Editing Gulf of St. Lawrence

{{Short description|Outlet of the Great Lakes into the Atlantic}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Gulf of St. Lawrence
| native_name        = 
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| other_name         = {{langx|fr|Golfe du Saint-Laurent}}
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| caption            = [[Canadian Shield]] bedrock, [[Baie-Trinité, Quebec#Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse|on the site of Pointe-des-Monts hamlet Lighthouse<ref name="Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse">{{cite web |title=Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=371691 |website=Gouvernement of Quebec |publisher=Commission de Toponymy Quebec |access-date=18 September 2024 |language=fr |date=7 May 2003 |quote=This lighthouse is located in Baie-Trinité, in the hamlet of Pointe-des-Monts; it was classified as a monument and historic site on September 8, 1965.}}</ref>]]
| image_bathymetry   = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg
| alt_bathymetry     = Bathymetry of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
| caption_bathymetry = Bathymetry of the Gulf of St. Lawrence
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| coordinates        = {{Coord|48|36|N|61|24|W|scale:5000000_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
| type               = [[Gulf]]
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| basin_countries    = [[Canada]]<br/>[[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]] ([[France]])
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The '''Gulf of St. Lawrence'''  fringes the shores of the provinces of [[Quebec]], [[New Brunswick]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Prince Edward Island]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], in [[Canada]], plus the islands [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon|Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]], possessions of [[France]], in [[North America]].<ref name="The Environmental Atlas of the St. Lawrence">{{cite web |author1=Claudine Loiselle |author2=Jean Raveneau |title=The Environmental Atlas of the St. Lawrence |url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/eccc/en40/En40-386-0-1997-fra.pdf |website=Environnement Canada, Geography department |publisher=Université Laval |access-date=21 February 2024 |pages=34 of 67 |date=December 1997 |quote=A River, Estuaries, a Gulf: The Great Hydrographic Divisions of the St. Lawrence}}</ref><ref name="Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence - Fisheries and Oceans Canada" />

The Gulf of St. Lawrence connects the [[Great Lakes]] to the [[Atlantic Ocean]] via the [[St. Lawrence River]].<ref name="Fischeries and Oceans Canada">{{cite web |author1=Jean-Claude Therriault |title=The Gulf od St. Lawrence: Small Ocean or Big Estuary |url=https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/20971_1.pdf |website=Fischeries and Oceans Canada |publisher=Canadian special Publication of Fischeries and Aquatic Science |access-date=21 February 2024 |pages=359 |language=fr, en |date=2012 |quote=the Gulf must be considered a complete and coherent systern: for example, what happens in the Gaspé current cannot be completely isolated from the phenomena that occur elsewhere. The degree of interdependence of the various areas remains to be explored.}}</ref><ref name="Great Lakes Commission">{{cite web |title=St. Lawrence River and Seaway |url=https://www.glc.org/lakes/st-lawrence |publisher=Great Lakes Commission |access-date=22 February 2024 |quote=. . . can be divided into three broad sections: the freshwater river, which extends from Lake Ontario to just outside the city of Quebec; the St. Lawrence estuary, which extends from Quebec to Anticosti Island; and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which leads into the Atlantic Ocean}}</ref><ref name="St Lawrence River Canadian Encyclopedia">{{cite web |title=St Lawrence River |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-lawrence-river |publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=22 February 2024 |ref=Geography and Geology |quote=According to the Royal Proclamation of 1763, a line from the mouth of Rivière St-Jean on the north shore past the western tip of Île d'Anticosti to Cap des Rosiers on Gaspé marks the end of the river and the beginning of the gulf.}}</ref>

== Geography ==
===Extent===

The Gulf of St. Lawrence is bounded on the north by the [[Labrador Peninsula]] and [[Quebec]], on the east by [[Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon|Saint-Pierre]] and [[Island of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]], on the south by the [[Nova Scotia peninsula]] and [[Cape Breton Island]], and on the west by the [[Gaspé Peninsula]], [[New Brunswick]], and Quebec. The Gulf of St. Lawrence contains numerous islands, including [[Anticosti Island|Anticosti]], [[Prince Edward Island|Prince Edward]], [[Saint Pierre Island|Saint Pierre]], [[Cape Breton Island|Cape Breton]], [[Miquelon-Langlade]], and the [[Magdalen Islands|Îles-de-la-Madeleine archipelago]].

