Québec National Parks, one of the three magnificent Sépaq Networks

Français

1-800-665-6527

	Conservation Mission

Mission Statement

Parc national du Bic was created to protect and highlight a representative segment of the natural region, known as the South Shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary.

Natural Environment

"At the time of Creation, God, having made the mountains, instructed an angel to distribute them across the surface of the Earth. Arriving in Bic at the end of his travels, his coat still heavy, the angel did what we would have done: he shook his coat vigourously, which is why, they say, there are so many mountains in Bic." (Legend from the book by Abbot Michaud, The Stages of a Parish, 1925)

Parc national du Bic is representative of the natural region of Québec called the "South Shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary", which extends from Montmagny to Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. This narrow band of land bordering the St. Lawrence River is characterized by terraced contours crossed by small, slow-moving rivers and edged with a few rocky bars parallel to the St. Lawrence, of which the northern side is steeper than the southern side.

The park is also exceptional because its coastline is more indented than that of the rest of the South Shore and its mountain mass higher than the peaks of the surrounding region. Its unusual plant life is both rare and fragile.

The park's contours feature dramatic overhangs of 20 to 120 metres and culminate in 346-metre-high Pic Champlain peak. Erosion, glaciers, and seas have all left their mark on the Bic shoreline. The alignment of ridges, composed of conglomerates, sandstone, and pelites, led to shoreline deposits in the form of beaches, sandbars, spits, banner banks, and marshes, as well as to the formation of cliffs, bays, coves, islands, and rocky points.

Because the Bic area is a transitional zone between the deciduous and boreal forests, it harbours a wide variety of vegetation. Certain rare plants more commonly associated with arctic-alpine and subarctic environments grow along the edges of the rocky capes, sharing space with more common species that enrich the park's abundant flora. The park's wildlife is also very diverse.

Find out more about the park's wildlife

Action Plan for seals (pdf : 2,9 mo) (in French only)