city, Outaouais region, southwestern Quebec province, Canada. It is situated on the north bank of the Ottawa River, opposite Ottawa, straddling the mouth of the Gatineau River. The city derives its name from the river, which itself was named for Nicolas Gatineau, a fur trader who reportedly drowned in its waters about 1683. Gatineau was originally a part of Templeton West but was separately incorporated as a village in 1933 and became a town in 1946 and a city in 1975. In 2002 Gatineau amalgamated with the nearby cities of Aylmer, Hull, Masson-Angers, and Buckingham, greatly expanding both its area and population.