Gaspésie National Park (french: Parc national de la Gaspésie) is a
provincial park
Ischigualasto Provincial Park
A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...
located south of the town of
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Quebec
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts () is a city in the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of the province of Quebec in Canada.
Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, a small city between the Chic-Choc Mountains and sea, is on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence river ...
, Canada in the inland of the
Gaspé peninsula
The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick o ...
. The park contains the highest peak of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
in Canada,
Mont Jacques-Cartier
Mount Jacques-Cartier (french: Mont 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.
Located in ...
, above sea level. In addition, the park contains the only population of
Caribou
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
found south 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 ...
in Canada.
Geology
There are two major and geologically distinct mountain ranges in the park. The first one, to the west of the St-Anne's River, is the
Chic-Choc Mountain range. This range is 600 million years old and was mainly formed from underwater volcanic activity.
In contrast, the McGerrigle Mountains are much younger, only 380 million years. From the depths of the sea, magma oozed through cracks in the Earth's crust and then cooled, resulting in a large underground granite
batholith
A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, such ...
. Over time, the softer sedimentary rocks above the batholith eroded away, leaving only the resistant granite.
Mont Jacques-Cartier
Mount Jacques-Cartier (french: Mont 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.
Located in ...
is part of this range.
Climate
Owing the area's elevation and proximity to 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 climate of the park is very different from the lowlands of Quebec.
Mount Logan
Mount Logan () is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America after Denali. The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Mount ...
, at an altitude of , has an average annual temperature of . This low temperature, combined with the lower pressure at high altitude, causes moisture to condense and fall as rain or snow; in fact, these mountains are the wettest region of Quebec.
Gallery
Lac aux Américains, Parc national de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Lac aux Américains
ParcGaspesie.jpg, Mountains, winter 2008-2009
Mont Jacques-Cartier.JPG, Mount Jacques-Cartier summit
Grande Cuve du Mont-Albert, Parc de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Grande Cuve, Mount Albert
Chute Sainte-Anne - 03.jpg, Sainte-Anne waterfall
Lac sur le plateau au sommet du Mont-Albert, Parc de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Lake on the plateau at the summit of Mount Albert
See also
*
List of Quebec provincial & national parks
*
National Parks of Canada
*
List of National Parks of Canada
External links
Official site
References
National parks of Quebec
Tourist attractions in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Hiking trails in Quebec
Protected areas of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine
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