Québec (Quebec City) took its name from Algonquian kebec meaning "place where the river narrows". This town is located over the St. Lawrence River in place, where Frenchman Jacques Cartier came ashore over 450 years ago. As an envoy of the King of France, he had a mission to find gold and diamonds. When he saw glittering cliffs he thought his fortune was made. Cartier came back to France with his discovery, but soon he learned that the stones he found were worthless quartz.