Canyon Sainte-Anne

Two foot suspension bridges in Canyon Sainte-Anne
Two foot suspension bridges in Canyon Sainte-Anne
Chutes Sainte-Anne, by Cornelius Krieghoff, 1885
Canyon Sainte-Anne, la chute Sainte-Anne
Sainte-Anne Falls in Canyon Sainte-Anne

Canyon Sainte-Anne is a spectacular, steep-sided gorge, carved by the Sainte-Anne-du-Nord River, 6 km east of Beaupré, Quebec, Canada. The river drops over a 74 m (243 ft) waterfall within the canyon.

Site and Visitors

The Canyon receives over 100,000 visitors per year. Three suspension foot bridges cross the canyon, including one 60 m (197 ft) meters above the river. Many scenic overlooks allow families to discover giant potholes and other cascades. Rock-climbing, via ferrata (the first one installed in Canada), and rappelling the canyon walls are permitted with supervision.

Accessible to the public since 1973, the canyon was familiar to natives, painted by Kreighoff and described by American philosopher and environmentalist Henry David Thoreau. It was used during the filming of Battlefield Earth in 2000.

Location

Canyon Sainte-Anne is located 25 to 30 minutes east of Quebec City, at the edge of the Beaupré Coast and Charlevoix regions. It lies on the border between the municipalities of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges and Saint-Joachim. The Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica, the ski resort Mont Sainte-Anne, the Montmorency falls and the Cap Tourmente national wildlife reserve are in the same area.

47°4′23.1″N 70°52′38.6″W / 47.073083°N 70.877389°W [1]

Geology

The canyon is part of the Canadian Shield, a fundamental rock formation of northern parts of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, all around the Hudson Bay. It all started in the Precambrian Age (1,2 billion years ago) when hard rock formed the canyon's walls and bottom. This metamorphic rock, called granitic gneiss, was formed at high pressure in the extremely hot depths of earth then rose to the surface through movements in the earth's crust. Later, a second rocky mass appeared, the sedimentary Palaeozoic rock formed some 450 million years ago by the compression of underwater sediments.

Much later, two successive ice ages covered North America. It is during the melting of the second one which led to the formation of the current hydrographic system (the St. Lawrence Lowlands area with the St. Lawrence River, Orleans Island, and the Magdalene Islands, as well as all the rivers known today). Erosion then finished the job by changing the general appearance of the region.

History

Because of its advantageous route, the Sainte-Anne-du-Nord River was widely used by loggers at the start of the 20th century. During a camping trip to the area in the summer of 1965, a former logger explained to Jean-Marie McNicoll how to reach the Sainte-Anne River falls. As there was no road to the river, Jean-Marie had to make his way through the woods but was rewarded with the discovery. He returned to his brother Laurent telling him he had discovered a unique place.

Two years later, they leased the immediate shores of the river from Hydro-Québec and purchased the wooded lots between Route 138 and the leased riverbanks. Slowly but surely, work began to clear a road. All was in place to welcome the first visitors on July 14, 1973.

Honours

In the same area

References

  1. ↑ "Google Maps". Google. Retrieved 24 September 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Canyon Sainte-Anne.

Coordinates: 47°4′12.4″N 70°52′44.8″W / 47.070111°N 70.879111°W