Anticosti Island

{{short description|Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec, Canada}} {{redirect|L'Île-d'Anticosti|the municipality|L'Île-d'Anticosti, Quebec}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox islands | name = Anticosti Island | native_name = | sobriquet =  | image_name = Baie de la Tour - Anticosti.jpg | image_caption = The rocky coast of the island | image_map = | map_alt = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Canada Quebec | pushpin_label = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{Coord|49|30|N|63|00|W|scale:1000000_region:CA-QU|display=inline,title}} | etymology = | location = Gulf of Saint Lawrence | grid_reference =  | archipelago = | waterbody = | total_islands = | major_islands = | area_km2 = 7,953.20 | area_footnotes = | rank = | length_km = 222 | length_footnotes = | width_km = 56 | width_footnotes = | coastline_km = | coastline_footnotes = | elevation_m =306 | elevation_footnotes = | highest_mount = Mont de La Hague | country = Canada | country_admin_divisions_title = Province | country_admin_divisions = Quebec | country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Region | country_admin_divisions_1 = Côte-Nord | country_admin_divisions_title_2 = County | country_admin_divisions_2 = Minganie | country_capital_type = | country_capital = | country_largest_city_type = Municipality | country_largest_city = L'Île-d'Anticosti | country_capital_and_largest_city = | country_largest_city_population = | country_leader_title = | country_leader_name = | country_area_km2 = | demonym = | population = 177 | population_as_of = 2021 | population_footnotes = | population_rank = | population_rank_max = | density_km2 = | density_rank = | density_footnotes = | languages = | ethnic_groups = | timezone1 = | utc_offset1 = | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | website = | additional_info = | footnotes = |module={{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site |child=yes |Year = 2023 |ID = 1686 |Criteria = Natural: viii |Area= 18,240 ha |Buffer_zone = 89,740 ha }} }}

'''Anticosti Island''' ({{IPA|fr|ɑ̃tikɔsti}}) is a large but sparsely populated island belonging to the Canadian province of Quebec. It lies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and is separated from mainland Quebec by the Jacques Cartier and Honguedo straits. Administratively, it forms a municipality of the Côte-Nord region.

==Toponymy== The name ''Anticosti'' first appeared in the writings of Samuel de Champlain in 1603, as ''Anticosty''. It apparently represents a corruption of the earlier ''Nadicousti'', recorded by André Thevet in 1586 and described by him as the Amerindian name for the island (the European name, bestowed by Jacques Cartier in 1535, being ''Isle de l'Assumption''). Its origin and meaning are unclear, though William Francis Ganong speculatively ascribed it to the St. Lawrence Iroquoian language.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ganong|first=W. F.|title=Crucial Maps in the Early Cartography and Place-Nomenclature of the Atlantic Coast of Canada|date=1964|publisher=University of Toronto Press|page=211|url=https://archive.org/details/crucialmapsinear0000theo/page/300}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Poirier|first=Jean|title=Regards sur les Noms de Lieux|date=1982|publisher=Commission de toponymie du Québec|pages=121 f.|url=https://archive.org/details/micro_IA40243514_2807/page/121}}</ref>

The Montagnais name for the island is ''Notiskuan'', meaning "where bears are hunted", while the Micmac name is ''Natigôsteg'', meaning "forward land".<ref name="Anticosti toponymy">{{cite web|title=Île d'Anticosti|url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=1670|publisher=Commission de toponymie du Québec|access-date=27 February 2024}}</ref>

==History== ===Indigenous history=== For thousands of years, Anticosti Island was the territory of the Indigenous peoples who lived on the mainland and used it as a hunting ground. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}

===Colonisation and settlement=== The French explorer Jacques Cartier sailed along its shore in the summer of 1534. From that time on, France had officially incorporated the island into its colonial empire. {{Citation needed|date=February 2026}}

The island's first European settlers arrived in 1680 when Louis XIV gave Louis Jolliet the Seigneury of the Mingan Archipelago and Anticosti Island as compensation for reconnoitring the Mississippi and Hudson Bay. Louis Jolliet erected a fort on Anticosti and in the spring of 1681 settled there with his wife, four children and six servants.

His fort was captured and occupied during the winter of 1690 by some of the Massachusetts troops of William Phips during their retreat after an unsuccessful attempt to capture Quebec City.

After Jolliet's death in 1700, the island was divided among his three sons and the Jolliet family retained ownership until 1763 when the island became part of British North America{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} under the terms of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Seven Years' War.

That same year, the island was annexed to Newfoundland until 1774 when it was returned to Lower Canada{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} and annexed again to Newfoundland from 1809 to 1825. It became a part of Quebec (as Lower Canada came to be called) at the Canadian Confederation in 1867.

During these years the island property changed hands several times, its owners generally using it for the harvesting of timber; otherwise no real development took place. For example, the French Canadian Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau owned it among other seigneuries and made money from them.<ref name="IA-his">{{cite web |url=http://www.ile-anticosti.com/index.php?p=page&id=70&lang=fr |title=Histoire d'Anticosti |publisher=Municipalité de L'Île-d'Anticosti |access-date=2009-11-05 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505135146/http://ile-anticosti.com/index.php?p=page&id=70&lang=fr |archive-date=2010-05-05 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Late 19th-century settlement === In 1874, it was bought by the Anticosti Island Company and they founded the villages at English Bay and Fox Bay. Most of the inhabitants, however, continued to be the few keepers of the island's many lighthouses.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} Because of the number of shipwrecks around the island, stores of provisions were also maintained around the island for sailors who might be washed ashore.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}}

In 1882, the Parish of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption was founded, a term referring to Cartier's name for the island. In 1884, the island became property of the Stockwell brothers who formed a forestry company two years later. But they were unsuccessful and the company lasted only five years.<ref name="IA-his" />

By the 1890s, the fish and wildlife of the island had been almost eradicated through European overhunting.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}}

===Henri Menier and private ownership=== In 1895, Anticosti was sold for $125,000 to French chocolate maker Henri Menier who also leased the shore fishing rights.

Menier named the island's {{convert|70|m|abbr=on}} high Vauréal Falls after the town of Vauréal in France where he owned a home. He constructed the entire village of Port-Menier, built a cannery for packing fish and lobsters, and attempted to develop its resources of lumber, peat and minerals.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} Many of the original houses still stand today.

