One of such marine national parks is the Mingan Archipelago National Park. It is located in the east of the province of Québec. The park covers an area of 151 square kilometers and consists of a total of 40 more or less large islands. The year of foundation is 1984.
Country and people
The Mingan Archipelago National Park is located in the immediate vicinity of the St. Lorenz Gulf coast. It is described as a unique paradise by both visitors and scientists. Perhaps this is due to the limestone formations established, which extend over the area on the coastal region. The very special thing that characterizes this area, however, is not so much the limestones or the large population of the most diverse water dwellers and water birds, but rather this unique vegetation. Indeed, the vegetation found here cannot be found anywhere else on the islands.
The Laurentine Mountains, which extend here, offer good opportunities for paddlers and water sports enthusiasts, because in this region there are mirror-smooth lakes in a dreamlike setting. The wild rivers, on the other hand, are very popular for rafting and canoeing.
The white beache e almost exude a holiday flair. Camping and sailing are also extremely popular here. Numerous campsites were set up in the southern part of the region. The north, on the other hand, was left natural and has hardly been developed. An extensive and sophisticated network of hiking trails runs through the national park and leads past the most beautiful places. It was also taken into account that there are different types and migration speeds. So routes for less trained or even inexperienced hikers were created. Whereas the more demanding routes are more recommended for well-trained runners or even real mountaineers.
Animals of the park
A wide variety of water and shore residents live on the island area, together with land animals. You can find whales, sea birds, seals and numerous species of fish here.
Seals cavort off the coast and deer, elk and lynx share the land area with the nimble red foxes. The evergreen forests protect the animals and the vegetation below.
The enormous flocks of birds, which show their flying skills in real formations and choreographies above the heads of the visitors and the treetops, are really impressive.
Native American History
There are still 100,000 indigenous people living in the province of Québec today. They belong to a total of 11 tribes. These include the Montagnais, Hurons and the Atikameks. In the north the largest tribe is the Inuits. All tribes have different languages, different customs and different ways of life.
Some of them still live in the same place where their ancestors lived long before the Europeans came to the country. Most of them even like to let the visitors participate in their lives. Be it the tasting of smoked fish or that explain the medicinal herbs. This is what you find out on a guided tour also a lot about the ancient way of life of the indigenous people. For example, how they caught their fish, preserved meat or built canoes. This is also part of the national park: people who lived here and live with their history.
