Chaudière

Chaudière is a French noun that primarily refers to a boiler, a device used to heat water to produce hot water or steam for space heating, domestic hot water, or industrial processes. Boilers vary in size from residential units to large industrial installations and can operate with different fuels, such as gas, oil, or biomass, and with various technologies, including combi boilers, fire-tube, and water-tube designs.

The term Chaudière derives from chaud, meaning hot, and the suffix -ière, forming a noun that denotes a device associated with heat. In historical usage the word could refer to a cauldron or container for heating, though in modern French it most commonly designates a heating boiler.

As a proper noun, Chaudière designates geographic features in Quebec, Canada. The Rivière Chaudière (Chaudière River) is a southern Quebec river that flows toward the St. Lawrence River, and the Chaudière-Appalaches administrative region located to the south of Quebec City is named after the river. The region includes numerous municipalities and is known for its agricultural and forested landscapes.

The name Chaudière also appears in other place names in Francophone regions to reflect historical or geographic associations with heat or with the river.