Rocher Percé

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rocher Percé
Rocher Percé
Rocher Percé
Waters Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Geographical location 48 ° 31 ′  N , 64 ° 12 ′  W Coordinates: 48 ° 31 ′  N , 64 ° 12 ′  W
Rocher Percé (Québec)
Rocher Percé
Residents uninhabited

Rocher Percé ( English Percé Rock ) is an island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the tip of the Gaspésie Peninsula not far from the small port town of Percé in the province of Québec , Canada . The island consists of a large monolithic rock formation, it is one of the tourist attractions of the province of Quebec.

description

The island is made of limestone with inclusions of siltstone and sandstone . The surf has formed the steep rock formations through erosion . The island is 443 m long, 90 m wide and up to 88 m high. The rock gate above the water is striking and often photographed . This is where the name comes from: "percé" means pierced and refers to the hole in the rock face. At low tide you have the opportunity to walk from the mainland to the island on dry feet.

The island is not inhabited. Together with the larger neighboring island Île Bonaventure and the surrounding marine area, it forms the 13 km² Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé provincial park . It is above all a sanctuary for birds, a special feature is a large gannet colony .

history

Caption: "A view of the Pierced Island, a remarkable rock in the Gulf of St. Laurence — two leagues to the southward of Gaspée Bay". The underlying drawing is by Captain Hervey Smyth and was created in 1760, the engraving by Pierre Charles Cannot in 1768, 39.1 × 52.2 cm, McCord Museum

When the explorer Jacques Cartier first came to the area in 1534, he reported about the island and described it with three rock gates. When the French explorer Samuel de Champlain was in the Saint Lawrence River area in 1603 , there were only two gates left. He also gave the island its current name. It is not known when the first arch disappeared. The second arch collapsed in June 1845. The free-standing rock tower that sits on the southeastern tip of the island is a holdover from this arch.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bienvenue sur la site officiel de la ville de Percé ( fr ) In: Ville de Percé . Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  2. ↑ Gaspésie ( fr ) In: québecoriginal . Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  3. ↑ Holiday Destination Percé ( en ) Ville de Percé. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  4. ↑ Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé ( fr ) In: La Sépaq . Retrieved May 1, 2020.

Web links

Commons : Rocher Percé  - collection of images, videos and audio files