Half of Canada's ten provinces adjoin the Gulf: [[New Brunswick]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Prince Edward Island]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], and [[Quebec]].

There is no consensus on the demarcation of the [[St. Lawrence River|St Lawrence River]] from the Gulf, nor whether it is hydrographically a [[gulf]] or an [[estuary]].<ref name="Histoire du Canada Français depuis la découverte">{{cite web |author1=Lionel Groulx |title=History of French Canada since the Discovery |url=https://fondationlionelgroulx.org/sites/default/files/documents/lionel-groulx-histoire-du-canada-francais-depuis-la-decouverte-tome-1.pdf |publisher=Fides, Montreal and Paris |access-date=23 February 2024 |pages=16 of 404 |language=fr |date=1960 |quote=In the absence of decisive, first-hand documents, historians and cartographers can only assert probabilities.}}</ref><ref name="Small Ocean or Big Estuary">{{cite web |author1=Jean-Claude Therriault |title=The Gulf of St. Lawrence: Small Ocean or Big Estuary |url=https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/20971_1.pdf |publisher=Fisheries and Oceans Canada |access-date=23 February 2024 |pages=359 |language=en, fr |quote=The Gulf of St. Lawrence contains a wide range of hydrodynamic conditions including seasonal ice cover, polynyas, fronts, gyres, freshwater input and influences, and large seasonal variations in vertical stratification.}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica">{{cite web |title=Gulf of St. Lawrence |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Gulf-of-Saint-Lawrence |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |publisher=Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=2024-02-20}}</ref>

According to Commission of Toponymy Quebec, the St. Lawrence River becomes the gulf at Pointe des Monts on the [[Côte-Nord]] and [[Matane]] [[Bas-Saint-Laurent]] or [[Sainte-Anne-des-Monts]] [[La Haute-Gaspésie Regional County Municipality|La Haute-Gaspésie]], the [[Estuary of St. Lawrence|Estuary]] is upstream, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, much wider, downstream.<ref name="Toponymie Quebec">{{cite web |title=Gulf of St. Lawrence |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=57035 |website=Commission de toponymie Quebec |publisher=Government of Quebec |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=fr |date=1968-12-05 |quote=Sixteenth-century cartographers, historians and memorialists were most often inspired by the Spanish and Italian translations of the Brief récit, and not by the original French published in 1545 to impose the toponym Gulf of St. Lawrence}}</ref><ref name="Pointe des Monts">{{cite web |title=Pointe des Monts |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=42200 |website=Commission de toponymie Quebec |publisher=Government of Quebec |access-date=24 February 2024 |language=fr |date=1968-12-05 |quote=These points serve as a boundary between the Estuary of the St. Lawrence River upstream and the much wider Gulf of St. Lawrence downstream}}</ref>

The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] defines the gulf's extent as follows:<ref name="Gulf of St. Lawrence 1953">{{cite web |title=Gulf of St. Lawrence |url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |website=Limits of Oceans and Seas |publisher=International Hydrographic organization |access-date=19 February 2024 |pages=14 of 42 |date=1953 |quote=Limits of Oceans and Seas}}</ref>
:''On the Northeast:'' A line running from [[Cape Bauld]] (North point of [[Quirpon Island|Kirpon Island]], {{Coord|51|40|N|55|25|W|display=inline}}) to the East extreme of [[Belle Isle (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Belle Isle]]<ref name="Strait of Belle Isle, toponymy">{{cite web |title=Strait of Belle Isle |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=228162 |website=Gouvernement of Quebec |publisher=Commission de Toponymy Quebec |access-date=14 August 2024 |language=fr |date=13 December 1988 |quote=In addition to Grande Bay, this arm of the sea had notably borne the names of Friar Lewis, on maps from 1505, then Gulf of Chasteaulx, Charles Streights and Passage du Nord which a cartographer describes as "subject to Glaces” later in the 16th and during the 17th century.}}</ref> and on to the Northeast Ledge ({{Coord|52|02|N|55|15|W|display=inline}}). Thence a line joining this ledge with the East extreme of [[Cape St. Charles]] (52°13'N) in [[Labrador]].