Furthermore, he converted the island into a personal game preserve and introduced nonindigenous animals for this purpose, including a herd of 220 white-tailed deer. The deer thrived and today the population exceeds 160,000<ref name="IA-geo" /> while the island's moose population is about 1,000. It has been reported that black bears, which rely on berries to bulk on for the winter, had lived on the island until the introduction, but have disappeared perhaps because of the deer eating the berry bushes bare.<ref name="parkguide">''Parc national d'Anticosti - Park Journal 2008-2009 Edition'', Parcs Québec</ref><ref name="IA-his" /><ref>"''Revenge of the Venison''", p. 18, Discover, August 2006.</ref>

===Ownership by forestry companies=== thumb|left|Port Menier<ref name="Port Menier (Village)">{{cite web |title=Port Menier (Village) |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=50775 |website=Quebec Gouvernement |publisher=Commission Toponymy Quebec |access-date=2 August 2024 |language=fr |date=5 December 1968 |quote=In a few years the buildings were erected in a strict order: residential houses, workshops, sawmills, school, church, supply stores.}}</ref> village, around 1920 Henri Menier died in 1913 and his brother Gaston became the owner of Anticosti Island. He used and maintained it for a time but eventually decided it was not an economically viable operation and sold it to the Wayagamack Pulp and Paper Company in 1926 for $6,000,000.

For the next five decades, the island was used almost exclusively by forestry companies which harvested timber and built some infrastructure, mainly roads, but abandoned the villages at English Bay and Fox Bay.<ref name="IA-his" />

=== 1930s sale controversy === Wayagamack's timber production was successful until the Great Depression when the paper market collapsed. The island property was taken over by Consolidated Paper Corporation Limited in 1931, but they showed little interest in it and put it up for sale. Offers came from Canadian, American, British, French and Belgian parties. In July 1937, an offer was received from a consortium of Dutch and German capitalists who intended to build a sulphite mill and wanted a steady supply of pulpwood and access to Canadian capital.

In the autumn of that year, a team of German surveyors travelled to the island to examine its timber and export potential. When this story broke in the ''Montreal Gazette'' of 2 December 1937, it caused an immediate controversy since the story claimed that the survey team was really made up of Adolf Hitler's agents and that most were naval, military and fortifications experts.

Despite the substantial offer, the promise of thousands of new jobs, and the fact that there were no legal methods to block the sale, the suspicions remained. A committee was set up to investigate the affair but concluded that "there was no evidence to indicate that the project has other than a commercial purpose". However, when the deadline to purchase the island passed on 15 September 1938, the offer expired and controversy died out.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Robert H. |date=Spring 2001 |title=The German Attempt to Purchase Anticosti Island in 1937 |journal=Canadian Military Journal |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=47–52 |url=http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo2/no1/doc/47-52-eng.pdf |access-date=2011-04-18}}</ref>

===Government ownership and management=== In 1974, the government of Quebec purchased the island from the forestry company Consolidated Bathurst Ltd. for $23,780,000. Anticosti was placed under management by the Ministry of Recreation, Hunting and Fishing (''ministère du Loisir de la Chasse et de la Pêche'') and in 1983 the process began to set up a working municipal structure.<ref name="IA-his" /> Today, about 60% is under management by Sépaq and since April 2001, {{convert|572|km2|abbr=on}} has been designated as a national conservation park. With its 24 rivers and streams bountiful with salmon and trout, the island is now a tourist destination for anglers and hunters, particularly from the United States and Canada, as well as for paleontologists, bird watchers and hikers.

==Geography== thumb|Salmon fisherman on Rivière à l'Huile

Anticosti Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the edge of St. Lawrence River estuary. At {{convert|7943|km2|abbr=on}} in size, the island has a length of 222 km and a maximum width of 56 km, its highest peak rises to 306 m.<ref name="Master plan - Anticosti National Park" /><ref name="Summary geological map of Anticosti Island,">{{cite web |title=Summary geological map of Anticosti Island |url=https://gq.mines.gouv.qc.ca/documents/examine/DV200903/DV200903PLAN.pdf |publisher=Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources - Government of Quebec |access-date=22 September 2024 |pages=1 |language=fr |date=2009}}</ref>

It is the 90th largest island in the world and 20th largest island in Canada. Anticosti Island is separated on the north from the Côte-Nord region of Quebec (the Labrador Peninsula) by the Jacques Cartier Strait, and on the south from the Gaspé Peninsula by the Honguedo Strait.

Anticosti Island is larger than Prince Edward Island but sparsely populated (218 people in 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=2498020&Geo2=PR&Code2=13&Data=Count&SearchText=L%27Ile-d%27Anticosti&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All|title=Census Profile|date=9 November 2017 |access-date=3 July 2021}}</ref>), with most of the permanent population in the village of Port-Menier on the western tip of the island; this population once consisted chiefly of the keepers of the lighthouses erected by the Canadian government.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} The entire island constitutes one municipality known as L'Île-d'Anticosti.

Due to more than 400 shipwrecks off its coasts, Anticosti Island is sometimes called the "Cemetery of the Gulf".<ref name="National Parks Historical">{{cite web |author1=R. Louis Gentilcore |title=National Parks Historical Theme Study |url=http://parkscanadahistory.com/publications/historical-theme-study.pdf |access-date=27 February 2024 |pages=122, 125, 127, 128 of 149 |date=1978-02-15 |quote=Deer hunting and salmon fishing makes Anticosti well known throughout North America and Europe.}}</ref>

Anticosti Island is part of the eastern St. Lawrence lowlands. It is {{convert|222|km|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ile-d-anticosti |title=Ile d' Anticosti |first=James H. |last=Marsh |orig-date=February 6, 2006 |date=December 14, 2013 |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref> long and has a maximum breadth of {{convert|56|km|0|abbr=on}} — {{frac|1|1|2}} times as large as the province of Prince Edward Island. Its coastline is {{convert|520|km|abbr=on}} long, and is rocky and dangerous, offering little shelter for ships except in Gamache, Ellis, and Fox Bays. There are large shoals to the south.<ref name="Anticosti toponymy" />

