Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve

The Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve (French: Réserve de parc national de l'Archipel-de-Mingan) is a national park reserve located in the eastern area of Quebec, Canada, on the north shore of Gulf of St. Lawrence. It features the Mingan Archipelago, a chain of around 40 islands.

La Grande Dame monolith, 2003
Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve
Location of Mingan Archipelago in Canada
LocationHavre-Saint-Pierre / Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Minganie Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada
Nearest citySept-Îles, Quebec
Coordinates50°13′N 63°10′W
Area151 km2 (58 sq mi)
Established1984
Visitors28,862 (in 2007[1])
Governing bodyParks Canada
Patrimoine culturel du Québec
Official nameSite patrimonial de l'Archipel-de-Mingan
TypeDeclared heritage site
Designated1978-11-15
Reference no.93529[2]

The islands formed as the continent slowly rose after the last glaciation. Over the course of the last few thousand years, the limestone rocks were slowly eroded by the waves, the changing sea level and the winds, as well as seasonal freezing and thawing. The result is a unique set of limestone sculptures, which form the largest group of such monoliths in Canada.[3]

Mingan Archipelago was represented in the 2011 documentary film series National Parks Project, with its film directed by Catherine Martin and scored by Sebastien Grainger, Jennifer Castle and Dan Werb.

Fauna

Animals that inhabit this national park are beavers, river otters, muskrats, silver foxes, red squirrels, snowshoe hares, red foxes, ermines, certain species of bats and a number of small rodents. Occasionally, black bears and moose can be found on certain islands near the coast. Birds found on the islands include warblers, buntings, bald eagles, ospreys, passerines, eiders, terns, puffins, razorbills, and shorebirds. Marine animals that inhabit offshore are grey seals, minke whales, dolphins, harbour seals, humpback whales, porpoises, fin whales, and harp seals.

See also

References
  1. "Parks Canada Attendance 2003-04 to 2007-08" (PDF). Parks Canada. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  2. "Site patrimonial de l'Archipel-de-Mingan". Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  3. "Mingan Archipelago Natural Heritage". Parks Canada. Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2011-04-11.


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