:''On the Southeast:'' A line from [[Cape Canso]] ({{Coord|45|20|N|61|0|W|display=inline}}) to [[Red Point (Nova Scotia)|Red Point]] ({{Coord|45|35|N|60|45|W|display=inline}}) in Cape Breton Island, through this Island to Cape Breton [{{coord|45|57|N|59|47|W|display=inline}}] and on to Pointe Blanche ({{Coord|46|45|N|56|11|W|display=inline}}) in the Island of [[Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon|St. Pierre]], and thence to the southwest point of Morgan Island ({{Coord|46|51|N|55|49|W|display=inline}}).

:''On the West:'' The meridian of 64°30'W from Pointe-Jaune ({{coord|49.06|N|64.5|W|format=dms|display=inline}}) to Magpie ({{coord|50.31|N|64.5|W|format=dms|display=inline}}), but the whole of Anticosti Island is included in the Gulf.

[[Image:011_015_Pointe_des_Monts.jpg|thumb|Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse, [[Baie-Trinité, Quebec]]]]
At Baie-Trinité, the [[Baie-Trinité, Quebec#Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse|Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse]], a [[National Historic Sites of Canada|National historic site of Canada]], was built in 1829–1830 on a point that geographers throughout history, since as early as [[Samuel de Champlain]] (1567–1655), have classified as the demarcation point between the [[St. Lawrence River]] and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.<ref name="The Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse">{{cite web |title=The Pointe-des-Monts Lighthouse |url=https://www.pharedepointedesmonts.com/ |publisher=Corporation de Promotion et de Développement du site du Phare historique de Pointe‑des‑Monts |access-date=25 February 2024 |language=fr |date=2024 |quote=Built on a rocky outcrop that forms an islet at high tide, the lighthouse bears witness to a time when navigation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was perilous.}}</ref><ref name="The Canadian Lighthouse">{{cite web |author1=Edward F. Bush |title=The Canadian Lighthouse |url=http://parkscanadahistory.com/series/chs/9/chs9-eng.pdf |publisher=National Historic Parks and Sites, Branch, Indian and Northern Affairs |access-date=25 February 2024 |pages=55 of 188 |date=1975 |quote=The first lighthouse, completed in 1830, had walls six feet thick at the base, tapering to two feet at the lantern deck.20}}</ref>

[[Fisheries and Oceans Canada]]'s "Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence planning area" covers most of the [[Estuary of St. Lawrence|Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence]] bioregion, an area with some of the warmest surface waters in [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] Canada during summer and the largest amount of sea ice during winter. The planning area is approximately 240,000&nbsp;km².<ref name="Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence - Fisheries and Oceans Canada">{{cite web |title=Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence |url=https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/planning-planification/areas-aires/estuary-gulf-st-lawrence-estuaire-golfe-saint-laurent-eng.html |website=Government of Canada |publisher=Fisheries and Oceans Canada |access-date=19 February 2024 |date=2023-01-27 |quote=The area represents one of the largest and most productive estuarine/marine ecosystems in Canada and in the world.}}</ref>

===Tributaries and nested bays===
Besides the St. Lawrence itself, significant rivers emptying into the Gulf of St. Lawrence include the [[Miramichi River|Miramichi]], [[Natashquan River|Natashquan]], [[Romaine River|Romaine]], [[Restigouche River|Restigouche]], [[Margaree River|Margaree]], [[Humber River (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Humber]] and [[Mingan River|Mingan]].

Branches of the Gulf include [[Chaleur Bay]], [[Fortune Bay]], [[Miramichi Bay]], [[St. George's Bay (Nova Scotia)|St. George's Bay]], [[St. George's Bay (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Bay St. George]], [[Bay of Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador|Bay of Islands]], and the [[Northumberland Strait]].