The largest lake on the island is Lake Wickenden, which feeds the Jupiter River. There are numerous rivers on Anticosti, many of which flow through deep gorges and canyons to the north and south shores.<ref name="IA-geo">{{cite web |title=Geography and nature |url=https://municipalite-anticosti.org/geographie-et-nature/#:~:text=L'%C3%AEle%20d'Anticosti%20s,2%20000%20m%20d'%C3%A9paisseur! |publisher=Municipality of L'Île-d'Anticosti |access-date=7 April 2024 |language=fr |quote=Grey and harbour seals can be easily seen on rock shelves (reefs) or feeding near the coast}}</ref>

Topographically, Anticosti Island can be divided into three distinct regions: two lowland areas, rarely exceeding {{convert|150|m}} in elevation, in the eastern and western thirds of the island linked along the coast; and a central highland forming a plateau that rises to just over {{convert|300|m|abbr=on}}. This plateau is a unidirectional structure slightly tilted to the south, and is characterized by rolling cuestas. The rocks exposed on the island form a continuous sedimentary stratum more than {{convert|2000|m|abbr=on}} thick. These are the most complete strata in eastern North America of the Ordovician and Silurian periods.<ref name="IA-geo"/>

The main rivers are:

'''South shore of Anticosti Island''' (from west to east):

'''North shore of Anticosti Island''' (from west to east):

{{Div col|colwidth=15em}} * Huile River * Patate River * Observation River * Vauréal River * Des Petits Jardins River * Rivière de l'Ours * Natiscotec River * Métallique River * Rivière aux Saumons (Anticosti Island) * Schmitt River * Prinsta River * Renard River (Anticosti Island) {{Div col end}}

=== Climate === Anticosti Island has a subarctic climate (Köppen ''Dfc''), affected by the maritime influence of the Gulf of St. Lawrence which reduces seasonal temperature variation. The average annual temperature is {{convert|2.0|C|F|1}}. The month of July is the warmest with an average temperature of {{convert|15.3|C|F|1|disp=or}}. Conversely, February is the coldest month, averaging {{convert|-10.9|C|F|1|disp=or}}.<ref name="IA-geo"/> Snowfall is abundant, usually accumulating over {{convert|3|m|in|-1|disp=or}} in the western and central parts.

{{Weather box |location = Port Menier (1951-1980) |metric first = Y |single line = Y |Jan record high C = 7.2 |Feb record high C = 8.3 |Mar record high C = 10.0 |Apr record high C = 18.3 |May record high C = 24.4 |Jun record high C = 31.1 |Jul record high C = 27.8 |Aug record high C = 28.9 |Sep record high C = 25.6 |Oct record high C = 20.6 |Nov record high C = 13.9 |Dec record high C = 11.1 |year record high C = 31.1 |Jan high C = −6.2 |Feb high C = -5.7 |Mar high C = -1.8 |Apr high C = 3.5 |May high C = 9.3 |Jun high C = 15.8 |Jul high C = 19.0 |Aug high C = 18.0 |Sep high C = 13.6 |Oct high C = 8.1 |Nov high C = 2.7 |Dec high C = -3.5 |year high C = 6.1 |Jan mean C = −10.5 |Feb mean C = −10.9 |Mar mean C = -5.9 |Apr mean C = -0.5 |May mean C = 5.5 |Jun mean C = 11.2 |Jul mean C = 15.3 |Aug mean C = 13.9 |Sep mean C = 9.8 |Oct mean C = 4.4 |Nov mean C = -0.7 |Dec mean C = −7.3 |year mean C = 2.0 |Jan low C = −15.0 |Feb low C = −16.1 |Mar low C = −10.7 |Apr low C = -4.4 |May low C = 1.4 |Jun low C = 6.6 |Jul low C = 11.5 |Aug low C = 9.7 |Sep low C = 5.8 |Oct low C = 0.6 |Nov low C = -4.0 |Dec low C = −10.9 |year low C = -2.1 |Jan record low C = −36.7 |Feb record low C = −37.8 |Mar record low C = −38.3 |Apr record low C = −21.7 |May record low C = −12.2 |Jun record low C = -5.0 |Jul record low C = 0.6 |Aug record low C = 0.6 |Sep record low C = -6.7 |Oct record low C = −11.1 |Nov record low C = −21.1 |Dec record low C = −31.7 |year record low C = −38.3 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 79.5 |Feb precipitation mm = 65.6 |Mar precipitation mm = 53.6 |Apr precipitation mm = 54.3 |May precipitation mm = 75.1 |Jun precipitation mm = 79.6 |Jul precipitation mm = 85.0 |Aug precipitation mm = 80.8 |Sep precipitation mm = 86.8 |Oct precipitation mm = 92.5 |Nov precipitation mm = 81.0 |Dec precipitation mm = 74.1 |year precipitation mm = 907.9 |rain colour = green |Jan rain mm = 11.7 |Feb rain mm = 7.5 |Mar rain mm = 6.4 |Apr rain mm = 26.1 |May rain mm = 69.9 |Jun rain mm = 79.6 |Jul rain mm = 85.0 |Aug rain mm = 80.8 |Sep rain mm = 86.8 |Oct rain mm = 85.6 |Nov rain mm = 55.5 |Dec rain mm = 15.1 |year rain mm = 610.0 |Jan snow cm = 78.4 |Feb snow cm = 62.1 |Mar snow cm = 51.9 |Apr snow cm = 28.8 |May snow cm = 5.2 |Jun snow cm = 0.0 |Jul snow cm = 0.0 |Aug snow cm = 0.0 |Sep snow cm = 0.0 |Oct snow cm = 6.0 |Nov snow cm = 30.5 |Dec snow cm = 64.9 |year snow cm = 327.8 |unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm |Jan precipitation days = 16 |Feb precipitation days = 12 |Mar precipitation days = 10 |Apr precipitation days = 11 |May precipitation days = 11 |Jun precipitation days = 10 |Jul precipitation days = 12 |Aug precipitation days = 11 |Sep precipitation days = 10 |Oct precipitation days = 12 |Nov precipitation days = 12 |Dec precipitation days = 14 |year precipitation days = 141 |unit rain days = 0.2 mm |Jan rain days = 3 |Feb rain days = 1 |Mar rain days = 2 |Apr rain days = 6 |May rain days = 10 |Jun rain days = 10 |Jul rain days = 12 |Aug rain days = 11 |Sep rain days = 10 |Oct rain days = 12 |Nov rain days = 7 |Dec rain days = 2 |year rain days = 86 |unit snow days = 0.2 cm |Jan snow days = 14 |Feb snow days = 10 |Mar snow days = 9 |Apr snow days = 5 |May snow days = 1 |Jun snow days = 0 |Jul snow days = 0 |Aug snow days = 0 |Sep snow days = 0 |Oct snow days = 1 |Nov snow days = 6 |Dec snow days = 13 |year snow days = 59 |Jan sun = 77.6 |Feb sun = 121.0 |Mar sun = 137.0 |Apr sun = 163.8 |May sun = 243.2 |Jun sun = 243.8 |Jul sun = 243.8 |Aug sun = 253.2 |Sep sun = 172.4 |Oct sun = 127.4 |Nov sun = 95.5 |Dec sun = 62.8 |year sun = 1941.5 |humidity colour = green |Jan humidity = 79 |Feb humidity = 79 |Mar humidity = 80 |Apr humidity = 80 |May humidity = 76 |Jun humidity = 76 |Jul humidity = 82 |Aug humidity = 85 |Sep humidity = 85 |Oct humidity = 85 |Nov humidity = 85 |Dec humidity = 81 |Jan dew point C = -12.9 |Feb dew point C = -13.4 |Mar dew point C = -8.4 |Apr dew point C = -3.4 |May dew point C = 1.0 |Jun dew point C = 7.3 |Jul dew point C = 11.6 |Aug dew point C = 11.3 |Sep dew point C = 7.0 |Oct dew point C = 1.9 |Nov dew point C = -2.4 |Dec dew point C = -8.7 |source 1 = Environment Canada<ref name="Canadian Climate Normals 1951-1980, Volume 2">{{Cite web |title=Canadian Climate Normals 1951-1980, Volume 2 |url=https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-2-1982.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417191047/https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-2-1982.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2023 |url-status=dead |publisher=Government of Canada |department=Environment Canada |access-date=7 July 2025 |pages=321 |quote=data for temperature, precipitation, wind, sunshine, etc., each on a national basis.}}</ref><ref name="Canadian Climate Normals 1951-1980">{{Cite web |title=Canadian Climate Normals 1951–1980 Volume 3 |url=https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-3-1982.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418020438/https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-3-1982.pdf |archive-date=18 April 2023 |url-status=dead |access-date=7 July 2025 |date=1982 |quote=data for temperature, precipitation, wind, sunshine, etc., each on a national basis.}}</ref><ref name="Canadian climate normals 1951-1980">{{cite web |title=Canadian climate normals 1951-1980 Volume 6 |url=https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-6-1982.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417223649/https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-6-1982.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2023 |url-status=dead |publisher=Government of Canada |department=Approvisionnements et Services Canada |access-date=31 July 2024 |page=293 |quote=frost statistics for Canadian locations over periods of record to 1980}}</ref><ref name="Canadian climate normals Volume 7">{{cite web |title=Canadian climate normals 1951-1980, Volume 7 |url=https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-7-1982.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419224658/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-7-1982.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2023 |url-status=dead |publisher=Government of Canada |department=Environment Canada |access-date=7 July 2025 |pages=19 |date=1982 |quote=average bright sunshine totals for periods of record to 1980}}</ref> }}

