Matamec’s Small Haven
Sure to meet nature lovers’ greatest expectations, this parks runs through various ecosystems making it a great spot for discovering our region’s biodiversity.
Petit-Havre de Matamec is chock full of natural attractions. In addition to footpaths that offer incredible views of the St. Lawrence coast, there are also three peat bogs, a saltwater marsh, a littoral zone, a stunted forest, a typical Côte Nord boreal forest and a balsam fir stand. Many pages of regional history were also written here.
Such habitat diversity has led to great biological diversity. A large number of birds come to take advantage of this rich area: osprey, great blue herons, common loons, and many other species have been observed. Mammals including red foxes, wolves and moose are also hidden all around Petit-Havre. On the coast at low tide hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, sea urchins and even flounder can be seen.
Many tree species are found here, including white birch, black spruce, tamarack and American mountain ash. Spring is a wonderful time to admire the flowers and understory plants like blue iris, creeping snowberry, bunchberry, lingonberry and Labrador tea, just to name a few.
The very ancient and rare rocks that dot the Petit-Havre coast are not to be missed. These are metamorphic rocks dating back approximately 1.1 billion years that have been shaped by glaciation as well as collisions and cracking of the Earth’s crust. True works of natural art, the rocks of Petit-Havre are an attraction in their own right.