Open from May to October, Canyon Sainte-Anne is a spectacular, steep-sided

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

, carved by the Sainte-Anne-du-Nord River, 6 km east of Beaupré,

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The river drops over a waterfall within the canyon.

Site and Visitors

The Canyon receives over 100,000 visitors per year. Three suspension foot bridges cross the canyon, including one metres above the river. Many scenic overlooks allow families to discover giant potholes and other cascades.

Rock-climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and ...

via ferrata A via ferrata (Italian language, Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other Alpine locations. The protection includes steel fixtures such as ...

(the first one installed in

), and rappelling the canyon walls are permitted with supervision. Accessible to the public since 1973, the canyon was familiar to

natives There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, painted by Kreighoff and described by American philosopher and environmentalist

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...

. It was used during the filming of Battlefield Earth in 2000.

Location

Canyon Sainte-Anne is located 25 to 30 minutes east of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, at the edge of the Beaupré Coast and

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 ...

regions. It lies on the border between the municipalities of

Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges () is a municipality in Quebec, Canada. History First explored in 1693 by Louis Soumande (1652-1706) during a hunting expedition, the first settlers came in 1728 when some families were invited to settle there at the in ...

and

Saint-Joachim Saint-Joachim (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is in the centre of the Brière marsh, and comprises a group of "islands" within the marsh. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique depar ...

. The Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica, the ski resort Mont Sainte-Anne, the

Montmorency Falls The Montmorency Falls () is a large waterfall on the Montmorency River in Quebec, Canada. Location The falls are located on the boundary between the borough of Beauport and Boischatel, about from the heart of old Quebec City. The area surro ...

and the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Reserve are in the same area.

Geology

The canyon is part 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 ...

, a fundamental rock formation of northern parts of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

, all around the

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

. It all started in the Precambrian Age (1,2 billion years ago) when hard rock formed the canyon's underlying rock. This metamorphic rock, called granitic gneiss, was formed at high pressure in the extremely hot depths of earth then rose to the surface through erosional uplift. It comprises much of Mont Ste-Anne. Later, some 450 million years ago, a sedimentary

Palaeozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of ...

sediment, a marine mud, was deposited in ancient seas on top of the gneiss, and consolidated into a rock called shale. The shale was metamorphosed into slate during the Acadian orogeny (a mountain building period 375 million years ago). Slate is a hard, resistant rock, able to withstand the erosive power of water. Much later, two successive ice ages covered

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The advance and recession of the last ice age helped sculpt the region into what we see now (the St. Lawrence Lowlands area with the St. Lawrence River, Île d'Orléans, and the Magdalene Islands, as well as all the rivers known today). The weight of the ice depressed the crust so that, when the ice retreated (melted), the Atlantic Ocean waters invaded to form the Champlain Sea (and deposit the most recent sediments of sand, gravel, and clay). The subsequent rebound of the crust and erosion produced the landscape we see today.

History

Because of its advantageous route, the Sainte-Anne-du-Nord River was widely used by loggers at the start of the 20th century. During a camping trip to the area in the summer of 1965, a former logger explained to Jean-Marie McNicoll how to reach the Sainte-Anne River falls. As there was no road to the river, Jean-Marie had to make his way through the woods but was rewarded with the discovery. He returned to his brother Laurent telling him he had discovered a similar place. Two years later, they leased the immediate shores of the river from

Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec () is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#Quebec, Crown corporation public utility headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. It manages the electricity generation, generation, electric power transmission, transmission and electricity ...

and purchased the wooded lots between Route 138 and the leased riverbanks. Slowly but surely, work began to clear a road. All was in place to welcome the first visitors on July 14, 1973.

Honours

* 2002: Canadian Winner 2002, "''Attraction Canada Awards''", category: "Natural Outdoor Site, less than 100 km²". * 2002: ''Quebec Tourism Awards'', silver medallist, category: « Tourist attraction, 100 000 visitors and more ». * 2001: Top 5, ''Elle Québec Magazine'', listed as one of the five most interesting natural site, near of an urban agglomeration, July 2001. * 2000: ''Henry David Thoreau'': 150th anniversary of his passage, American philosopher and naturalist. * 1999: ''Quebec Tourism Awards'' for the Great Quebec City area, category: « Responsible and durable tourism ». * 1999: Shooting of exterior scenes of the movie "''Battlefield earth''" produced by John Travolta. * 1988: ''Quebec Tourism Awards'', for the Great Quebec City area, category: « Small touristic enterprise ". * 1983: Canadian Winner, ''State minister for Small business and tourism'', silver medallist, category « Exceptional contribution to touristic industry ». *

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

/ CAA Tourist guide: star Attraction in the

area. Canyon Sainte-Anne has joined a group of a dozen most impressive sites not to miss.

In the same area

Montmorency falls The Montmorency Falls () is a large waterfall on the Montmorency River in Quebec, Canada. Location The falls are located on the boundary between the borough of Beauport and Boischatel, about from the heart of old Quebec City. The area surro ...

park *

Cap Tourmente The Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area (NWA) located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the National Provincial Capital Region of Quebec, Canada, established on 28 April 1978. It is one of the critic ...

National wildlife reserve * Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Shrine and pilgrimage center * Ski station and resort

Mont Sainte-Anne Mont-Sainte-Anne is a ski resort in eastern Canada, located in the town of Beaupré, Quebec, about northeast of Quebec City. The mountain is part of the Laurentian mountain chain and has a summit elevation of above sea level with a vertical ...

References

External links

Main Official Website (en French)

Main Official Website (en English)
{{Protected Areas of Quebec Sainte-Anne Landforms of Capitale-Nationale Protected areas of Capitale-Nationale