=== Flora and fauna === ==== Flora ==== Every summer from 1924 to 1928, Brothers of the Christian Schools Marie-Victorin and Rolland-Germain explored the Anticosti-Minganie. The two botanists made many discoveries, including Senecio pseudo-arnica var. rollandii or Senecio rollandii as well as the Mingan thistle Cirsium minganense and Botrychium minganense. The botanists explored the coasts of Anticosti Island aboard a refurbished old fishing vessel, the Virginia.<ref name="Marie-Victorin, The boom years (1920-1934), Travels and discoveries">{{cite web |title=Marie-Victorin, The boom years (1920-1934), Travels and discoveries |url=https://archives.umontreal.ca/exposition/mv/faste_voyage.htm |publisher=University of Montreal, Archives Divisions |access-date=21 September 2024 |language=fr |quote=The discovery of Cirsium fills them with joy: a new type of thistle, which the two brothers would never have thought they could find on the edge of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.}}</ref>

The archives of the University of Montreal present on Flickr: Anticosti, a land of immense spaces, the sea all around and a social world of the 1920s gone forever, series of photos by Marie-Victorin: Brother Kirouac (1885-1944).<ref name="Anticosti through the eyes of Brother Marie-Victorin">{{cite web |title=Anticosti through the eyes of Brother Marie-Victorin |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/dgda/albums/72157644711578566/with/14231437334 |publisher=Archives of the University of Montreal |access-date=21 September 2024 |quote=Vauréal River, Pointe de l'Est, Rivière des Caps, Potato River, Asad Boudreau holding two salmon, Cape Henri, etc.}}</ref>

In 2004, the island's vascular flora was estimated at 700 species.<ref name="Rare plants to discover at Anticosti National Park">{{cite web |author1=Eric Savard |title=Rare plants to discover at Anticosti National Park |url=https://www.sepaq.com/parcs-quebec/blogue/article.dot?id=6826378d-d161-4294-ab49-c66ad82dd731 |website=The Society of Outdoor Establishments of Quebec |publisher=Sepaq |access-date=7 August 2024 |language=fr |date=30 April 2013 |quote=It is in the canyons of the Vauréal, Observation and Chicotte rivers that we encounter the most species with a precarious status in the park.}}</ref> Rare Plants of the Mingan Archipelago,<ref name="Rare Plants of the Mingan Archipelago">{{cite web |author1=Line Couillard |author2=Pierre Grondin |title=Rare Plants of the Mingan Archipelago |url=http://parkscanadahistory.com/plants/mingan-rare-plants.pdf |publisher=Parks Canada |access-date=5 August 2024 |pages=84 |date=3 January 2023 |quote=Brother Marie-Victorin, founder of the Montreal Botanical Gardens, explored the area from 1924 to 1928. He was accompanied by Brother RollandGermain. Their work made the scientific community aware of the enormous interest of this calcareous archipelago.}}</ref> Parks Canada 2023, said that nearly a tenth of Anticosti Island's flora are rare plants, most of which colonize open habitats associated with rivers (cliffs, taluses or pebbled surfaces) and mineral bogs.<ref name="Master plan - Anticosti National Park" /><ref name="Network of protected areas in Quebec">{{cite web |title=Network of protected areas in Quebec |url=https://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/aires_protegees/registre/ |publisher=Environment and Climate Change Canada |access-date=13 August 2024 |language=fr |date=2024 |quote=The Register of Protected Areas in Quebec constitutes a unique and integrated reference for Quebec in terms of protected areas, both within the meaning of the Natural Heritage Conservation Act and the recommendations of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).}}</ref> Anticosti Island is home to the rare orchid, ''Cypripedium arietinum'' Ait. f. (Cypripède tête-de-bélier; ram's head lady's slipper).<ref name="Cypripedium arietinum Ait. f.">{{cite web |title=Cypripedium arietinum Ait. f. |url=https://goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org/species/cypripedium/arietinum/ |publisher=North American Orchid Conservation Center |access-date=30 July 2024 |date=2011 |quote=...has a limited distribution across northeastern and central Canada and the U.S., from Quebec to Wisconsin.}}</ref> While populations are declining elsewhere in eastern North America, the orchid flourishes here abundantly, making Anticosti a refuge for this plant.

