Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve or Mingan Archipelago Heritage Site is located in the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, within the Côte-Nord administrative region, in the Minganie RCM and the Havre-Saint-Pierre municipality, and faces Anticosti Island.

The reserve can be reached by boat or airplane. It protects more than 1,000 islands, small rocky islands, cays, and limestone reefs that form a mix of different ecosystems on small islands.

The reserve is home to the largest group of rock formations shaped by erosion in Canada, important fossil sites, unique environments, plants found in alpine and arctic regions, including the Mingan thistle, and seabirds such as the highest numbers of Arctic terns, Common terns, and Common eiders in the St. Lawrence.

Geology

The area of the Mingan Islands and part of the mainland to the north is covered by Ordovician sedimentary rocks. The Mingan Islands' rock layers are made up of two groups: the Romaine Formation, which is found below, and the Mingan Formation, which is above.

The exposed parts of the Romaine Formation include dolomite and some shale. There may be a layer of sandstone at the bottom. The rock layers are usually thick and somewhat rough in appearance. In some places, the layers look mixed together. The total thickness of this formation is about 260 feet.

The Mingan Formation consists of conglomerate, sandstone, and shale. These layers are covered by limestone. These rock layers contain many broken pieces of fossils and are sometimes loosely held together. Most of the formation is made up of fine-grained limestone, some of which have a partially smooth texture. Fossils are often found in these layers and can be very common in certain areas. The exposed thickness of this formation is estimated to be no more than 155 feet.

The Mingan Archipelago is an important historical site in Quebec. It is also a unique natural area in the middle of the Nordic region, with original natural features such as Ordovician limestone, cuestas, landforms shaped by the ocean, subarctic plant life, and a variety of bird species. The construction of Highway 138 in 1976 made this sensitive area more accessible. In 1979, the author of The Mingan Archipelago: A Mid-Nordic Space Between Exploitation and Conservation suggested that the area be turned into a park for protection and recreation. This proposal was completed in 1984.

Flora

The area of Havre Saint-Pierre is mostly covered by large spruce forests and a few larch farms, except for the small area behind the village. Other plants found there include white spruce, dwarf birch, rough alder, and quaking aspen.

Brothers Marie-Victorin and Rolland Germain F.E.C. studied the region from 1924 to 1928. Their research helped scientists understand the importance of the Mingan Archipelago. Later, other scientists added more information about the area’s plants and how they grow.

The vegetation of the Mingan Islands is part of the Chibougamau-Natashquan boreal forest region, where black spruce is the most common tree. The area’s high latitude, low altitude, and the cold Labrador currents create a type of vegetation typical of colder regions.

The rocks in the Anticosti-Minganie area are made of calcium-rich layers. These rocks greatly influence the types of plants that grow there.

The area has 350 types of vascular plants, including two rare species: Cirsium foliosum var. Minganense and Cypripedium passerinum var. Minganense. Sixty of these plants were not listed in Marie-Victorin and Rolland-Germain’s 1969 study of Minganie. There are also 150 types of mosses and lichens, with 29 new to a 1972 lichen catalog by Lepage.

• Calypso bulbosa, also called Calypso d’Amérique, grows in mossy woods and limestone areas in Quebec, like Gaspésie, Minganie, and Anticosti. It is rare in other places.
• Nordic plants grow on Niapiskau Island.
• Frère Marie-Victorin (1885–1944) studied the Mingan Archipelago in 1928. He collected C. minganense, a pale plant with flower clusters that are smaller than its leaves.

Fauna

The sea and the land are two separate areas that are closely connected. Technically, the park includes only the Mingan islands and not the surrounding ocean. However, it is difficult to separate the islands from the large area of water around them.

Nearly 200 types of birds can be seen in the area, including:
• Warblers, Terns, Ospreys, Passerines, Razorbills, and many waders
• Haliaeetus leucocephalus – Bald Eagle – Pygargue à tête blanche
• Somateria mollissima – Common Eider – Eider à duvet
• Fratercula arctica – Atlantic Puffin – Macareux moine
• Bucephala islandica – Barrow’s Goldeneye – Garrot d’Islande

The many different types of habitats in the area provide shelter for a wide variety of mammals, including:
• Castor canadensis – North American Beaver – Castor du Canada
• Lontra canadensis – North American River Otter – Loutre du Canada
• Ondatra zibethicus L. – Muskrat – Rat musqué
• Vulpes vulpes L. – Red Fox – Renard roux
• Tamiasciurus hudsonicus – American Red Squirrel – Écureil roux
• Lepus americanus – Snowshoe Hare – Lièvre d’Amérique
• Mustela erminea L. – Stoat – Hermine
• Some types of bats and several small rodents
• Occasionally, Black Bears and Moose can be found on certain islands near the coast.

