Mont Saint-Hilaire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mont Saint-Hilaire (en. Mount Saint-Hilaire) is a mountain in the Montérégie region of southern Quebec. It is an intrusive mountain. The area surrounding the mountain is a biosphere reserve.
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[edit] Geology
Mount Saint-Hilaire is one of the Monteregian Hills, a group of intrusive mountains spreading across southern Quebec. The "mountain" is composed of three distinct plutonic intrusions that formed during the Cretaceous Period. More precisely, it is composed of agpaitic pegmatite, a rare type of intrusion, making it a favored site for mineralogical research. There have been over 347 distinct species of minerals collected at Mount Saint-Hilaire, over 60 of which are unique to this site.
[edit] Ecology
As the last remnant of the ancient Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests, the area is a biosphere reserve since 1978 and a federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary since 1960 and a provincial. The area host 21 at risk and 2 endangered plant species under current statutes.
[edit] History
The name Saint-Hilaire was introduced in 1823 (The mountain was originally called Mount Rouville or Beloeil.) after the creation of a parish under the name of Saint-Hilaire-de-Rouville (Rouville is also the name of the township where the mountain is located)