The forests of Anticosti Island are typical boreal forest, with common species such as white spruce, balsam fir, and black spruce. It is distinguished by some minor stands of American white birch and trembling aspen.

* ''Picea glauca'' (Moench) Voss (Épicéa glauque, Épinette blanche; white spruce). * ''Abies balsamea'' (Linné) Miller (Sapin baumier, Sapin; balsam fir). * ''Picea mariana'' (Miller) BSP (Épicéa marial, Épinette noire; black spruce). * ''Betula papyrifera'' Marshall (Bouleau à papier, Bouleau blanc, Bouleau à canot; canoë birch, American white birch). * ''Populus tremuloides'' Michaux (Peuplier faux-tremble, Tremble; aspen).

Balsam fir is slowly being replaced with white spruce because of intensive grazing done by white-tailed deer and by periodic outbreaks of hemlock looper and spruce budworm.<ref name="IA-geo"/><ref name="Réserve de biodiversité projetée d’Anticosti - Conservation plan">{{cite web |title=Réserve de biodiversité projetée d'Anticosti - Conservation plan |url=https://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/reserves-bio/anticosti/psc-anticosti-en.pdf |website=Quebec strategy for protected areas |publisher=Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs |pages=11 of 29 |date=August 2020 |access-date=30 July 2024 |quote=Very few surveys of rare, threatened, or vulnerable plant species have been conducted in the proposed reserve.}}</ref> About a quarter of the island is covered by peat lands.<ref name="Conservation bulletin of Quebec national parks 2011">{{cite web |author1=Marie-Claude Provost |author2=Catalina Bonilla |title=Conservation bulletin of Quebec national parks 2011 |url=https://www.sepaq.com/dotAsset/e60ece28-34c1-44c0-97de-9965c968dc46.pdf |publisher=SEPAQ |date=28 October 2011 |page=12 |access-date=5 August 2024 |quote=Bioacoustics: a tool for monitoring wildlife diversity, Anticosti National Park, inventory}}</ref>

<gallery heights="200" mode="packed" caption="Flora on the island, overview"> File:Cypripedium arietinum - Flickr 003.jpg|Cypripedium arietinum Ait. f. File:EtangCastor.jpg|Boreal forest File:Pinguicula_vulgaris_002.jpg|Pinguicula vulgaris L. (Grassette vulgaire; common butterwort). Carnivorous plant, Mc Donald River<ref name="Sépaq Anticosti Deer hunting - 2018 season - map">{{cite web |title=Sépaq Anticosti Deer hunting - 2018 season |url=https://www.sepaq.com/resources/docs/sepaq-anticosti/cartes-chasse/san_chasse_secteur_mcdonald-carte-1.pdf |publisher=Sépaq |access-date=1 August 2024 |date=2017 |quote=McDonald's River sector: map: 540.62 km², integrates geographic information from government sources}}</ref><ref name="McDonald River - toponymy">{{cite web |title=McDonald River |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=367372 |website=Gouvernement of Quebec |publisher=Commission de Toponymy Quebec |access-date=9 August 2024 |language=fr |date=2001-08-22 |quote=Peter McDonald lived for over 30 years at the mouth of this river.}}</ref> bank File:Dryas_drummondii_950707_18a.jpg|Dryas drummondii Richardson. (Dryade de Drummond; Drummond's mountain-avens), Trans-Anticosti Route,<ref name="Master plan - Anticosti National Park">{{cite web |author1=Jean Boisclair, project manager |title=Master plan - Anticosti National Park |url=https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/parcs/documents/PL_directeur_Anticosti.pdf |website=Quebec Gouvernement |publisher=Quebec Wildlife and Parks Society |pages=43 of 52 |language=fr |date=March 2004 |quote=The abundance of wildlife, the particularities and the diversity of flora as well as the character of the coastal landscapes make this island one of the most beautiful natural sites in Quebec}}</ref> km 144, secteur Vauréal File:Draba incana 014.jpg|Draba incana L. (Drave blanchâtre; twisted whitlow grass), pebbles and limestone rocks, shore at Baie-Sainte-Claire<ref name="Anticosti: the regional aspect of the settlement">{{cite web |author1=Louis-Edmond Hamelin |author2=Benoît Dumont |title=Anticosti: the regional aspect of the settlement |url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cgq/1979-v23-n60-cgq2633/021449ar.pdf |publisher=Quebec geography notebooks |access-date=6 August 2024 |pages=16 |language=fr |quote=In addition to the sea, three main ecumene: punctual sites around the edge (Baie-du-Renard), the western end (Anse-aux-Fraises and Baie-Sainte-Claire) and, at the South West,}}</ref> File:Orchis_rotundifolia_004.jpg|''Orchis rotundifolia'' (Orchis à feuille ronde; small round-leaved orchid), Mc Donald River bank<ref name="Sépaq Anticosti Deer hunting - 2018 season - map" /> </gallery>

=== Fauna === In Anticosti Island, the wildlife is characteristic of an isolated marine environment. Of the 24 mammal species, 14 or 15 of these are marine mammals, including seals:<ref name="IA-geo"/>

* ''Halichoerus grypus'' (Phoque gris; grey seal). * ''Phoca vitulina'' (Phoque commun; harbour seal).

