The name "Québec", which comes from the Algonquin or Ojibwe word "kébec" meaning "where the river narrows", originally referred to the area around Quebec City where the Saint Lawrence River narrows to a cliff-lined gap. Early variations in the spelling of the name included "Québecq" (Levasseur, 1601) and "Kébec" (Lescarbot, 1609). French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the name "Québec" in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the administrative seat for the French colony of New France. The province is sometimes referred to as "La belle province" ("The beautiful province").