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, image = Baie de la Tour.jpg , alt = , caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from
Anticosti National Park Anticosti National Park (French (official): ''Parc National d'Anticosti'') is a provincial park of Quebec, Canada.Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg , alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry of the Gulf of St. Lawrence , caption_bathymetry = Bathymetry of the Gulf of St. Lawrence , location = , group = , coordinates = , type =
Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...
, etymology = , part_of = , inflow = , rivers = , outflow = , oceans = , catchment = , basin_countries =
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...
(
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
) , agency = , designation = , date-built = , engineer = , date-flooded = , length = , width = , area = , depth = , max-depth = , volume = , residence_time = , salinity = , shore = , elevation = , temperature_high = , temperature_low = , frozen = , islands = , islands_category = , sections = , trenches = , benches = , cities = , pushpin_map = , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = , website = , reference = The Gulf of St. Lawrence () is the outlet of the North American
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
via the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
into the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. The gulf is a semi-enclosed sea, covering an area of about and containing about of water, at an average depth of .


Geography

The Gulf of St. Lawrence is bounded on the north by the
Labrador Peninsula The Labrador Peninsula, or Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, is a large peninsula in eastern Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Bay to the west, the Hudson Strait to the north, the Labrador Sea to the east, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the sout ...
and
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, to the east by Saint-Pierre and Newfoundland, to the south by the
Nova Scotia peninsula The Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America. Location The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the neighbouring province of New Brunswick through the Is ...
and Cape Breton Island, and to the west by the Gaspé Peninsula,
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, and
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. As for significant
island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
s the Gulf of Saint Lawrence contains
Anticosti Island ; moe, Notiskuan; mic, Natigostec , sobriquet = , image_name = RiviereHuileAnticosti.jpg , image_caption = Salmon fisherman on Rivière à l'Huile , image_map ...
,
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Cape Breton Island,
Saint Pierre Island In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
, and
Miquelon-Langlade Miquelon-Langlade is the larger but less populated of the two communes (municipalities) making up the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, located to the south of Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It consists of t ...
. Half of the ten provinces of Canada adjoin the Gulf:
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
,
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
,
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
, and
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. Besides the Saint Lawrence River itself, significant streams emptying into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence include the
Miramichi River The Miramichi River is a river located in the east-central part of New Brunswick, Canada. The river drains into Miramichi Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The name may have been derived from the Montagnais words "Maissimeu Assi" (meaning Mi'km ...
,
Natashquan River The Natashquan is a river in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It flows south into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Geography The river has its source just south of the boundary between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence ...
,
Romaine River The Romaine River is a river in the Côte-Nord region of the Canadian province of Quebec. It is long. It is not to be confused with the Olomane River that is to the east and had the same name for a long time. It flows south into the Gulf of Sain ...
,
Restigouche River The Restigouche River (french: Rivière Ristigouche) 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 App ...
,
Margaree River The Margaree River (''Abhainn Mhargaraidh'') is a river on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. The northeast branch of the river derives from the watershed of the Cape Breton Highlands, while the Southwest Margaree flows northeast from Lake Ainslie. ...
, and Humber River. Branches of the Gulf include the Chaleur Bay,
Fortune Bay Fortune Bay () is a fairly large natural bay located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada.Miramichi Bay Miramichi Bay is an estuary located on the west coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick, at the mouth of the Miramichi River. Miramichi Bay is separated into the "inner bay" and the "outer bay", with the division being a line of uni ...
, St. George's Bay, Bay St. George,
Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for it ...
, and
Northumberland Strait The Northumberland Strait (French: ''détroit de Northumberland'') is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada. The strait is formed by Prince Edward Island and the gulf's eastern, southern, and western sh ...
.


Outlets

The gulf flows into the Atlantic Ocean through the following outlets: * The
Strait of Belle Isle The Strait of Belle Isle (; french: Détroit de Belle Isle ) is a waterway in eastern Canada that separates the Labrador Peninsula from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Location The strait is the northern o ...
between
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
and Newfoundland: between and wide and deep at its deepest. * The
Cabot Strait Cabot Strait (; french: détroit de Cabot, ) is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint L ...
between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island: wide and deep at its deepest. The Strait of Canso between Cape Breton Island and the
Nova Scotia peninsula The Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America. Location The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the neighbouring province of New Brunswick through the Is ...
had been an outlet wide and deep at its deepest. Due to the construction of the
Canso Causeway The Canso Causeway (''Cabhsair Chanso'' in Gaelic) is a rock-fill causeway crossing the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula. Its crest thickness is , carrying the two vehicle traffic lanes o ...
across the strait in 1955, it no longer permits exchange of water between the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean.


Extent

The limits of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence vary between sources. The
International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...
defines the limits of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence as follows:
''On the Northeast.'' A line running from
Cape Bauld Cape Bauld is a headland located at the northernmost point of Quirpon Island, an island just northeast of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Cape Bauld, slightly north and east of ...
(North point of Kirpon Island, ) to the East extreme of Belle Isle and on to the Northeast Ledge (). Thence a line joining this ledge with the East extreme of
Cape St. Charles Cape St. Charles is a headland on the coast of Labrador in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. At longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the ...
(52°13'N) in
Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...
. ''On the Southeast.'' A line from
Cape Canso Cape Canso is a headland located at the eastern extremity of the Nova Scotia peninsula in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime ...
() to Red Point () in Cape Breton Island, through this Island to Cape Breton [] and on to Pointe Blanche () in the Island of Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, St. Pierre, and thence to the Southwest point of Morgan Island (). ''On the West.'' The meridian of 64°30'W from Pointe-Jaune () to Magpie (), but the whole of
Anticosti Island ; moe, Notiskuan; mic, Natigostec , sobriquet = , image_name = RiviereHuileAnticosti.jpg , image_caption = Salmon fisherman on Rivière à l'Huile , image_map ...
is included in the Gulf.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sci ...
places the western limit at Pointe-des-Monts, approximately 138 km (85.8 mi) west of the 64°30'W meridian.


