L'Anse-Au-Clair. Located just east of the Quebec border, if one is travelling from the island of Newfoundland, one must take the ferry that leaves regularly from St. Barbe on the Great Northern Peninsula and cross the Strait of Belle Isle to Blanc Sablon in the Province of Quebec and then drive northward on Rte. 510 to the border between Quebec and Labrador.

On a good day the crossing (36 km or 22.4 mi) takes approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes; on a bad day it can take more, that is if the boat even leaves the dock.

The first community one arrives at in Labrador is L'Anse-au-Clair, and as such is the southern-most community in Labrador. The town was established by French settlers as far back as the early 1700s.

The town has been recorded by a number of names, such as L'Anse Eclair, L'Anse a Clair and L'Anse St. Clare.

Local tradition seems to think that the original name of the small community was L'Anse Eau Claire, translated to mean "Clear Water Cove".

It is believed that settlers from both the south coast of England and from Newfoundland colonized L'Anse-au-Clair as soon as the border dispute with the Quebec government was settled in 1825.

The community has nice sandy beaches and a walking trail "that brings you to the Jersey Rooms, a site with foundation of buildings and stone walkways that were part of an 18th century fishing enterprise".

In 2016 there were 216 residents, up from the 2011 census that showed 192 townsfolk (an increase of 12.5%).

Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill

Address of this page: http://nl.ruralroutes.com/LAnseauClair