One of the largest papermaking machines in the world (shown above) is located in the town of La Tuque, in Quebec's picturesque St. Maurice Valley. The Valley, with its seven paper-producing mills, is today the world's largest newsprint area. The bustling city of Trois RiviËres, Quebec, halfway between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic, is the metropolis of Canada's largest export product and is known as the newsprint capital of the world. It turns out nearly one hundred and twenty-five tons of paper per hour, twenty-four hours a day. Situated on the busy St. Lawrence Seaway, it serves both the United States and the European market through its port, which is now kept open most of the year. The Valley produces 15% more newsprint in a year than all the mills in Great Britain; its output is equal to roughly half of the entire United States production and represents one-sixth of Canada's total newsprint production. The St. Maurice River, which forms a small delta as it empties into the St. Lawrence at Trois RiviËres, flows through an area rich in water and hydro-electric resources and the right kind of trees for the paper industry --balsam and spruce. Its sixteen thousand square miles of wooded wealth yield close to two million cords of pulpwood a year. To operate their mills and keep the supply of pulpwood coming in, the paper companies in the Valley maintain a permanent staff of about seven thousand in seven mills, who share a payroll of some $50 million with approximately eight thousand seasonal employees. Recognizing its importance as a paper producing centre, Quebec's provincial government has established an Institute of Paper-making in Trois RiviËres -- one of the largest and most modern in the world. Its intricate machinery can duplicate any pulp and paper mill operation. Demand for graduates from the Institute frequently outruns the supply. With essential electrical power available close to each mill, rich woodlands, and increasing world demand for paper, the future of the St. Maurice Valley -- the world's largest papermaking area -- looks bright.