The Chic-Choc Mountains, also spelled Shick Shocks, is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in the central region of the Gaspe Peninsula in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, 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 ...

, Canada. It is a part of the

Notre Dame Mountains The Notre Dame Mountains are a portion of the Appalachian Mountains, extending from the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec to the Green Mountains of Vermont. The range runs from northeast to southwest, forming the southern edge of the St. Lawrence River ...

, which is a continuation of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

History

The name ''Chic-Chocs'' comes from the

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nor ...

word ''sigsôg'', meaning "crags" or "rocky mountains." It has undergone many different spellings over time, including Chikchâks (1836), Shick-shock (1857), and Chick-Saws (1863).

Geography

The Chic-Chocs run parallel to the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

and are located some 20 to 40 kilometers inland. They are a narrow band of mountains approximately long and wide. The Chic-Chocs are heavily

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 distin ...

, with rounded, flattened tops and steep sides. Over 32 mountains in the range have peaks higher than ; the highest is

Mount Jacques-Cartier Mount Jacques-Cartier (french: Mont Jacques-Cartier) is a mountain in the Chic-Choc Mountains range in eastern Quebec, Canada. At , it is the tallest mountain in southern Quebec, and the highest mountain in the Canadian Appalachians. Located in t ...

at . Caribou can be found in the plateaus of this region.

Tourism

Although visited by just a few tourists, Chic-Choc Mountains became much more popular in the late 1990s as backcountry skiing gained popularity in Eastern Canada. Some of the most popular backcountry skiing areas in the region include Mont Hogs Back,

Mont Albert Mont Albert may refer to: * Mont Albert, Quebec, a mountain in the Gaspé Peninsula, and one of the highest mountains in southern Quebec, Canada * Mont Albert, Victoria Mont Albert is an inner eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 ...

, Champ Mars,

Mount Logan Mount Logan () is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America after Denali. The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC). Mou ...

, and Mines Madeleine. The mountains near Mont Saint Pierre are a destination for ice climbers. A network of trails, including the

International Appalachian Trail The International Appalachian Trail (IAT; french: Sentier international des Appalaches, SIA) was originally a hiking trail which ran from Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, in Maine, through New Brunswick, to the Gaspé Peninsula of ...

, passes through these mountains. Quebec's Parc national de la Gaspésie protects most of the mountain range.

Gallery

Image:ChicChocfrommountxalibu.jpg, Chic-choc from

Mont Xalibu Mount Xalibu is a mountain located in the unorganized territory of Mont-Albert, in Quebec. Culminating at above sea level, it is one of the highest peaks in the Notre Dame Mountains. It is located in Gaspésie National Park. Toponymy The mount ...

Image:chicchoc1.jpg, View from

Mont Jacques-Cartier Mount Jacques-Cartier (french: Mont Jacques-Cartier) is a mountain in the Chic-Choc Mountains range in eastern Quebec, Canada. At , it is the tallest mountain in southern Quebec, and the highest mountain in the Canadian Appalachians. Located in t ...

Image:winterinchicchoc.jpg, Winter in the Chic Choc Mountains Image:ChicChoc.jpg, Near Sayabec Image:Gaspésie.jpg, Parc de la Gaspésie

References

External links

Peakbagger.com page

Gaspé Peninsula Mountains of Quebec Mountain ranges of Quebec Subranges of the Appalachian Mountains Landforms of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Notre Dame Mountains {{Quebec-geo-stub