The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (, ; ), is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

along the south shore of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

that extends from the Matapedia Valley in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is separated from

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

on its southern side by

Chaleur Bay frame, Satellite image of Chaleur Bay (NASA). Chaleur Bay is the large bay in the centre of the image; the Gulf_of_St._Lawrence.html" ;"title="Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and the Gulf of St. Lawrence">Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and t ...

and the

Restigouche River The Restigouche River (, ) is a river that flows across the northwestern part of the province of New Brunswick and the southeastern part of Quebec. The river flows in a northeasterly direction from its source in the Appalachian Mountains of nort ...

. The name ''Gaspé'' comes from the Mi'kmaq word , meaning "end", referring to the end of the land. The Gaspé Peninsula is slightly larger than Belgium, at . The population is 140,599 as of the 2011 census.The population of the Gaspe Peninsula is determined by adding the population of two federal electoral districts, Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia and Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, while subtracting that of the

Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (, ) are a Canadian archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Since 2005, the 12-island archipelago is divided into two municipalities: the majority-francophone Municipality of Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the majority-angloph ...

. It is also noted as the only region outside the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

to contain native speakers of Jersey Norman.

Geography

Sea cliff A cliffed coast, also called an abrasion coast, is a form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous. It contrasts with a flat or alluvial coast. Formation In coastal areas in whic ...

s dominate the peninsula's northern shore along the St. Lawrence River. Cap Gaspé, jutting into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is the easternmost point of the peninsula. Percé Rock (or ''Rocher Percé''), an island pierced by a

natural arch A natural arch, natural bridge, or (less commonly) rock arch is a natural landform where an arch has formed with an opening underneath. Natural arches commonly form where inland cliffs, Cliffed coast, coastal cliffs, Fin (geology), fins or Stack ...

, is just offshore of the peninsula's eastern end. The peninsula's interior is a rugged northward continuation of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

called the Chic-Chocs, with

Mount Jacques-Cartier Mount Jacques-Cartier (, ) is a mountain in the Chic-Choc Mountains range in eastern Quebec, Canada. At , it is the tallest mountain in southern Quebec, and the highest mountain in the Canadian Appalachians. The mountain is named after Jacques Ca ...

at the peninsula's highest peak. Mount Albert (Mont Albert) at is another high mountain in the Chic-Chocs. Its summit, an alpine area above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

, is a nearly flat plateau about across composed of serpentine bedrock and supporting quite unusual flora. The ascent of Mount Albert from near sea level is challenging, but popular with hikers, offering a view of the St. Lawrence and the

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada. The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...

, the river's north shore, part of the ancient bedrock of the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield ( ), also called the Laurentian Shield or the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), th ...

Inland

The interior portions of the peninsula are dominated by the

Chic-Choc Mountains The Chic-Choc Mountains, also spelled Shick Shocks, form a mountain range in the central region of the Gaspé Peninsula, Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec, Canada. It is a part of the Notre Dame Mountains, which are a List of subranges of the Appalachian ...

, part of the

Notre Dame Mountains The Notre Dame Mountains are a portion of the Appalachian Mountains, extending from the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec to the Green Mountains (Vermont), Green Mountains of Vermont. The range runs from northeast to southwest, forming the southern ed ...

, an extension of the

. The town of Murdochville, at about above sea level, has had a varied history, and is now home to several

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

s. It is reached by Route 198, which extends inland from the northern shore of the peninsula, soon climbing into the mountains and entering vast forests, crossing several small rivers before reaching the town. From Murdochville, Route 198 follows the York River to the city of Gaspé on the peninsula's eastern tip. File:Mont Albert.jpg, Mont Albert, in the Chic-Choc Mountains of the Gaspé Peninsula File:Rocks of Gaspé - circa 1900 - Project Gutenberg etext 20110.jpg, Rocher Percé, 1900

Economy

The peninsula's economy has historically been focused on fishing, agriculture and forestry. But primary resource-based industries are suffering due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...

, and fewer numbers of farmers in business, forcing the region to move towards

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and the services industry.

Tourism

The peninsula is one of Quebec's most popular tourism regions. The Gaspé National Park (Parc national de la Gaspésie) is in the Chic-Chocs, and Forillon National Park is at the peninsula's northeastern tip. A section of the

International Appalachian Trail The International Appalachian Trail (IAT; , SIA) was originally a hiking trail which ran from Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, in Maine, through New Brunswick, to the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, after which it followed a ferry route ...

travels through the peninsula's mountains. Bonaventure National Park is here. As of September 2018 the area also hosts Canada's third

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Global Geopark.

Infrastructure

Roads

Quebec Route 132 Route 132 is the longest highway in Quebec. It follows the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River from the border with the state of New York (state), New York in the hamlet of Dundee, Quebec, Dundee (connecting with New York State Route 3 ...

circles the peninsula, with one branch following the coast and the other cutting across it at Sainte-Flavie.

References

External links

Municipalities and cities of Gaspé region

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaspe Peninsula Canada geography articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Peninsulas of Quebec