Louis-Babel Ecological Reserve is an

ecological reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

René-Levasseur Island René-Levasseur Island is a large island in the centre of Lake Manicouagan in Quebec, Canada. Its highest peak is Mount Babel, at 952 m (3,123 feet), which is contained in the Louis-Babel Ecological Reserve. With a total area of 2,020&n ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is named after Canadian priest

Louis Babel Louis Babel (23 June 1826 – 1 March 1912) was an Oblate priest who might be considered multi-faceted in his career. He was born in Veyrier, Switzerland and received his formal training in Europe before coming to Canada in 1851. He was ordained ...

. It was established on January 30, 1991.Commission de Toponymie Québec
With an area of 23,540 hectares, which makes it - by far - the largest of the entire Quebec network, the Louis-Babel Ecological Reserve occupies Mount Babel, in the northern part of the René-Levasseur Island (Manicouagan Reservoir). It is located in unorganized territory of the Regional County Municipality of Manicouagan. This ecological reserve protects boreal, montane and alpine ecosystems in the Toulnustouc River ecological region (domain of the black spruce-fir and moss forest) and that of the Lac Marceau summits (domain of the black spruce fir forest). It also protects a site of exceptional geological interest since it is one of five Quebec sites characterized by a shock metamorphism structure. The relief of Île René-Levasseur is hilly. Its central part is surmounted by the Mount Babel, mountainous terrain and very rugged. The altitude varies from 350 to 940 meters. This island has long been of interest to geologists because of its shock metamorphism structure. Its origin is linked to the impact of a celestial body, which dates back to 210 million years ago. This meteorite impact formed a crater, the largest and most complex in Canada. Mount Babel and a strip of land averaging six kilometers in width in the center of the island are the two main areas of shock metamorphism that resulted from the rebound of the crater center. Anorthosite, quartz and feldspar constitute the principal rocks. Mount Babel is further characterized by a zeolite deposit, a semi-precious stone. This bedrock has been covered by generally thick tills.

References

External links

Official website from Government of Québec
Protected areas of Côte-Nord Nature reserves in Quebec Protected areas established in 1991 1991 establishments in Quebec {{Quebec-geo-stub