Anticosti National Park (French (official): ''Parc National d'Anticosti'') 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 ...
of
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, ...
, located in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence.
It consists of 3 non-contiguous areas totalling of land in the centre of
Anticosti Island
Anticosti () is an island located between the Jacques Cartier and Honguedo Straits, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in L'Île-d'Anticosti (Municipality), Minganie MRC, Côte-Nord, Quebec, Canada.
UNESCO's World Heritage
On September 19, 2023, ...
. Portions of the park are within Anticosti World Heritage site.
Tourism
It is organized into 6 tourist sectors and 1 central zone:
[''Parc national d'Anticosti - Park Journal 2008-2009 Edition'', Parcs Québec]
* Baie-de-la-Tour
* Chicotte
* Chute-Vauréal
* Grotte-à-la-Patate
* Observation
* Vauréal-la-Mer
* Zone centrale
History
The idea of creating a park on Anticosti Island goes far back. Already in the 1920s, the richness of Anticosti's flora was highlighted by botanist
Marie-Victorin
Brother Marie-Victorin, F.S.C. (; April 3, 1885 – July 15, 1944), was a Canadian member of Brothers of the Christian Schools and a noted botanist in Quebec, Canada.
Marie-Victorin gained worldwide fame as the author of Flore laurentien ...
, who described the canyon of the Vauréal River as a "remarkable sanctuary" for ferns. But for the following decades, the entire island was privately owned by a succession of logging companies who invested little or nothing in environmental protection.
In 1974, Anticosti Island was bought by the Government of Quebec and became public land once again. In 1987, the
Regional County Municipality of Minganie officially incorporated the idea of creating a park in the Vauréal River area in its development plan. Thereafter, it took 14 years to complete the research, studies, planning, and public hearings. The Quebec government created "Anticosti National Park" on April 26, 2001.
Despite its name, it is a provincial park, and not part of the country's national park system.
Park features
Natural attractions:
* Vauréal Canyon and Waterfall - At the Vauréal Waterfall, the Vauréal River drops and then flows through a deep gorge.
* Tour Bay (''Bay de la Tour'') - This bay on the north side of the island is noteworthy for its breathtaking seascape with huge cliffs surrounding the bay and excellent bird watching opportunities.
* Potato Cave (''Grotte à la Patate'') - This cave is one of the longest caves in Quebec. It is named after the Potato River (''Rivière à la Patate'') which gets its name from a large granite
erratic boulder
A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hund ...
shaped like a potato that is located at the river's mouth.
* Brick River Canyon
* Observation River Canyon
Activities:
* Hiking - of trails of various difficulty
* Horseback riding
* Sea kayaking
* Guided tours
Park amenities:
* 2 Visitor centres with restaurant, gasoline, and equipment rental
* Accommodation in inns, cabins, or campgrounds
* Picnic areas
UNESCO's World Heritage
On September 19, 2023, Anticosti was inscribed on
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
's World Heritage List. It is recognized for its exceptional
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
assemblage representing the first global mass extinction of animal life on Earth.
Located within protected areas
free from any industrial activity, the site is endowed with exceptionally well-preserved, abundant and diverse fossil fauna. This Anticosti fauna represents the first mass extinction of animal life on a global scale, 447 – 437 million years ago, at the end of the
Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...
period.
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...
(probably sponge), in the gravel, at the foot of the wall
File:Anticosti_fossiles_006.jpg, Fossil to be identified, in the gravel, at the foot of the wall
The Vauréal River, with its source in Lake Vauréal, flows 25 km, south then northeast, in the eastern part of the island. The salmon go up the river to the Vauréal Falls, 13 km from the coast, crossing the Vauréal canyon where the river is enclosed between two
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
walls.
References
{{Protected Areas of Quebec
National parks of Quebec
Protected areas of Côte-Nord
Anticosti Island
Protected areas established in 2001
2001 establishments in Quebec