The Montagne des Érables, also known as Mont des Érables (translation: ''Maple Mountain''), is a

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

located in the Charlevoix-Est regional county municipality in the

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

region of

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. It lies in the Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park and is home to l'Acropole des Draveurs, a popular hike in the province. It is accessible via the entrances to the park, the main one being located in Saint-Aimé-des-Lacs.

Etymology

The mountain (along with many other geographic features and manmade installations in the park), whose name translates to "Maple Mountain," takes its name from the unique presence of maples juxtaposed with the tundra.

Geography

The massif contains the Acropole des Draveurs (''Raftsmen's Acropolis''), a rock face of the mountain overlooking the valley of the Malbaie River, at an elevation higher than . There are three "peaks" on the side of this wall. Besides the Acropolis, the mountain is made up of a large hilly plateau where the Pic Chevelu, Pic Maculé and Moucherolle lakes are located among others.

Geology

The mountain is mainly composed 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 a ...

charnockitic and

migmatite Migmatite is a composite rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments, commonly within Precambrian cratonic blocks. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively: one layer is an older metamorphic rock th ...

. The barren western escarpment provides a glimpse of the upper layer of the earth's crust. Although the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains (French: ''Laurentides'') are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of at Mont Raoul Blanchard, northeast of Quebec City in the Laurentid ...

chain is one of the oldest on Earth and therefore very

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

, large cracks are visible on this summit as well as on the surrounding mountains due to the pressure on the Hautes Gorges fault.

Fauna and flora

A large part of the mountain is protected by the Grands-Ormes Ecological Reserve because of a maple grove to

American elm ''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to F ...

and

black ash Black ash is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * '' Acer negundo'', native to North America * ''Fraxinus nigra'', native to North America * ''Eucalyptus sieberi ''Eucalyptus sieberi'', commonly known as the silvertop ash or bl ...

, exceptional given its northern location. Also, its treeless summit is covered with alpine tundra and

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 tree line landscapes, shaped b ...

. This is vulnerable to trampling. From 2004 to 2012, two to five

woodland caribou Woodland caribou may refer to two North American reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus'') populations: * Boreal woodland caribou The boreal woodland caribou (''Rangifer tarandus caribou''; but subject to a recent taxonomic revision. See Reindeer: taxo ...

of the Charlevoix herd occupied its summit, but since 2013, no sightings have been reported. Acropole des Draveurs 03.jpg, View of the Malbaie River from the top. Acropole des Draveurs 10.jpg, Alpine tundra covers its summit. MontagneDesErables2018-4.jpg, Acropolis of the Draveurs. MontagneDesErables2018-2.jpg, Rock wall. MontagneDesErables2018-3.jpg, One of the mountain peaks. Vue du sommet.jpg, View from the western slopes of the Acropolis des Draveurs.

History

During the Quebec City bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Acropole des Draveurs was approached to host the

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

events, because of its

prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

particularly important compared to the other peaks of the massif. However, since there is no infrastructure and the mountain is located in an exceptional natural landscape, the option is not preferred. The project has created reactions from environmental groups, the

Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality Charlevoix-Est is a regional county municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. The seat is Clermont. Subdivisions There are 9 subdivisions within the RCM: ;Cities & Towns (2) * Clermont * La Malbaie ;Municipalities (5) ...

and the Corporation of the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve. The government decided to protect the region with the creation of Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park in 2000.

Recreation

Hiking

The Acropole des Draveurs trail, near the Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park, provides access to the top of the mountain. To reach the trails to l'Acropole, hikers must take a bus from the reception. The hike is 10 km round trip with an elevation gain of approximately . Restored with stone steps at the beginning of the 2000s to increase its accessibility, it remains among the most demanding in

.Frédérique Sauvée
ca/articles/destinations/america/canada/1108-hiking-trails-the-most-difficult-in-quebec-meme-pas-mal The most difficult hiking trails in Quebec: not bad!
20 September 2016.