=== Outlets ===
[[Image:Detroit_Belle_Isle_960718_11_3557_2360.jpg|thumb|[[Strait of Belle Isle]], as seen from [[Blanc Sablon]], Quebec]]
Around Anticosti Island and to flow into the Atlantic Ocean, the waters of the Gulf take the following [[strait]]s:

* [[Jacques Cartier Strait]], between the shore of [[Côte-Nord]] region and the North of [[Anticosti Island]].<ref name="Canadian sailing directions. ATL 110, St. Lawrence River, Cap Whittle/Cap Gaspé to Les Escoumins and Anticosti Island.">{{cite web |title=Canadian sailing directions. ATL 110, St. Lawrence River, Cap Whittle/Cap Gaspé to Les Escoumins and Anticosti Island. |url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/mpo-dfo/Fs74-52-2023-11-eng.pdf |website=Fischeries and Oceans Canada |publisher=Canadian Hydrographic Service |access-date=6 September 2024 |pages=9 of 89 |date=November 2023 |quote=... covers the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River, from Cap Whittle (50°11'N, 60°07'W) to Pointe des Monts (49°19'N, 67°23'W), as well as the north shore of Anticosti Island.}}</ref>
*[[Honguedo Strait]], a wide passage between the [[Gaspé Peninsula]] and [[Anticosti Island]].<ref name="Honguedo Strait, toponymy">{{cite web |title=Honguedo Strait, toponymy |url=https://toponymie.gouv.qc.ca/ct/ToposWeb/Fiche.aspx?no_seq=28928 |website=Gouvernement of Quebec |publisher=Commission de Toponymy Quebec |access-date=22 September 2024 |language=fr |date=5 December 1968 |quote=The Commission de géographie du Québec, now the Commission de toponymie, adopted this toponym in 1934 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Jacques Cartier in New France.}}</ref>
*[[Strait of Belle Isle]]<ref name="Strait of Belle Isle, toponymy" /> between [[Labrador]] and [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]: between {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=off}} and {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=off}} wide and {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=off}} deep at its deepest.
*[[Cabot Strait]], about 56 miles wide, is the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence between [[Cape Ray]], Newfoundland, and [[Cape North Lighthouse|Cape North]], the NE point of [[Cape Breton Island]].<ref name="ATL 104: Cape North to Cape Canso (including Bras d’Or Lake)">{{cite web |author1=Canadian Hydrographic Service |title=ATL 104: Cape North to Cape Canso (including Bras d'Or Lake) |url=https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/chs-shc-ATL104-eng-202404-41238060.pdf |website=Fisheries and Oceans Canada |publisher=Canadian Sailing Directions |access-date=16 August 2024 |pages=9 of 95 |date=16 April 2024 |quote=St. Paul Island presents the only danger in the Cabot strait. Mariners are advised to navigate with caution during periods of reduced visibility.}}</ref>
*[[Strait of Canso]]<ref name="Strait of Canso - Water Resources - Map">{{cite web |title=Strait of Canso - Map |url=https://www.novascotia.ca/nse/groundwater/images/GroundwaterResourcesMap_StraitofCanso.pdf |website=Water Resources, Nova Scotia |publisher=Strait of Canso Environment Committee |access-date=17 August 2024 |date=1975 |quote=From George Bay to Chedabucto Bay}}</ref> is located between [[Cape Breton Island]] and mainland [[Nova Scotia]], it originally served as an outlet 1.0&nbsp;km (0.6&nbsp;mi) wide and 60&nbsp;m (200&nbsp;ft) deep at its deepest.<ref name="Strait of Canso Environment Committee - Water resources">{{cite web |author1=Strait of Canso Environment Committee |title=Water Resources |url=https://novascotia.ca/nse/groundwater/docs/GroundwaterResourcesReport_StraitofCanso.pdf |pages=33 |date=1975 |quote=The Strait is relatively narrow, varying in width from 800 m to 2,000 m (2,600 to 6,600 ft.), although it is most commonly 1,600 m (1 mile) wide throughout the 27 km (17 mi.) length.}}</ref><ref name="Flow through the Canso Causeway">{{cite web |author1=Gary L. Bugden |author2=Brent A. Law |author3=Edward P.W. Horne |author4=Shawn E. Roach |title=Flow through the Canso Causeway |url=https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/40884533.pdf |website=Fischeries and Oceans Canada |publisher=Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |access-date=16 August 2024 |pages=21 of 55 |language=en, fr |date=2020 |quote=Although blocked in the 1950’s by the Canso Causeway, Canso Strait could potentially be a transport pathway for the spread of Malpeque Disease}}</ref> Due to the construction of the [[Canso Causeway]] across the strait in 1955, the roadway no longer allows exchange of water between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the [[Atlantic Ocean]].<ref name="Canso Causeway - Road to the Isles">{{cite web |title=Canso Causeway - Road to the Isles |url=https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/cansocauseway/index.htm |publisher=Canada's Digital collections |access-date=16 August 2024 |quote=The mile long eighty foot wide man-made causeway is known as the deepest in the world}}</ref>