Three types of seals live near the Mingan Archipelago, including:
• Halichoerus grypus – Grey Seal – Phoque gris
• Phoca vitulina – Harbour Seal – Phoque commun
• Pagophilus groenlandicus – Harp Seal – Phoque du Groenland

The waters around and beyond the Mingan Archipelago are hunting areas for cetaceans that are attracted to the large groups of plankton and fish in the cold waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These include:
• Lagenorhynchus acutus – White-beaked Dolphin – Dauphin à nez blanc
• Phocoena phocoena – Harbor Porpoise – Marsouin commun
• Balaenoptera acutorostrata – Minke Whale – Petit rorqual
• Megaptera novaeangliae – Humpback Whale – Baleine à bosse
• Balaenoptera physalus – Fin Whale – Rorqual commun

Animals that live in forests share the area with those that live along the coast or in the cold, salty water of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These include:
• Vulpes vulpes L. – Red Fox – Renard roux
• Phoca vitulina – Harbour Seal – Phoque commun
• Somateria mollissima – Common Eider – Eider à duvet
• Bucephala islandica – Barrow’s Goldeneye – Garrot d’Islande
• Balaenoptera acutorostrata – Minke Whale – Petit rorqual

History

The river that Native Americans called "the way that walks" is dangerous, and this is true. Many people, including explorers, traders, and travelers, have faced challenges when entering the river's waters. These challenges include shallow areas, rocky reefs, tricky currents, fog, narrow paths, and ice during cold months.

During the French rule in North America (1534–1763), many shipwrecks happened on the St. Lawrence River, showing how difficult it was to navigate there.

The St. Lawrence River was an important path for discovery, trade, and movement. However, it was also dangerous and not well known. Sailors avoided traveling on the river at night, before May, or after November.

People have lived in the Mingan Archipelago for at least 2,000 years. The First Nations people used the area’s marine resources, such as catching fish, gathering shellfish, and hunting seals.

Starting in the 16th century, Spanish, Portuguese, and Basque people used the coasts, gulf, and estuary for fishing and hunting. The Basques fished for cod and hunted whales in the Mingan Archipelago.

In 1986, Parks Canada, Quebec Region, found the remains of a stone oven on Mingan Island Nue and Mingan Harbour Island. This oven was used by the Basques to melt fat from whales and other sea animals. Historical records and artifacts suggest the oven was built and used by Basques in the 1600s and 1700s.

At the start of the 20th century, the first roads that would later become Route 138 (originally Route 15) were built near Sept-Îles. In 1961, a section of the road was added from Franquelin to the Moisie River, about 20 kilometers east of Sept-Îles.

Until 1976, there was no continuous road on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to travel east of the Moisie River. Before that, only short, disconnected paths connected some coastal villages. For example, Natashquan was connected to Aguanish by a dirt road built in 1959.

Route 138, from the Moisie River to Havre-Saint-Pierre, opened in spring 1976. From there, people could travel by sea to the islands of the Mingan Archipelago.

In 1984, to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s arrival in New France, the Commission de toponymie named the part of Route 138 east of the Saguenay River after this event. This section of the road runs from Tadoussac to Havre-Saint-Pierre.

Photos

• Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve 1976 – 2003
• Children playing in the water at a bay on an island
• Large stone formations on Niapiskau Island, visitors present
• Large stone formation on Niapiskau Island, beach, Gulf of St. Lawrence
• Large stone formations on Niapiskau Island
• Stop at Niapiskau, limestone formations, boreal forest, Gulf of St. Lawrence

• Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve 1976
• South Quarry Island, large stone formations, limestone, boreal forest
• Large stone formation on Niapiskau, bay
• Islands, small islands, rocks, cays, reefs
• La Grande-Île, large stone formations, St. Lawrence Gulf
• Stone Shore and Mallotus villosus, capelin, small fish found in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans

• Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve viewed from a seaplane in 1976
• Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mingan Archipelago, islands, large stone formations, vegetation on cold shores
• Ile du Fantôme
• Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mingan Archipelago, islands, large stone formations, vegetation on cold shores
• Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mingan Islands
• Havre-Saint-Pierre, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mingan Archipelago Islands, mainland