the Rimouskois deputy and writer Joseph-Charles Taché, which used the term to describe "the two shores of the Bas-Saint-Laurent except the Gaspé district". The authors, however, write that Taché preferred most of the time to use more precise and well-known references, like the counties of Montmorency and Rimouski. Even if the name of the region was present on a map made in 1863 by Stanislas Drapeau, it took time to settle in; the expression "le Bas du Fleuve" being preferred. With the settlement of Témiscouata and la Matapédia, the name start imposing itself between 1920 and 1960, when a number of enterprises and organisms of the region delimitated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rimouski and Rivière-du-Loup, like the Compagnie de transport du Bas St-Laurent and the Compagnie de Pouvoir du Bas-Saint-Laurent or the newspaper l'Écho du Bas St-Laurent adopt it. After being eclipsed for two decades when the State tried to erase regional differences by putting in place shared administrative structures east of the Quebec, the start of the 1980s sees this policy change, as the great region Bas-Saint-Laurent-Gaspésie is split into two different territories, being more accurate for the distinctive cultural traditions of these regions. The evolution of the toponymy of the region takes root in the different steps of its development, with at first the initial settlement by First Nations, followed by a progressive settlement by French-speaking colonists starting in the 18th century, but mostly in the 19th, a small Scottish presence starting in the 1800s, with activities centred on agriculture and the exploitation of its waters and forests. The last phase of this evolution took place when some inland communities started to decline and its centres of activity were reinforced. Geography Situation and political divisions The Bas-Saint-Laurent is a region in the East of Quebec, delimited to the north by the Saint Lawrence River, to the south by New-Brunswick and Maine, to the east by the Gaspé Peninsula and to the west by Côte-du-Sud. It extends over an area of , with of land area, which represents a bit less than 2% of the total area of Quebec, however, this area also represents 10% of the inhabited area of Quebec, or about half the land area of Switzerland. The region is divided into eight Regional county municipalities (RCM), which contain 130 municipalities. Bas Saint-Laurent contained 200,462 inhabitants in 2011, of which 55,400 were in its most