Various cetaceans, even large species, ply the nearby cold waters. Thirteen species of cetaceans frequent the waters of the estuary and the gulf of the St. Lawrence River:<ref name="Whales Online, magazine and encyclopedia">{{cite web |title=The Species of the St. Lawrence |url=https://baleinesendirect.org/en/about/ |website=Whales Online, magazine and encyclopedia |publisher=Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM) |access-date=10 August 2024 |date=July 2024 |quote=The different species of seals and whales are all mammal species. © GREMM}}</ref>

# ''Hyperoodon ampullatus'' (Hypéroodon boreal, Hypéroodon arctique; northern bottlenose whale). # ''Delphinapterus leucas'' (Béluga, Bélouga, Baleine blanche, Dauphin blanc, Marsouin blanc; beluga whale). # ''Physeter macrocephalus'' (Grand cachalot, Cachalot, Cachalot macrocéphale; sperm whale). # ''Lagenorhynchus acutus'' (Lagénorhynque à flancs blancs, Dauphin à flancs blancs; Atlantic white-sided dolphin). # ''Lagenorhynchus albirostris'' (Dauphin à nez blanc, Dauphin à bec blanc, Lagénorhynque à bec blanc; white-beaked dolphin). # ''Orcinus orca'' (Orque, Épaulard; Killer Whale). # ''Globicephala melas'' (Globicéphale commun, Globicéphale noir, Dauphin pilote; long-finned pilot whale). # ''Phocoena phocoena'' (Marsouin commun, Cochon de mer, Dieu des mers; harbour porpoise). # ''Eubalaena glacialis'' (Baleine franche de l'Atlantique nord, Baleine noire de l'Atlantique nord, Baleine de Biscaye; North Atlantic right whale). # ''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'' (Petit rorqual; minke whale). # ''Balaenoptera musculus'' (Baleine bleue, Rorqual bleu; blue whale). # ''Megaptera novaeangliae'' (Rorqual à bosse, Baleine à bosse; humpback whale). # ''Balaenoptera physalus'' (Rorqual commun; fin whale).

Originally, there were probably only seven indigenous species of land mammals; ''Martes americana'' and ''Ursus americanus'' have now been extirpated:

* ''Vulpes vulpes'' (Renard roux; red fox), including melanistic individuals.<ref name="Reserve of biodiversity projected Anticosti - Conservation plan">{{cite web |title=Reserve of biodiversity projected Anticosti - Conservation plan |url=https://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/reserves-bio/anticosti/psc-anticosti-en.pdf |website=Quebec Gouvernement |pages=11 of 29 |date=August 2020 |quote=The wildlife on Anticosti Island is the result of massive introductions made by the French chocolate maker Henri Menier at the end of the 19th century.}}</ref> * ''Lontra canadensis'' (Loutre de rivière; river otter). * ''Peromyscus maniculatus'' (Souris sylvestre, souris du soir; deer mouse). * ''Martes americana'' (Martre d'Amérique; American marten). * ''Ursus americanus'' (Ours noir; black bear). * ''Myotis lucifugus'' (Petite chauve-souris brune; little brown bat). * ''Eptesicus nilssonii'' (Sérotine de Nilsson, sérotine boréale; northern bat).

[[File:Anticosti cerf Virginie 950710 19.jpg|thumb|''Odocoileus virginianus'' (Cerf de Virginie, chevreuil; white-tailed deer). Port-Menier (village)]]

In order to make Anticosti Island a hunter's "paradise", several animal species have been introduced; starting in 1896, the island became an unprecedented biological experiment. In all, sixteen introduced species have been attempted, with six{{Clarify|date=December 2025|reason=only five listed; change six to five or add missing species?}} proving to be unsuccessful, namely bison, caribou, elk, mink and fisher. However, for ten{{Clarify|date=December 2025|reason=only nine listed; change ten to nine or add missing species?}} species, it has been a beneficial introduction; six{{Clarify|date=December 2025|reason=only five listed; change six to five or add missing species?}} species of terrestrial mammals (white-tailed deer, moose, beaver, snowshoe hare and muskrat), two species of frogs, and two species of non-migratory birds (ruffed grouse and the spruce grouse).

Of all these species introduced, the "success" of white-tailed deer is particularly noteworthy. From an initial group of about 200 (introduced in 1896 and 1897), the number of white-tailed deer has grown to an estimated 37,000 animals in 2018, representing a density of 4.7 deer/km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="parkguide" /><ref name="Réserve de biodiversité projetée d’Anticosti - Conservation plan" />

Without predators, this man-made deer population has had noticeable impacts on the island ecosystem. Balsam fir trees covered about 40% of the island, prior to the introduction of the deer. The deer eat tender sprouts from the ground, and prevent fir regeneration; in turn, the firs are being replaced by white spruce.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Potvin |first1=François |last2=Beaupré |first2=Pierre |last3=Laprise |first3=Gaétan |title=The eradication of balsam fir stands by white-tailed deer on Anticosti Island, Québec: A 150-year process |journal=Écoscience |date=2003 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=487–495 |doi=10.1080/11956860.2003.11682796|s2cid=59928260 }}</ref>

The brook trout, Atlantic salmon and American eel visit the island's shores and swim up several rivers of the island.

Some 221 bird species, distributed among 21 avian families, have been observed on Anticosti Island. It is home to nearly 60% of the known breeding sites of the bald eagle in the province of Quebec.<ref name="IA-geo"/>

<gallery widths="200" mode="packed" heights="160" caption="Off the island, in the cold waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence"> File:Rorqual_070.jpg|Whale Research Expeditions with Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS),<ref name="Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS)">{{cite web |title=Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) |url=https://www.rorqual.com/english/home |access-date=11 August 2024|date=2024 |quote=The principal study areas include the Quebec North Shore in the Mingan Island / Anticosti region, the Gaspe Peninsula and St. Lawrence Estuary.}}</ref> File:Rorqual_122.jpg|Humpback whales, females and cubs, Whale Research Expeditions with Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) File:Rorqual_126.jpg|Humpback whales, dorsals, pectoral fins, Whale Research Expeditions with Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS) </gallery>

==Municipality of L'Île-d'Anticosti== {{main|L'Île-d'Anticosti, Quebec}}

==Access and transportation== Access to the island is either by boat or plane. From April to mid-January, the commercial shipping company Relais Nordik services Port-Menier twice weekly with a passenger and cargo vessel.