=== Undersea Features ===
[[Image:StLawrence Gulf bathymetry.jpg|thumb|[[Bathymetry]] of the gulf, with the Laurentian Channel visible]]

The [[Laurentian Channel]] is a feature of the floor of the Gulf that was formed during [[Quaternary glaciation|previous ice ages]], when the [[Continental Shelf]] was eroded by the St. Lawrence River during the periods when the sea level plunged. The Laurentian Channel is about {{convert|290|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep and about {{convert|1250|km|mi|abbr=on}} long from the Continental Shelf to the mouth of the [[St. Lawrence River]]. Deep waters with temperatures between {{convert|2|and|6.5|°C|0}} enter the Gulf at the continental slope and are slowly [[advection|advected]] up the channel by estuariane circulation.<ref>Galbraith, P.S., Pettipas, R.G., Chassé, J., Gilbert, D., Larouche, P., Pettigrew, B., Gosselin, A., Devine, L. and Lafleur, C. 2009. Physical Oceanographic Conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2008. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2009/014. iv + 69 p.</ref> Over the 20th century, the bottom waters of the end of the channel (i.e. in the St. Lawrence estuary) have become [[Hypoxia (environmental)|hypoxic]].<ref>Gilbert, D., B. Sundby, C. Gobeil, A. Mucci and G.-H. Tremblay. 2005. A seventy-two-year record of diminishing deep-water oxygen in the [[Estuary of St. Lawrence|St. Lawrence estuary]]: The northwest Atlantic connection. Limnol. Oceanogr., 50(5): 1654–1666.</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Basques Newfoundland.gif|thumb|Basque settlements and sites dating from the 16th and 17th centuries]]

The gulf has provided a historically important marine fishery for various [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] that have lived on its shores for millennia and used its waters for transportation.<ref name="A Brief History of the Gulf Region">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the Gulf Region |url=https://waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibliotheque/347353.pdf |website=Fisheries Peches and Ocean Canada |publisher=Gulf region |access-date=10 August 2024 |pages=14 |date=1991 |quote=We must manage the Gulf fishery as a biological reality, not as a battlefield for provincial ambitions}}</ref><ref name="Action River, Discovering the St. Lawrence">{{cite web |title=Action River, Discovering the St. Lawrence |url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2015/ec/En154-41-2014-eng.pdf |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=14 August 2024 |pages=7 of 32 |date=24 November 2015 |quote=The Aboriginal people were the first to benefit from the abundant resources of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence: water, game, fish and marine mammals.}}</ref><ref name="Iroquoians in the St. Lawrence River Valley before European Contact">{{cite web |author1=Christian Gates St-Pierre |title=Iroquoians in the St. Lawrence River Valley before European Contact |url=https://ontarioarchaeology.org/wp-content/uploads/oa096-06_Gates_St-Pierre.pdf |access-date=14 August 2024 |pages=18 |date=9 July 2017 |quote=At the time of contact with the first Europeans, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians occupied a territory that extended from the mouth of Lake Ontario to the Cap Tourmente area, near Quebec City, with a southward extension to the northern tip of Lake Champlain, as well as seasonal extensions into the estuary and the gulf of St. Lawrence. D}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

