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

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

located in the

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 municipality The term regional county municipality or RCM (, , MRC) is used in Quebec, Canada to refer to one of 87 county-like political entities. In some older English translations they were called county regional municipality. Regional county municipalit ...

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 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. It lies in the

Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park The Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park (, ) is a provincial park in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. Centring on the Malbaie River Gorge, it is the centrepiece of the UNESCO Charlevoix biosphere reserve. It is administere ...

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 (pronounced ) 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. This rock is formed under p ...

charnockitic and

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

. The barren western escarpment provides a glimpse of the upper layer of the

Earth's crust Earth's crust is its thick outer shell of rock, referring to less than one percent of the planet's radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a solidified division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper ...

. Although 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 ...

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. The trees can live for several hundred years. It is a very hardy species that can ...

and black ash, exceptional given its northern location. Also, its treeless summit is covered with

alpine 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 ...

and

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 ...

. This is vulnerable to trampling. From 2004 to 2012, two to five woodland caribou of the Charlevoix

herd A herd is a social group of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with this is called '' herding''. These animals are known as gregarious animals. The term ''herd'' ...

occupied its summit, but since 2013, no sightings have been reported.

History

During the Quebec City bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Acropole des Draveurs was approached to host the downhill events, because of its

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

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 ...

and the Corporation of the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve. The government decided to protect the region with the creation of

in 2000.

Recreation

Hiking

The Acropole des Draveurs trail, near the

, 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.

Gallery

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.