The Port-Menier Airport is serviced by Air Liaison which provides regular scheduled flights to Sept-Îles and Havre-St-Pierre. There are two other aerodromes on the island, both towards the eastern end. Rivière-aux-Saumons (CTH7) is located on the northern side of the island and was paved in July 2010; Rivière Bell (CRB5) is gravel and is located on the southern side. These are used by outfitters and charter companies that provide private air services during the tourist season.

The Henri-Menier Road or Transanticostienne Road, the island's unpaved main road, stretches from Port-Menier to the eastern tip, with numerous forest roads branching off to provide access to various tourist locations and logging concessions. Car rental is available in Port-Menier.

==Tourism== {{See also|Anticosti National Park}}

Because of its untamed wilderness and abundant wildlife, Anticosti Island is known for its hunting, fishing and outdoor opportunities and it attracts some 3,000 to 4,000 hunters per year.<ref name="Réserve de biodiversité projetée d’Anticosti - Conservation plan" />

Most of Anticosti Island ({{convert|4213|km2|abbr=on|disp=or}}) is under management by Sépaq Anticosti, a division of the provincial parks and wildlife reserves agency Sépaq. It actively promotes tourism on the island, in particular hunting and fishing tours. Another {{convert|572|km2|abbr=on}} is protected in the Anticosti National Park (''Parc national d'Anticosti''). In addition to hunting and fishing, many other outdoor recreational activities are supported in this park, such as hiking, horseback riding, nature viewing and sea kayaking.<ref name="parkguide"/>

There are also five commercial outfitters that hold exclusive hunting and fishing rights to {{convert|7263|km2|abbr=on}} of the island.<ref name="Réserve de biodiversité projetée d’Anticosti - Conservation plan" />

==UNESCO's World Heritage designation== Anticosti Island was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 19 September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Parks |date=2023-09-19 |title=Anticosti inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2023/09/anticosti-inscribed-on-unescos-world-heritage-list.html |access-date=2026-01-27 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref>

According to UNESCO, the fossil record on Anticosti Island is the most complete palaeontological record representing the first mass extinction of animal life on a global scale, approximately 447–437 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Anticosti |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1686/ |access-date=2026-01-27 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>

The World Heritage Site includes the entire coastline of Anticosti Island, except for the area surrounding the village of Port-Menier.<ref name="Master plan - Anticosti National Park" /> It also includes the banks of the Jupiter River and the Vauréal River.<ref name="Master plan - Anticosti National Park" /> A buffer zone extending one kilometre inland from the coastline and riverbanks forms part of the protected area.<ref name="Master plan - Anticosti National Park" />

The site contains exceptionally well-preserved, abundant, and diverse fossil fauna within protected areas free from industrial activity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Anticosti |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1686/ |access-date=2026-01-27 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref><gallery widths="200" mode="packed" heights="160" caption="Vauréal Canyon"> File: Chute Vauréal - Anticosti.jpg|Cliff wall, fall and Vauréal River<ref name="Vauréal canyon">{{cite web |title=Vauréal canyon |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=138840 |website=Commission de toponymie Quebec |publisher=Commission de Toponymy Quebec |access-date=29 July 2024 |language=fr |date=1984-10-04 |quote=... 3 kilometer canyon, whose walls can reach more than 90 meters in height}}</ref> File:Anticosti_fossiles_001.jpg|Fossil tabulate coral, in the gravel, at the foot of the wall File:Anticosti_fossiles_006.jpg|Fossil to be identified, in the gravel, at the foot of the wall </gallery>

The Vauréal River, with its source in Lake Vauréal, flows 25 km, south then northeast, in the eastern part of the island. The salmon go up the river to the Vauréal Falls, 13 km from the coast, crossing the Vauréal canyon where the river is enclosed between two limestone walls.<ref name="Vauréal River toponymy">{{cite web |title=Vauréal River |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=65245 |website=Quebec Gouvernement |publisher=Commission de Toponymy Quebec |access-date=29 July 2024 |language=fr |date=1968-12-05 |quote=Originally, it was known under the name Morsal or Maujerol in memory of a French Huguenot from Avignon.}}</ref><ref name="Vauréal canyon" />

==Utica Shale== {{main|Utica Shale}}

The Utica Shale, a stratigraphical unit of Middle Ordovician age that is potentially rich in shale gas reserves,<ref>{{citation |url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=92251&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1124217&highlight= |work=Forest Oil Corporation |title=Press Releases and Notices}}</ref> underlies the Anticosti Islands and extends to surrounding areas in Quebec, Ontario and much of northeastern United States.<ref name=lexicon>{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:015717 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221081406/http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:015717 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 February 2013 |title=Utica Shale |author=Lexicon of Canadian Geologic Units |access-date=1 February 2010 }}</ref> On February 8, 2011, the citizen group "Non au Pétrole et au Gaz au Québec" released one of the biggest petitions in Quebec history against fracking in the province of Quebec with 128,000 signatures thinking it would prevent the oil and gas exploration on Anticosti.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/actualites-salle-presse/conferences-points-presse/ConferencePointPresse-6555.html|title=Point de presse de M. Amir Khadir, député de Mercier et de M. Scott McKay, porte-parole de l'opposition officielle en matière de mines - Assemblée nationale du Québec|website=www.assnat.qc.ca|access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> In June 2011, the Quebec firm Pétrolia claimed to have discovered about 30 billion barrels of oil on the island of Anticosti, which is the first time that significant reserves have been found in the province.<ref>{{cite web | last = Proulx | first = André | title = Petrolia: First Resource Assessment of Macasty Shale, Anticosti Island, Quebec | publisher = Marketwire | date=June 2011 | url = http://www.marketwatch.com/story/petrolia-first-resource-assessment-of-macasty-shale-anticosti-island-quebec-2011-06-29-81120?reflink=MW_news_stmp | access-date = 29 June 2011}}</ref>

