Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada

Sept-Îles—French for “Seven Islands”—faces the Gulf of St. Lawrence from its northern shore. The city is named for the archipelago it faces. Basque fishermen arrived here to take advantage of the gulf’s whaling and cod fishing followed in 1535 by Jacques Cartier, who called the archipelago the “Round Islands.” Fur trade began during the following century. Before that, the First Nations Innu people called this area home for centuries and still today are a major cultural influence, embracing their spiritual bond with the natural world that surrounds their city on the water.