The Uapishka Biodiversity Reserve (french: Réserve de biodiversité Uapishka) is a protected area in 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 ...

region of Quebec. It is one of five biodiversity reserves in the province. It is to the east of the

Manicouagan Reservoir Manicouagan Reservoir (also Lake Manicouagan) is an annular lake in central Quebec, Canada, covering an area of . The lake island in its centre is known as René-Levasseur Island, and its highest point is Mount Babel. The structure was created ...

and includes a large part of the Monts Groulx. It is also part of the central area of the

Manicouagan Uapishka Biosphere Reserve The Manicouagan Uapishka Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in Canada.. The area was designated as such by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2007. The landscape of the Manicouagan – Uapishka ...

Name

The name ''Uapishka'' comes from the

Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...

name for the Groulx Mountains and means "always snowy rocky peaks" or "several white mountains".

Geography

The Uapishka Biodiversity Reserve is located north of

Baie-Comeau Baie-Comeau (; 2021 city population 20,687; CA population 26,643) is a city located approximately north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River nea ...

. It is accessible by

Quebec Route 389 Quebec's Route 389 connects Route 138 adjacent to Baie-Comeau with the Newfoundland and Labrador border, connecting with the Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador provincial route 500) to Wabush and Labrador City, and beyond to Goose ...

from Baie-Comeau and

Fermont Fermont () is a town in northeastern Quebec, Canada, near the Quebec-Labrador border about from Labrador City on Route 389, which connects to the Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 500). It is the seat of the Regional Cou ...

. The reserve covers the western part of the Monts Groulx massif. It shares a boundary with the proposed Monts-Groulx biodiversity reserve, which has been excluded from the creation of the reserve in order to give it the status of

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 ...

, a superior protection status. The reserve is located in the unorganized territories of Rivière-Mouchalagane, Rivière-aux-Outardes and Lac-Walker, which are respectively in the

Caniapiscau Caniapiscau () is a vast unorganized territory in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada, part of Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality. The territory is home to the huge Caniapiscau Reservoir, the largest body of water in Quebec. The res ...

, Manicouagan and Sept-Rivières regional county municipalities. The Groulx Mountains form a tabular massif consisting of a long high plateau with several slightly convex peaks exceeding elevation. The elevation varies from on the shores of the

to at the top of Mount Veyrier. The Monts Groulx massif is the third largest massif in Quebec by size and the sixth highest. The Groulx Mountains are part of the

Grenville Province The Grenville Province is a tectonically complex region, in Eastern Canada, that contains many different aged accreted terranes from various origins. It exists southeast of the Grenville Front and extends from Labrador southwestern to Lake Huron. ...

, a geological division of the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called 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), the anc ...

. They are composed of

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

rocks that have been deformed during the

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

and Grenville orogenies. The massif is composed mostly of

gabbro Gabbro () is a phaneritic (coarse-grained), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is che ...

norite Norite is a mafic intrusive igneous rock composed largely of the calcium-rich plagioclase labradorite, orthopyroxene, and olivine. The name ''norite'' is derived from ''Norge'', the Norwegian name for Norway. Norite also known as orthopyroxen ...

, a

mafic A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...

rock rich in magnesium and iron. The northern part of the massif is mostly composed of

anorthosite Anorthosite () is a phaneritic, intrusive igneous rock characterized by its composition: mostly plagioclase feldspar (90–100%), with a minimal mafic component (0–10%). Pyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite, and olivine are the mafic minerals most c ...

and the east of

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

and

paragneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

. The rock is visible in outcrops at the top, while the slopes are covered with

glacial till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

deposits up to a few meters thick. The valley bottoms are composed of

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

deposits laid down by rivers and sandy deposits from glaciers that are often covered with

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

. The reserve is located entirely in the basin of the

Manicouagan River The Manicouagan or Manicuagan River, often clipped to Manic, is a river in Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. The river originates in the Manicouagan Reservoir and flows approximately south, emptying into the Saint Lawrence River near Baie-Com ...

. It serves as a source for the Toulnustouc, Hart Jaune and Manicouagan rivers. The internal hydrographic network of the reserve is composed of about twenty small lakes and head streams.

Environment

The flora of the reserve varies according to elevation. Lower down the vegetation is mostly

black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labra ...

(''Picea mariana'') and

balsam fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

(''Abies balsamea''), mixed with

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii'', native to the Ro ...

(''Picea glauca'') at about ,

white birch ''Betula papyrifera'' (paper birch, also known as (American) white birch and canoe birch) is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper like ...

(''Betula papyrifera'') and trembling aspen (''Populus tremuloides''). Above the white spruce becomes more common and deciduous trees disappear. Above the forest becomes more sparse with

krummholz ''Krummholz'' (german: krumm, "crooked, bent, twisted" and ''Holz'', "wood") — also called ''knieholz'' ("knee timber") — is a type of stunted, deformed vegetation encountered in the subarctic and subalpine Montane ecosystems are fou ...

stands of spruce and fir in the most exposed areas. The tree line is around , above which is alpine heath. Four species at risk are located in the reserve: alpine lady-fern (''Athyrium distentifolium var.americum''), orange agoseris (''Agoseris aurantiaca''), highland cudweed (''Gnaphalium norvegicum''), and clustered lady's mantle (''Alchemilla glomerulans''). There are twelve exceptional forest ecosystems on the reserve, mostly old white montane spruce forests that have never been logged or impacted by major natural disturbances. Wildlife includes several species of interest. There are six animal species on the reserve that benefit from protection status:

wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

(''Gulo gulo''),

boreal woodland caribou The boreal woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: taxonomy), also known as woodland caribou, boreal forest caribou and forest-dwelling caribou, is a North American subspecies of ...

(''Rangifer tarandus caribou''),

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

(''Aquila chrysaetos''),

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

(''Haliaeetus leucocephalus''), rock vole (''Microtus chrotorrhinus'') and

least weasel The least weasel (''Mustela nivalis''), little weasel, common weasel, or simply weasel is the smallest member of the genus '' Mustela,'' family Mustelidae and order Carnivora. It is native to Eurasia, North America and North Africa, and has bee ...

(''Mustela nivalis''). Three other species are also considered of "heritage interest", the

willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan () (''Lagopus lagopus'') is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known as the willow grouse and in Ireland and Britain, where the subspecies '' L. l. scotica'' was prev ...

(''Lagopus lagopus''),

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

(''Pandion haliaetus'') and

rough-legged buzzard The rough-legged buzzard or rough-legged hawk (''Buteo lagopus'') is a medium-large bird of prey. It is found in Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Russia during the breeding season and migrates south for the winter. It ...

(''Buteo lagopus'').

People

The reserve is crossed by six traplines for the use of the

Pessamit Pessamit (formerly Betsiamites, or Bersimis), is a First Nations reserve and Innu community in the Canadian province of Quebec, located about southwest from Baie-Comeau along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the mouth of the Betsiam ...

and

Uashat-Maliotenam Innu Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam is an Innu First Nations band government in Quebec, Canada. It is based in Sept-Îles in the Côte-Nord region on the North shore of the Saint Lawrence River. It owns two reserves: Maliotenam 27A and Uasha ...

. Obtaining reserve status has not changed their traditional rights and practices. Three hiking trails provide access to the Monts Groulx from km 335, 365 and 350 (winter only) of Route 389. The Monts Groulx are visited annually by about 500 people who come to practice hiking,

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

ing,

telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is na ...

and

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the e ...

ding. Snowmobiling is limited to elevations below .

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uapishka Biodiversity Reserve Protected areas of Côte-Nord Protected areas established in 2009