Jacques-Cartier Massif
Jacques-Cartier Lake Massif | |
---|---|
![]() Topographic map of the massif. | |
Highest point | |
Peak | Mont Raoul Blanchard |
Elevation | 1,181 m (3,875 ft) |
Geography | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Quebec |
Range coordinates | 47°23′02″N 71°13′02″W / 47.38389°N 71.21722°WCoordinates: 47°23′02″N 71°13′02″W / 47.38389°N 71.21722°W |
The Lac Jacques-Cartier massif is the highest mountain range of the Laurentian Mountains range, in the Canadian province of Quebec. Located between the St. Lawrence River and the , the altitude of its plateau varies between 800 and 900 meters while its highest point, Mount Raoul Blanchard, reaches 1,181 metres (3,875 ft) of altitude.
Toponymy[]
The massif owes its name to the , a glacial lake located in its geographic center.
Geography[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Sommet_de_l%27acropole_des_draveurs.jpg/220px-Sommet_de_l%27acropole_des_draveurs.jpg)
Location[]
The massif roughly covers the entire region of Capitale-Nationale (with the exception of the banks of the St. Lawrence River) as well as the extreme south of the region of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
Topography[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Parc_national_des_Grands-Jardins%2C_Canada_%2833889231778%29.jpg/220px-Parc_national_des_Grands-Jardins%2C_Canada_%2833889231778%29.jpg)
The Jacques-Cartier Lake massif is one of the geographical features of the mountain range]. With the , its altitude exceeds by several hundred meters the rest of the peaks of the chain. The presence of hundreds of lakes and a few glacial valleys (such as the Jacques-Cartier River valley) represents another distinctive facet of the massif.
The main peaks are:
- Mount Raoul Blanchard (1,181 metres (3,875 ft));
- Mount Belle Fontaine (1,151 metres (3,776 ft));
- (1,112 metres (3,648 ft));
- (1,082 metres (3,550 ft));
- (1,065 metres (3,494 ft));
- Montagne des Érables (1,048 metres (3,438 ft));
- (1,038 metres (3,406 ft));
- (1,000 metres (3,300 ft));
- Mont du Lac des Cygnes (980 metres (3,220 ft));
- (975 metres (3,199 ft));
- Mont du Lac à Moïse (960 metres (3,150 ft));
- (884 metres (2,900 ft));
- (790 metres (2,590 ft)).
This list is incomplete and in several sectors of the territory the altitude exceeds 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) without having a physiognomy of mount. In addition, not all high peaks have been officially named as a mountain.
Ecosystem[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Picea_mariana_stand_GJ.jpg/250px-Picea_mariana_stand_GJ.jpg)
The massif has an ecosystem boreal that cannot be found elsewhere at this latitude in Quebec.[1] Being part of the domain of white birch fir (sector 5ef),[2] the most common tree species is black spruce. The massif is home to one of the last herds of forest caribou in southern Quebec, the Charlevoix herd.[3]
History[]
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Environmental protection[]
The massif is one of the last wilderness areas in southern Quebec. Almost entirely public territory, it is covered among others by the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, Jacques-Cartier National Park, Grands-Jardins National Park and Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivière-Malbaie National Park.
See also[]
- Lac-Jacques-Cartier
- List of mountains of Quebec
References[]
- Mountains of Quebec
- Landforms of Capitale-Nationale
- Landforms of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
- Laurentides Wildlife Reserve