La Mauricie National Park (French: Parc national de la Mauricie) is a national park near Shawinigan in the Laurentian Mountains, in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada. It covers 536 square kilometers (207 square miles) in the southern Canadian Shield area, which is next to the Saint Lawrence lowlands. The park has 150 lakes and many ponds.

The park is in the Eastern forest-boreal transition ecoregion. Forests in this area were cut down from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century. Since then, the forests have grown back and now include a mix of conifer trees and deciduous trees.

Wildlife in the park includes moose, black bears, beavers, and otters. The park is home to a small number of wood turtles, which are rare in Canada. People visit the park for activities like camping, canoeing, and kayaking.

The park is named after the Saint-Maurice River, which is located to the east of the park. The Matawin River flows along the west and north sides of the park.

Toponymy

In 1933, Bishop Albert Tessier first used the name "Mauricie" to create an area for the government of Quebec to manage. This area is mainly the Valley of Saint-Maurice. Part of the Saint-Maurice River's watershed is also managed by the administrative regions of Lanaudière (West), James Bay (North), and Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (East). The administrative region of Mauricie also includes other watersheds, such as the Champlain River and half of the Batiscanie area in Quebec.

The Saint-Maurice River was named after the Lordship of Maurice Poulin La Fontaine. A piece of land near the river's mouth was given to his wife in 1676. This land, called a "fief" (a harvested area), was officially recognized as Saint-Maurice in 1723. Before this, the river was known as "River Three Rivers." The name "Saint-Maurice" became widely used during the 18th century. The river is also known by other names: the Attikamekw call it Tapiskwan Sipi ("River of the threaded needle"), the Wyandot call it Oquintondili, and the Abenaki call it Madôbalodenitekw.

Geography

The Mauricie National Park is located in the province of Quebec, Canada, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Shawinigan and about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of the city of Trois-Rivières. It is bordered by the Saint-Maurice River to the east and the Matawin River to the north. The park can be reached from the villages of Saint-Jean-des-Piles and Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc. Another route is available through Saint-Gérard-des-Laurentides. The park includes parts of three municipalities: Shawinigan, Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, and Saint-Roch-de-Mékinac.

To the west of the park lies the Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve, and to the north are the Zec du Chapeau-de-Paille and the Saint-Maurice Wildlife Reserve.

The park is located in Quebec, south of the Canadian Shield. It is part of the Grenville Province, which is the most recent of seven geological provinces that form the Canadian Shield during the Precambrian era. The park sits on a plateau that gently slopes from east to west, ranging in elevation from 150 metres (490 ft) near the Saint-Maurice River to nearly 500 metres (1,600 ft) inland. This plateau, made of older metamorphic rocks that are about 955 million years old, has many valleys and faults. Lower valleys are filled with deposits left behind by glaciers during the Wisconsin glaciation.

There are approximately 150 lakes within the national park. The size and water quality of the lakes vary, with smaller, acidic lakes found at higher elevations and larger, clear lakes in valley areas. All lakes and streams in the park flow into the Saint-Maurice River through the "À la pêche" River, Matawin River, and Shawinigan River.

Natural heritage

The Mauricie National Park is located in the green area Level I created by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of Northern Forests. It is also completely within the ecological region Level II of the mixed forest shield and the ecological region Level III of the Southern Laurentians.

At the national level, the park is part of the Southern Laurentians ecoregion, which is located within the Ecoprovince Southern Boreal Shield and the Boreal Shield.

The park has more than 440 species of vascular plants, 68 species of lichens, and over 85 species of mosses. It also includes 27 species of rare or special-interest plants.

Forests cover 93% of the park’s area. It is located near the northern edge of the tree line in Quebec. There are 30 different tree species. The park includes habitats ranging from maple to yellow birch (Acer saccharum and Betula papyrifera), which grow on sunny slopes and well-drained soil. Balsam firs (Abies balsamea), pines (Pinus sp), and spruces (Picea sp) grow on rocky cliffs and wetlands. The park is home to an endangered species, the butternut (Juglans cinerea).