In February 2014, Premier of Quebec Pauline Marois announced that the provincial government would help finance two exploratory shale gas operations as a prelude to hydraulic fracturing on the island, with the province pledging $115-million to finance drilling for two separate joint ventures in exchange for rights to 50% of the licences and 60% of any commercial profit.<ref name="CG_2014">{{citation |series=Energy Rich |title=Quebec Utica shale gas |work=Canadian Geographic |first1=Karan |last1=Smith |first2=Michela |last2=Rosano |pages=34–40}}</ref>{{rp|37}}<ref name="Vendeville_2014">{{citation|title=Couillard rules out fracking |first=Geoffrey |last=Vendeville |location=Montreal |work=Montreal Gazette |date=16 December 2014 |access-date=2 January 2015 |url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/couillard-rules-out-fracking}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/quebec-installs-outright-moratorium-hydraulic-fracturing-433930 |title=Quebec installs outright moratorium on hydraulic fracturing |work=International Business Times |date=4 April 2012}}</ref> It was the first oil and gas deal of any size for the province. With the change in government that occurred in April 2014, the Liberals of Philippe Couillard could change that decision. Petrolia Inc., Corridor Resources and Maurel & Prom formed one joint-venture, while Junex Inc. was still seeking a private partner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://business.financialpost.com/2014/04/08/quebec-oil-juniors-hopeful-new-liberal-government-will-honour-anticosti-deals/?__lsa=fce8-91bb|title=Quebec oil juniors hopeful new Liberal government will honour Anticosti deals|author=Nicolas Van Praet|date=8 April 2014|work=Financial Post|access-date=12 December 2015}}</ref>

On June 4, 2013, the citizen group "Non au Pétrole et au Gaz au Québec", realizing that fracking continued to be a viable method of oil extraction on Anticosti, released another petition that garnered 26,000 signatures against fracking, exploration and exploitation of oil and gas on Anticosti Island and asked for a moratorium and an environmental evaluation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ici.radio-canada.ca/emissions/le_monde_aujourdhui/2013-2014/chronique.asp?idChronique=296545|title=Pétition pour un moratoire sur Anticosti - Le monde aujourd'hui - ICI Radio-Canada Première|access-date=12 December 2015}}</ref> Geological engineer Marc Durand gave a presentation at a conference explaining that a minimum of 12,000 wells would be necessary for this exploitation and would put Quebec in debt, considering the 12 million dollar cost of one of these wells.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/environnement/actualites-sur-l-environnement/379828/au-moins-12-000-puits-de-petrole-sur-anticosti|title=Au moins 12 000 puits de pétrole sur Anticosti|work=Le Devoir|date=4 June 2013 |access-date=12 December 2015}}</ref> A year later, when Pauline Marois announced an investment of 115 million dollars for Petrolia to continue the exploration, the same petition increased up to 36,000 signatures. The government started a BAPE (environmental evaluation) specific for Anticosti and the report, published on October 3, 2022, is in favour of creating a protected area on the island.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1922426/ile-anticosti-rapport-bape-quebec-patrimoine-mondial-unesco | title=Le BAPE dépose un rapport pour une réserve de biodiversité sur Anticosti }}</ref><ref name="Network of protected areas in Quebec" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== * {{Cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Baynes |editor-first=Thomas Spencer |date=1878 |title=Anticosti |title-link=s:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Anticosti |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |edition=9th |volume=II |location=New York |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |ref={{harvid|EB|1878}} |pages=127}} * {{Cite EB1911 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Anticosti |volume=2 |ref={{harvid|EB|1911}} |page=123}} * MacKay, Donald (1979). [https://archive.org/details/anticostiuntamed0000mack ''Anticosti: The Untamed Island''] {{registration required}}. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. {{ISBN|0-07-082933-0}}. * McCormick, Charlie (1996). ''Anticosti''. Éditions JCL. {{ISBN|2-89431-152-4}}. * Pew, Alberta C.; Joseph N. Pew, Jr., Margaret R. Leisenring, Edward B. Leisenring, Jay Cooke (1935). ''A.E.F.: Anticosti Expeditionary Force''. Philadelphia?: Privately printed. Account of a private fishing expedition to the island. * Schmitt, Joseph (1904). [https://archive.org/details/monographiedelil00schmuoft/mode/2up ''Monographie de l'Ile d'Anticosti (Golfe Saint-Laurent)''] {{In lang|fr}}. Paris: Librairie scientifique A. Hermann. {{OCLC|191970217}}.

== Further reading == * Billings, E. (Elkanah), 1820-1876. ''[https://archive.org/details/cataloguesofsilu00geol Geological Survey of Canada, and Geological Survey of Canada: Catalogues of the Silurian Fossils of the Island of Anticosti: With Descriptions of Some New Genera and Species]''. Montreal: Dawson brothers, 1866. * Engel, Gretchen Eshbaugh ''[https://www.jamescumminsbookseller.com/images/upload/CumminsSportingCat106.pdf Though Memory Plays Me False: A Story of Anticosti. The St. Lawrence River Isle of Enchantment, the life of William Hardy Eshbaugh and the role he played in its early development]''. (Southbury, CT, 1971) * Logan, W.E., Murray, A., Hunt, T.S., and Billings, E. (1863). [https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/educational-resources/history-geological-survey-canada-175-objects/20-geology-canada-1863 Geology of Canada. Report of Progress from Its Commencement to 1863; Geological Survey of Canada], 983 pp. [accompanied by an Atlas of Maps and Sections]. {{doi|10.4095/123563}}. * Menier, Henri (1905). [https://www.comettant.com/photographies/ile-anticosti-1900-1905/ ''Anticosti, 1905'']. 237 original photographs by Henri Menier. Some originals were deposited in the Archives du Québec in the Lucien Comettant collection by his grandson, Lucien Laurin. * Young, G. A. (1909). [https://archive.org/details/descriptivesketc0000youn/mode/2up A Descriptive Sketch of the Geology, and Economic Minerals of Canada]. Ottawa: Geological Survey Branch, Canada Department of Mines; Government Printing Bureau. {{doi|10.4095/216120}}.

==External links== {{sister project auto}} * [http://www.sepaq.com/san/index.dot?language_id=1 Sépaq Anticosti official website] * [http://www.sepaq.com/pq/pan/en/ Parc national d'Anticosti official website]

Category:Anticosti Island Category:Geographic regions of Quebec Category:Landforms of Côte-Nord Category:Menier family Category:River islands of Quebec Category:World Heritage Sites in Canada