Mont Albert () is a mountain in the Chic-Choc range in the

Gaspésie National Park Gaspésie National Park () is a provincial park located south of the town of Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Quebec, Canada in the inland of the Gaspé peninsula. The park contains the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains in Canada, Mont Jacques-Carti ...

in the

Gaspé Peninsula The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (, ; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick on it ...

of eastern

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. At , it is one of the highest mountains in southern Quebec, and is popular for hiking. Mount Albert was named in honour of

Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria. As such, he was consort of the British monarch from Wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, th ...

, husband of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, because geologist Alexander Murray made the first recorded ascent of the mountain on the Prince's birthday, 26 Aug. 1845.

Geography

The summit of Mount Albert is a plateau across called ''La Table à Moïse'', or Moses's Table. It includes two summits, Albert North () and Albert South (). Each of the summits is situated at either side of the plateau. The principal component of Mont Albert is an unusual kind of bedrock called serpentine; this originated as

oceanic crust Oceanic crust is the uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of the tectonic plates. It is composed of the upper oceanic crust, with pillow lavas and a dike complex, and the lower oceanic crust, composed of troctolite, gabbro and ultramaf ...

and was then uplifted during the formation 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 ...

about 480 million years ago. The nearly flat serpentine tableland on the mountain's summit is an

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

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 ...

, and supports a quite distinctive flora with many kinds of

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

and highly disjunct plants. 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 ...

Gallery

Mont-Albert.jpg, Plateau at the summit of Mount Albert Grande Cuve du Mont-Albert, Parc de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Grande Cuve of Mount Albert Lac situé 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 Manteau neigeux et chute dans la Grande Cuve du Mont-Albert, Parc de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Snowpack and waterfall, Grande Cuve, Mount Albert Arbustes sur le plateau au sommet du Mont-Albert, Parc de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Shrubs on the plateau at the summit of Mount Albert Flore sur le Mont-Albert, Parc de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Flora on Mount Albert Flore retrouvée dans la Grande Cuve du Mont-Albert, Parc de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Flora, Grande Cuve, Mount Albert Plante retrouvée dans la Grande Cuve du Mont-Albert, Parc de la Gaspésie, Québec, Canada.jpg, Flora, Grande Cuve, Mount Albert

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Landforms of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine One-thousanders of Quebec Tourist attractions in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine