Charlevoix ( , ) is a

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

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, ...

, on the north shore of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

as well as in the

Laurentian Mountains The Laurentian Mountains, also known as the Laurentians or Laurentides, are a mountain range in Canada. The range is long and ranges in height from with peaks over . The Laurentian Mountains extend across Labrador and Quebec within the Laurent ...

area 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 ...

. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands, and bays; the region was designated a

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

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 ...

in 1989. Administratively, it comprises 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 ...

and

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

regional county municipalities within the larger

Capitale-Nationale Capitale-Nationale (; ) is one of the 17 administrative regions of Quebec. It is anchored by the provincial capital, Quebec City, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has a land area of 18,684.78 km2. It reported ...

administrative region Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

History

The region was named after Pierre François-Xavier de Charlevoix, a French

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

explorer and historian who travelled through the area in the 18th century. The community of

La Malbaie La Malbaie () is a municipality in the Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality in the Province of Quebec, Canada, situated on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River at the mouth of the Malbaie River. It was formerly known as Murray Bay ...

was known as the first resort area in Canada. As early as 1760, Scottish noblemen Malcolm Fraser and John Nairne hosted visitors at their manors. For much of its history, Charlevoix was home to a thriving

summer colony Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

of wealthy Americans, including President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

Geography

From an administrative point of view, the "Charlevoix region" does not exist in itself, but is rather made up of the regional county municipalities of

and

. Features of note include: *

Baie-Saint-Paul Baie-Saint-Paul (; 2021 Population 7,371; UA population 4,308) is a city in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River. Baie-Saint-Paul is the seat of Charlevoix Regional County Municipality. The city i ...

, an important arts centre * Le

Domaine Forget Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix is an international music festival and a music and dance academy in Saint-Irénée, Quebec, Saint-Irénée, Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada. The domain is a operated by a non-profit organization occupying a large set ...

music festival and academy * Île aux Coudres * the Parc des Grands-Jardins * the Haute-Gorges de la Rivière Malbaie * the Manoir Richelieu and the Casino de Charlevoix * the fjord of the

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River (, ) is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. ...

* the Commission scolaire de Charlevoix * the Museum of Charlevoix

Natural history

The topography of this region was dramatically altered by a

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

impact that occurred 350 million years ago creating the

Charlevoix impact structure The Charlevoix impact structure is a large eroded meteorite impact structure in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. Only part of the impact structure is exposed at the surface, the rest lying beneath the Saint Lawrence River. Description ...

The impact created the forty-mile-wide crater that is the heart of Quebec's Charlevoix region, ranging from just west of Baie-Saint-Paul to just east of La Malbaie. Today, the area inside the crater is home to 90 percent of Charlevoix residents and is a very pastoral setting by comparison to what it could have been.

This area was subsequently reshaped by

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

during the last ice age. There have been several major

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s in the region in recorded history: *on February 5, 1663, centred south of

. See

1663 Charlevoix earthquake The 1663 Charlevoix earthquake occurred on February 5 in New France (now the Canadian province of Quebec), and was assessed to have a moment magnitude of between 7.3 and 7.9. The earthquake occurred at 5:30 p.m. local time and was estimated ...

. *on December 6, 1791, centred near

*on October 17, 1860, centred under the Saint Lawrence River *on October 20, 1870, centred near Baie-Saint-Paul. See

1870 Charlevoix earthquake The 1870 Charlevoix earthquake occurred on 20 October in the Canadian province of Quebec. It had a moment magnitude of 6.6 and a Modified Mercalli intensity rating of X (''Extreme''). The town of Baie-Saint-Paul was seriously damaged by the ev ...

*on February 28, 1925, centred under the Saint Lawrence River. See

1925 Charlevoix–Kamouraska earthquake The 1925 Charlevoix–Kamouraska earthquake struck northeastern North America on February 28, reaching 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale. It was one of the most powerful measured in Canada in the 20th century, with a maximum perceived intensity ...

Ecological characteristics

Situated some east of Quebec City, Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve borders the Saint Lawrence River to the south. Extending from to above sea level, the area comprises agricultural areas, river ecosystems,

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean.

es and flats, coniferous and mixed forests, stunted vegetation (

krummholz ''Krummholz'' (, "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 by continual e ...

) and

mountain 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 ...

ecosystems. Maple forests including paper birch (''

Betula papyrifera A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contain ...

e''), alder ('' Alnus spp.'') and elm ('' Ulmus spp.'') and with an understory of sumac (''

Rhus typhina ''Rhus typhina'', the staghorn sumac, is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Anacardiaceae, native plant, native to eastern North America. It is primarily found in southeastern Canada, the northeastern and midwestern Unit ...

''), '' Acer pensylvanicum'' and ''

Cornus alternifolia ''Cornus alternifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to southern Manitoba and Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Mississippi. It is rare in the ...

''; mixed fir ('' Abies sp.'') forest with '' Corylus cornuta'', ''

Sambucus pubens ''Sambucus racemosa'' subsp. ''pubens'', the American red elder, is a subspecies of red-berried elder ('' Sambucus racemosa'') native to North America. The inflorescence is a rounded panicle, making the plant easy to distinguish from the more co ...

'' and ''

Taxus canadensis ''Taxus canadensis'', the Canada yew or Canadian yew, is a conifer native to central and eastern North America, thriving in swampy woods, ravines, riverbanks and on lake shores. Locally called simply as "yew", this species is also referred to as ...

'';

boreal forests Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North Ame ...

up to an altitude of 300 metres with fir and spruce ( ''Picea spp.''); estuarine tidal marsh and flats dominated by '' Scirpus americanus'' meadows including ''

Zizania palustris Wild rice, also called manoomin, mnomen, psíŋ, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically and is sti ...

'', ''

Sagittaria cuneata ''Sagittaria cuneata'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the water plantain family known by the common name arumleaf arrowhead or duck potato. Like some other ''Sagittaria'' species, it may be called wapato. Description ''Sagi ...

'' and '' S. latifolia''; tundra with ericaceous zones consisting of '' Kalmia spp.'', '' Ledum groenlandicum''; stunted vegetation community (krummholz) with ''

Picea mariana ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the Pinaceae, pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 Canadian Arctic Lands, territories. It is the official tree of Newfo ...

'' and ''

Abies balsamea ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Ap ...

''; agro-ecosystems with cereals, fruits and legumes, and river ecosystems. Animal species in the area include beluga whale ('' Delphinapterus leucas''), wolf (''

Canis lupus The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

''), boreal woodland caribou ('' Rangifer tarandus caribou''),

North American cougar The North American cougar (''Puma concolor couguar'') is a cougar subspecies in North America. It is the biggest cat in North America (North American jaguars are fairly small), and the second largest cat in the New World. It was once common in e ...

(''Puma concolor couguar'') and blue whale ('' Balaenoptera musculus'').

Socio-economic characteristics

About 30,000 people live in the biosphere reserve (1988), which covers . In former times, the population of Charlevoix used to rely on the river and the sea, for example on coastal navigation, marine constructions and fisheries (e.g. beluga, eel). Today, the economic landscape has diversified and major factors in the local economy are now forestry, silica mining, agriculture and tourism. The forest education centre ‘Les Palissades’ or the ecological centre ‘Port-au-Saumon’ are important institutions for environmental education in the area.

Transportation

Quebec Route 138 Route 138 is a major highway in the Canadian province of Quebec, following the entire north shore of the St. Lawrence River past Montreal to the temporary eastern terminus in Kegashka on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The western terminus is in E ...

is the major highway through the region, which closely follows the shoreline of the

. Between

and

, the highway turns inland with Quebec Route 362 serving the riverside communities of

Les Éboulements Les Éboulements () is a municipality (Quebec), municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. Its population centres include Les Éboulements (located along Quebec Route 362, Route 362 on the plateau overlooking the Saint Lawr ...

and Saint-Irénée. The Train de Charlevoix, a tourist rail service, linked the coastal communities of Charlevoix to

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 ...

, from 2008 to 2024. Charlevoix Airport is a small regional airport serving the region.

Sources

References

External links

Official Charlevoix tourism site

Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve, Canada

UNESCO Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve Information
{{Authority control Biosphere reserves of Canada Geographic regions of Quebec