • (Anse-à-la-Raquette), old and rural, is located on the edge of Anse near Hudson; • Petit-Brûlé — Haut-de-la-Chute is a rural country sector bordering the Rigaud and Rigaud Est rivers. The soil in this area is subject to landslides; • Mountain Ranches, made up of recent rural residential pockets on the north side of the Rigaud mountain, accessible by de la Mairie road; • Saint-Georges, on the Rigaud mountain plateau. == Demographics ==