Gatineau, city, Canada

Gatineau gătˈĭnō [key], city, SW Que., Canada, at the junction of the Gatineau and Ottawa rivers and across the Ottawa from Ottawa, Ont. The fourth largest city in Quebec, it was created through the merger of five municipalities in 2002, including Gatineau, the most populous of the five, and Hull, the oldest. The former city of Gatineau had a diversified industrial base and experienced rapid growth and extensive development from the mid-1970s. The area that was the city of Hull, which was incoporated in 1875, forms the central district of the amalgamated city and includes a hydroelectric power station as well as paper, pulp, textile, steel, and lumber mills, iron foundries, and cement and meatpacking plants. Hull also is a center for service industries and federal government offices, and is the site of the Canadian Museum of History and a large casino. Gatineau Park, a large recreation area, in partly in the city.

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