The park supports populations of dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis). Mixed forests are home to ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus), blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus), and purple finches (Carpodacus purpureus). Hardwood forests are inhabited by ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla), black-throated blue warblers (Dendroica caerulescens), veeries (Catharus fuscescens), red-eyed vireos (Vireo olivaceus), eastern wood pewees (Contopus virens), and sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius). The most commonly seen raptors include ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), broad-winged hawks (Buteo platypterus), barred owls (Strix varia), and great horned owls (Bubo virginianus). Aquatic areas provide nesting habitat for common goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula), mergansers (Mergus merganser), black ducks (Anas rubripes), and common loons (Gavia immer), which are the park’s emblematic species. The park includes eight species at risk: whip-poor-wills (Caprimulgus vociferus), nighthawks (Chordeiles minor), chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica), olive-sided flycatchers (Contopus cooperi), Canada warblers (Wilsonia canadensis), peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), and rusty blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus).

The park has only five reptile species: wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta), painted turtles (Chrysemys picta), and three snake species, including garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis). It also has 14 amphibian species, including six salamanders and eight frogs. One species, the wood turtle, is endangered.

Mammals living in the park include snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), raccoons (Procyon lotor), moose (Alces alces americana), beavers (Castor canadensis), porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum), groundhogs (Marmota monax), river otters (Lontra canadensis), martens (Martes americana), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), black bears (Ursus americanus), coyotes (Canis latrans), lynxes (Lynx canadensis), minks (Neogale vison), fishers (Pekania pennanti), and eastern wolves (Canis lycaon).

Most lakes have a limited variety of fish because the area is young. Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) are most commonly found, especially in the northern part of the park. Fish species such as Isaiah, French, and Bérubé are found at lower elevations, where lakes have more biodiversity. These lakes also support populations of sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius) and spoonhead sculpins (Cottus ricei). The lakes are home to the only French population of char (Salvelinus alpinus) in the park. This population was threatened by the introduction of invasive fish species, such as chubs (Semotilus atromaculatus), in the early 20th century. Humans introduced 19 fish species to the park over the 19th and 20th centuries.

History

The oldest human remains found in the park are from the Archaic period in North America, which was between 7000 and 3000 BC. There are 34 "protohistoric" archaeological sites in the park that show Native Americans who lived there lived in small family groups. They mainly lived in the valleys of Lakes Antigamac and Wapizagonke and fished, hunted, and gathered food. A cliff near Lake Wapizagonke has cave paintings, which show how Native Americans practiced their spiritual beliefs during that time. Until the 17th century, the Attikamekw and Algonquian peoples lived in the northern and southern parts of the Saint-Maurice River, respectively. They survived mainly by trapping and hunting. The Abenaki used the park area in the middle of the 19th century for hunting and trading.

At the start of the 19th century, logging began. Workers cut white and red pines for wood. This continued until 1925, when large trees became hard to find. The forest industry then focused on cutting trees for paper, which made the Mauricie one of the largest paper producers in the first half of the 20th century. Logging and other industry activities changed the forest balance by planting white spruce on 426 hectares (1,050 acres) and causing forest fires in 1910 and 1954.

At the end of the 19th century, wealthy American tourists moved to the area and created private hunting and fishing clubs. The first three were the Shawinigan Club in 1883, the Laurentian Club in 1886, and the Club Commodore in 1905. Thirteen other clubs were built between 1940 and the park’s creation in 1970. Only certain people could join the clubs, and members had the right to hunt and fish there. While these clubs helped protect some natural areas, they also introduced many non-native fish species into the lakes. Today, only the "Wabenaki and Andrew lodges" remain. These were once part of the Laurentian Club and are now used by visitors. A cottage near "lac des cinq" (Lake of the Five), once owned by the Brown family, is now used by park staff.

The park was created on August 21, 1970, after a deal between the federal and provincial governments. This action stopped all activities of the 16 private clubs in the park’s area.

Activities

The park provides a canoe camping route that connects twelve lakes in remote areas through many portages, which are paths where canoes are carried over land between waterways. This route gives access to about 200 camping sites that can only be reached by boat.