Lac Saint-Pierre

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lac Saint-Pierre
Location	Quebec
Coordinates	46°12′N 72°50′WCoordinates: 46°12′N 72°50′W
Primary inflows	Saint Lawrence River, Richelieu River, Saint-François River
Primary outflows	Saint Lawrence River
Basin countries	Canada
Max. length	35 km
Max. width	10 km
Surface area	353 km²
Average depth	3 m
Max. depth	11.3 m
Surface elevation	3.3 m

Lac Saint-Pierre is a lake and nature reserve in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Saint Lawrence River between Sorel and Trois-Rivières, east of Montreal and forms part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The reserve includes shoreline, islands, wetlands.

This seasonally-flooded area is an important stopping point for hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl. It is also an important nesting area for herons: more have been counted here than in any other place in North America. In 1998, it was recognized as a wetland of international significance under the Ramsar Convention.

Lac Saint-Pierre was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2000.

[edit] Environmental problems

Despite its biosphere reserve status, the lake contains an unknown number of unexploded bombs from tests in the 1950s through 2000s, and sewer waste from Montreal decreases the water quality.