The first documented voyage by a European in its waters was by the French explorer [[Jacques Cartier]] in [[1534]]. Cartier named the shores of the [[St. Lawrence River]] "The Country of Canadas", after an indigenous word meaning "village" or "settlement", thus naming the world's second largest country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cartier-discovers-st-lawrence-river/| title = French navigator Jacques Cartier sails the St. Lawrence River|publisher = A&E Television Networks| access-date = 14 June 2021}}</ref>

[[History of Basque whaling|Basque whalers]] from [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] sailed into the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1530 and began whaling at [[Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador|Red Bay]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/nl/redbay | title=Red Bay National Historic Site | date=9 February 2022 }}</ref> They established their base on the [[Strait of Belle Isle]]<ref name="Strait of Belle Isle, toponymy" /> and worked closely with the [[Iroquois]] in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 1579 the English government closed all English ports to Spanish oil imports. As a result, a third of Basque [[whale oil]] could not be sold. Basque whaling collapsed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and never recovered.

== Ecology ==
=== Marine Mammals ===
[[Image:Rorqual_126.jpg|thumb|[[Humpback whale]]s in the [[Jacques Cartier Strait]]]]
Thirteen species of [[cetacea]]ns inhabit the [[Estuary of St. Lawrence|estuary]] and 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/discover/the-species-of-the-st-lawrence/the-13-species/ |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>

# [[Northern bottlenose whale]]
# [[Beluga whale]]
# [[Sperm whale]]
# [[Atlantic white-sided dolphin]]
# [[White-beaked dolphin]]
# [[Orca]]
# [[Long-finned pilot whale]]
# [[Harbour porpoise]]
# [[North Atlantic right whale]]
# [[Common minke whale]]
# [[Blue whale]]
# [[Humpback whale]]
# [[Fin whale]]

== Weather and climate ==
In winter, large quantities of ice form in the [[St. Lawrence River]]. Ice formation begins in December between [[Montreal]] and [[Quebec City]]. The [[prevailing winds]] and [[current (hydrology)|currents]] push this ice towards the estuary, generally reaching east of [[Les Méchins]] around the end of December. Ice covers the entire gulf in January and February.<ref name="The secrets of the Saint-Laurent, marine weather guide" />

Ice aids in navigation, preventing the formation of waves and therefore spray, thus having the advantage of preventing the icing process of ships.<ref name="The secrets of the Saint-Laurent, marine weather guide">{{cite web |author1=Guy O'Bonsawin |title=The secrets of the Saint-Laurent, marine weather guide |url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/eccc/En56-87-1992-eng.pdf |publisher=Environnement Canada |access-date=15 October 2024 |pages=89, 90 of 100 |language=fr |date=3 April 2013 |quote=If you consider that both water and air masses literally hug the ground and follow all its contours and surfaces, it's easy to understand just how much variety there can be in wind and sea conditions.}}</ref>

== Human activity ==
=== Ports ===
Almost all of Quebec's ports are located along the [[St. Lawrence Seaway|St. Lawrence River seaway]]. Ports of the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the [[Côte-Nord]] Shore include [[Blanc-Sablon]], [[Harrington Harbour|Harrington Harbor]], [[Natashquan]], [[Havre-Saint-Pierre]], [[Mingan]], [[Port-Menier, Quebec|Port-Menier]] (Anticosti Island), [[Cap-aux-Meules]] (Îles-de-la-Madeleine).<ref name="Ports in the province of Quebec">{{cite web |author1=Pierre Camu |title=Ports in the province of Quebec |url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cgq/1959-v3-n6-cgq2580/020193ar.pdf |website=Quebec geography notebooks |publisher=Department of Geography at Laval University - Erudit |access-date=13 October 2024 |pages=3 of 10 |language=fr |date=1959 |quote=Ports of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the Côte-Nord Shore: Blanc-Sablon, Harrington Harbor, Natashquan, Havre-Saint-Pierre, Mingan, Port-Menier (Anticosti Island), Cap-aux-Meules (Îles-de-la -Madeleine)}}</ref>

