Physical Geography

Three natural regions make up Quebec: the Canadian Shield; the St. Lawrence Lowland, or Valley; and the Appalachians.

The Canadian Shield, also known as the Laurentian Plateau, consists of an enormous block of ancient crystalline rock. It makes up virtually all the province north of the St. Lawrence River. The terrain varies from relatively level to rolling, with an abundance of glacial debris, exposed rock, lakes, and muskegs (bogs). Immense glaciers shaped much of the surface during the last Ice Age. The Shield is an inhospitable region with a harsh environment, but possesses vast mineral, forest, and water resources.

Elevations on the Shield rarely exceed 3,000 feet (900 m) above sea level, except in the Torngat Mountains in the extreme northeast. There, on the Newfoundland border, Mount D'Iberville (called Mount Caubvick in Newfoundland) reaches 5,420 feet (1,652 m), the highest elevation in Quebec. The Laurentian Mountains, or the Laurentides, which make up the southern edge of the Shield, are a rough, hilly area with many winter and summer resorts.

The St. Lawrence Lowland, as much as 60 miles (100 km) wide, lies along the St. Lawrence River between the cities of Montreal and Quebec. Virtually all the land is relatively flat and situated near sea level. For centuries the St. Lawrence Lowland has been Quebec's chief agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial area.

The Appalachians—a continuation of the Appalachian Mountains of the United States—lie south of the St. Lawrence River. They are mostly smooth and rounded and extend some 470 miles (760 km) northeastward from the Green Mountains of Vermont to the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. The main chain is the Notre Dame Mountains, which reach their highest point at Mount Jacques-Cartier on the Gaspé—4,160 feet (1,268 m).

Quebec's coastal waters include the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the southeast, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay in the north, and Hudson and James bays in the west. All are arms of the Atlantic Ocean.

Lakes are mainly of glacial origin and cover 71,000 square miles (183,890 km2), or about one-eighth of the province. Among the large lakes are Mistassini and St-Jean. Major man-made reservoirs include Gouin, La Grande 2, and Manicouagan.

Rivers are one of Quebec's chief natural resources. They provide navigational routes and water for hydroelectric power; many are used for floating logs to mills.

The St. Lawrence River connects the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean and has long been a thriving artery of commerce, aiding the development of Quebec and the rest of Canada. Most of the province's other rivers are on the Shield. Nearly all those flowing northward and westward on the Shield are little used because they are remote and flow through virtually uninhabited areas. The La Grande River, which empties into James Bay, is a major exception. In the mid-1980's a multi-dam hydroelectric project was completed on the La Grande, making it one of the world's largest sources of electricity.

Many of the rivers flowing southward from the Shield to the St. Lawrence have also been harnessed for hydroelectric power. Among them are the Manicouagan, Saguenay, and St-Maurice. Together, rivers provide nearly all of the electrical power used in the province, and large amounts are sold to other provinces and to the northeastern United States.

Southern Quebec has a humid continental climate. Winters are long and cold, with January temperatures averaging 5° to 15° F. (-15° to -9° C.). Summers are warm and short, though longer than in most other parts of Canada. July temperatures average 60° to 70° F. (16° to 21° C.). Precipitation totals 35 to 45 inches (900 to 1,100 mm) a year, including large amounts of snow.

A subpolar climate occurs in the central and southern parts of the Canadian Shield. Here winters are long and severe, summers short and cool. Midwinter temperatures may drop to extremes of -50° to -60° F. (-45° to - 50° C.). Rainfall and snowfall are slightly less than in the south.

The climate of northern Quebec is similar to the subpolar climate, except for longer, more severe winters. The subsoil remains frozen throughout the year.

Coniferous forests, composed mainly of spruces, firs, pines, cedars, and hemlocks, cover about 40 per cent of Quebec and form part of the vast boreal forest, or taiga, that stretches across Canada from Labrador to the west coast. In the north the conifers gradually decrease in size and finally give way to treeless tundra. Mixed forests, consisting of conifers and such deciduous trees as birches, oaks, maples, poplars, and elms, predominate in the St. Lawrence Lowland and the Appalachians. Most of the woodlands are crown lands, owned by the provincial government.