Baie des Ha! Ha! (Côte-Nord)

Baie des Ha! Ha!
Baie des Ha! Ha!
Location	Gros-Mécatina, Quebec, Canada
Coordinates	50°59′15″N 58°56′15″W / 50.9875°N 58.9375°W / 50.9875; -58.9375
Type	Bay

The Baie des Ha! Ha! (English: Ha! Ha! Bay) is located in the municipality of Gros-Mécatina, in the Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality, on the north shore of Gulf of Saint Lawrence, in the administrative region of Côte-Nord in eastern Quebec, Canada.^[1]

The Baie des Ha! Ha! is located on the north side of the village of La Tabatière and Baie-Rouge.

The entrance to the Baie des Ha! Ha! is bordered by the Red, Saint-Esprit, Ronde, Fecteau (largest) and Robertson Islets. Inside the bay, the main islands are: Jacobs and Woody. The Baie des Ha! Ha! is interconnected in its periphery with secondary and point bays (clockwise from the mouth of the bay): Fish Harbor, Pointe Seal, Terre Bay, Cap High, Anse Bastien, Anse Guillemette, Pointe du Sorcier, Pointe de la Rivière, Véco River, Baie Shoal, Baie Betty and Pointe Juniper (northeast shore).^[2]

The "Baie des Ha! Ha!" is mainly supplied by the Véco River which drains the waters of Robertson Lake, Charles Lake, and Blais Lake.^[2] The place called "Half Way Cabin" is located at the bottom of a bay facing Woody Island.

The term Ha! Ha! does not come under the trivial onomatopoeia, but probably from an alteration of a Montagnais toponym almost unpronounceable in French which means in Algonquin place where bark is exchanged. Other linguists think of a possible derivation of the term French haha meaning "unexpected obstacle on a path".^[3]

The "Baie des Ha! Ha!" gave its name to the village of Baie-des-Ha! Ha! Which is now part of the municipality of Gros-Mécatina.^[4]

The term "Baie des Ha! Ha!" was formalized on December 5, 1968 at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.^[5]

• Baie des Ha! Ha! (Saguenay River), bay of the Saguenay River in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region

• Commission de toponymie du Québec