Parc national de Miguasha

Parc national de Miguasha
Fossil site in the park
Coordinates: 48 ° 6 '38 "  N , 66 ° 22' 10"  W.
Location:	Quebec , Canada
Next city:	Carleton-sur-Mer
Surface:	0.87 km²
Founding:	1985
Address:	Parc national de Miguasha P.O. Box 183 Nouvelle (Québec) G0C 2E0
Falaise de Miguasha

The Parc national de Miguasha is the smallest of the currently 27 national parks in the Canadian province of Québec . There, a corresponding Parc national but what in the other provinces and territories a provincial park ( Provincial Park is). The park is operated by Sépaq ( French Société des établissements de plein air du Québec or English Society of outdoor recreation establishments of Quebec ). Its name is derived from a term used by the Mi'kmaq , which is 'Megouasag', which translates as 'red cliff' or 'red rock wall'.

The park is located on the territory of the municipalities of Nouvelle and Escuminac in the county of Avignon in the south of the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region . The area was placed under protection because large amounts of fossils from the Devonian , the "Age of Pisces" come to light. The neighboring Pointe à Fleurant with an area of ​​353 hectares in the south and the Escuminac Flats (419 hectares) in the southeast serve to protect birds. In another area of ​​private property covering 775 hectares, any private fossil search is strictly prohibited.

The fossil site was discovered in 1842. Two formations belong to the park area. The older formation of Escuminac arose on a huge river 380 million years ago. Numerous fossils were found, including more than 20 species of fish. More than 14,000 fossils were recovered by 1998 alone. In June 2003, a museum specially designed to accommodate, preserve and present the finds opened its doors. Since 1999, the Park is because of its fossil finds to the World Heritage of UNESCO .

See also

• Parcs nationaux in Quebec

literature

• Abderrazak El Albani, Richard Cloutier, Anne-Marie Candilier: Early diagenesis of the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation in the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec: sedimentological and geochemical evidence , in: Sedimentary Geology 146 (2002) 209-223.
• Paul Lemieux: The Fossil-Lagerstätte Miguasha: its past and present history , in Hans-Peter Schultze , Richard Clouthier (Ed.): Devonian Fishes and Plants of Miguasha, Quebec, Canada , Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Munich 1996, pp. 9–22 (as well as the articles in the whole book)

Web links

Commons : Parc national de Miguasha  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
• Parc national de Miguasha in French or English
• The Miguasha National Park

Remarks

1. ^ Louise Trottier: Nouvelles Perspectives Dans la Museologie au Quebec , in: The Journal of Museum Education 10.1 (1985) 11-14.
2. ↑ Un ancien estuaire
3. ↑ Miguasha National Park .