Protected areas and national parks

St. Paul Island in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
off the northeastern tip of Cape Breton Island, is known as the ''"Graveyard of the Gulf"'' because of its many shipwrecks. Access to this island is controlled by the
Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...
. In 1919 the first Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (MBS) in Canada were established under the
Migratory Birds Convention Act The Migratory Birds Convention Act (also MBCA) is a Canadian law established in 1917 and significantly updated in June 1994 which contains regulations to protect migratory birds, their eggs, and their nests from destruction by wood harvesting, hunti ...
on
Bonaventure Island Bonaventure Island (officially in French: île Bonaventure) is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence located off the southern coast of Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula, southeast of the village of Percé, Quebec, Percé. Roughly circular i ...
, on the Bird Rocks of the
Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...
, and on the
Percé Rock Percé Rock () is a huge sheer rock formation in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in Québec, Canada, off Percé Bay. Percé Rock appears from a distance like a ship under sail. It is one of the world's largest natu ...
. These
migratory bird Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting b ...
sanctuaries are administered by the
Canadian Wildlife Service The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS (french: Service canadien de la faune), is a Branch of the Department of the Environment (Environment and Climate Change Canada), a department of the Government of Canada. November 1, 2012 marked the 65th ann ...
. The
Federal Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in- ...
manages the National Parks of Canada along the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at
Forillon National Park Forillon National Park (french: Parc national de Forillon), one of 42 national parks and park reserves across Canada, is located at the outer tip of the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec and covers . Created in 1970, Forillon was the first nationa ...
on the eastern tip of the Gaspé Peninsula,
Prince Edward Island National Park Prince Edward Island National Park (french: Parc national de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard) is a National Park of Canada located in the province of Prince Edward Island. Situated along the island's north shore, fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the ...
on the northern shore of the island,
Kouchibouguac National Park Kouchibouguac National Park () is a national park located on the east coast of New Brunswick in Kouchibouguac and was established in 1969 to preserve a section of the Canadian Maritime Plain region. The park includes barrier islands, sand dun ...
on the northeastern coast of New Brunswick, Cape Breton Highlands National Park on the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of Newfoundland, and a National Park Reserve in the Mingan Archipelago on the
Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past Tadous ...
of Quebec. The five provinces bordering the Gulf of Saint Lawrence have several provincial parks with protected coasts.


Undersea features

The
Laurentian Channel The Laurentian Channel is a deep submarine valley off the coast of eastern Canada in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The channel is of glacial origin and is the submerged valley of the historic Saint Lawrence River, running from a sharp escarpment ...
is a feature of the floor of the Gulf that was formed during previous ice ages, when the Continental Shelf was eroded by the Saint Lawrence River during the periods when the sea level plunged. The Laurentian Channel is about deep and about long from the Continental Shelf to the mouth of the
Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
. Deep waters with temperatures between enter the Gulf at the continental slope and are slowly advected up the channel by estuariane circulation. Over the 20th century, the bottom waters of the end of the channel (i.e. in the Saint Lawrence estuary) have become
hypoxic Hypoxia means a lower than normal level of oxygen, and may refer to: Reduced or insufficient oxygen * Hypoxia (environmental), abnormally low oxygen content of the specific environment * Hypoxia (medical), abnormally low level of oxygen in the t ...
.


History

The gulf has provided a historically important marine fishery for various
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
that have lived on its shores for millennia and used its waters for transportation. The first documented voyage by a European in its waters was by the French explorer Jacques Cartier in the year
1534 __NOTOC__ Year 1534 ( MDXXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 15 – The Parliament of England passes the '' Act Respecting the ...
. Cartier named the shores of the
Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
"The Country of Canadas", after an indigenous word meaning "village" or "settlement", thus naming the world's second largest country. Basque whalers from
Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Red Bay. They established their base on the
Strait of Belle Isle The Strait of Belle Isle (; french: Détroit de Belle Isle ) is a waterway in eastern Canada that separates the Labrador Peninsula from the island of Newfoundland, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Location The strait is the northern o ...
and worked closely with the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. In 1579 the English government closed all English ports to Spanish oil imports. As a result, a third of Basque
whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' (" tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the head ...
could not be sold. Basque whaling collapsed in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and never recovered.


See also

*
Anticosti Island ; moe, Notiskuan; mic, Natigostec , sobriquet = , image_name = RiviereHuileAnticosti.jpg , image_caption = Salmon fisherman on Rivière à l'Huile , image_map ...
*
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
* Estuary of St. Lawrence *
Maritime Peninsula The Maritime Peninsula is a region of eastern North America that extends from the Kennebec River in the U.S. state of Maine northeast to the Maritime provinces of Canada (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia) and Quebec's Gaspé ...
* St. Lawrence Seaway


References


External links


St. Lawrence Global Observatory

The Gulf of St. Lawrence - A Unique Ecosystem
,
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sc ...

Timing and position of late Wisconsinan ice-margins on the upper slope seaward of Laurentian Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf of Saint Lawrence Canada–Saint Pierre and Miquelon border Estuaries of Canada Saint Laurent Saint Laurent