Jump to content

Anticosti National Park

Coordinates: 49°30′N 62°50′W / 49.500°N 62.833°W / 49.500; -62.833
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Zackmann08 (talk | contribs) at 23:13, 18 November 2016 (Fixing infobox not to use deprecated coordinates format). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Anticosti National Park
Parc National d'Anticosti
Map showing the location of Anticosti National Park
Map showing the location of Anticosti National Park
LocationQuebec, Canada
Nearest cityPort-Menier, Quebec
Coordinates49°30′N 62°50′W / 49.500°N 62.833°W / 49.500; -62.833
Area571.9 km2 (220.8 sq mi)
EstablishedApril 2001
Visitors5500 (in 2009)
Governing bodySépaq
www.sepaq.com/pq/pan/

Anticosti National Park (French: Parc National d'Anticosti) is a provincial park of Quebec, Canada.[1] It consists of 3 non-contiguous areas totalling 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi) of land in the centre of Anticosti Island.

It is organized into 6 tourist sectors and 1 central zone:[2]

  • 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, 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.[3][4]

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 the Anticosti National Park on April 26, 2001.[3]

Park features

Natural attractions:[2]

  • Vauréal Canyon and Waterfall - At the Vauréal Waterfall, the Vauréal River drops 76 metres (249 ft) and then flows through a 90 metres (300 ft) 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 625 metres (2,051 ft) cave is one of the longest underground caves in Quebec. It is named after the Potato River (Rivière à la Patate) which gets its name from a large granite erratic boulder shaped like a potato that is located at the river's mouth.
  • Brick River Canyon
  • Observation River Canyon

Activities:

  • Hiking - 45 kilometres (28 mi) 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

References

  1. ^ Registre des aires protégées du Québec, Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs. Template:Fr icon
  2. ^ a b Parc national d’Anticosti - Park Journal 2008-2009 Edition, Parcs Québec
  3. ^ a b "Portrait du parc - Histoire de la création du parc national d'Anticosti" (in French). Sépaq. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  4. ^ "Histoire d'Anticosti" (in French). Municipalité de L'Île-d'Anticosti. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anticosti_National_Park&oldid=750300146"