== Protected Areas and National Parks ==
The [[Honguedo Strait#Western Honguedo Strait Coral Conservation Area|Western Honguedo Strait Coral Conservation Area]] was created following the signing of the Canada–Quebec Collaborative Agreement to Establish a Network of Marine Protected Areas in Quebec in March 2018.<ref name="Western Honguedo Strait Coral Conservation Area">{{cite web |title=Western Honguedo Strait Coral Conservation Area |url=https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/oecm-amcepz/refuges/honguedo-western-ouest-eng.html |website=Gouvernement of Canada |publisher=Fisheries and Oceans Canada |access-date=23 September 2024 |date=9 September 2019 |quote=High concentrations of these soft corals create habitat with complex structures that provide refuge, feeding, and rearing areas for many marine species, thus supporting greater biodiversity.}}</ref><ref name="Cold Water Corals and Sponges">{{cite web |title=Cold Water Corals and Sponges |url=https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/publications/soto-rceo/2012/page07-eng.html |website=Gouvernement of Canada |publisher=Fisheries and Oceans Canada |date=2012 |quote=They provide the complex habitat structure that is important to invertebrates, fish and other deep sea life. High-complexity sponge reefs are associated with a greater abundance and diversity of species.}}</ref>

[[St. Paul Island, Nova Scotia|St. Paul Island]], located off the northeastern tip of [[Cape Breton Island]], is known as the ''"Graveyard of the Gulf"'' because of its many [[shipwreck]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Paul Island Southwest Lighthouse |url=https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_hl_eng.aspx?id=14574 |website=Parks Canada Directory of Federal Heritage Designations |access-date=12 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Access to this island is controlled by the [[Canadian Coast Guard]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zydler |first1=Tom |title=Cruising Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence |url=https://www.cruisingworld.com/cruising-canadas-gulf-st-lawrence/ |website=Cruising World |access-date=12 March 2023 |date=18 October 2018 |quote="As I stepped ashore onto a blanket-size piece of sand, I realized I was probably trespassing; landing on the island requires an official permit from the Canadian coast guard."}}</ref>

In 1919 the first Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (MBS) in Canada were established under the [[Migratory Birds Convention Act]] on [[Bonaventure Island]], on the [[Rochers aux Oiseaux|Bird Rocks]] of the [[Magdalen Islands]], and on the [[Percé Rock]]. These [[migratory bird]] sanctuaries are administered by the [[Canadian Wildlife Service]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/migratory-bird-sanctuaries/locations.html |title=Migratory bird sanctuaries across Canada |date=22 February 2011 |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref>

[[Image:Skyline trail, Cape Breton (7618649226).jpg|thumb|[[Cape Breton Highlands National Park]], Nova Scotia]]

[[National Parks of Canada|National Parks]] touching the Gulf of St. Lawrence include [[Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve]], in [[Côte-Nord]], [[Forillon National Park]] on the eastern tip of the [[Gaspé Peninsula]], [[Prince Edward Island National Park]] on the northern shore of the island, [[Kouchibouguac National Park]] on the northeastern coast of [[New Brunswick]], [[Cape Breton Highlands National Park]] on the northern tip of [[Cape Breton Island]], and [[Gros Morne National Park]] on the west coast of [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]].<ref name="Parks Canada">{{cite web |title=Parks Canada |url=https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=13 August 2024 |date=2024 |quote=There are 37 national parks and 11 national park reserves in Canada that represent 31 of Canada's 39 terrestrial natural regions and protect approximately 343,377 square kilometers of lands in Canada.}}</ref><ref name="Find a Parks Canada location">{{cite web |title=National Parks of Canada, search by province or territory - Map |url=https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/recherche-parcs-parks-search |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=13 August 2024 |date=2024 |quote=National Parks of Canada, search by province or territory}}</ref>

In Quebec, since March 31, 2024, the network of protected areas<ref name="Protected areas in Quebec">{{cite web |title=Protected areas in Quebec |url=https://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/aires_protegees/aires_quebec.htm#def |publisher=Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs |access-date=13 August 2024 |language=fr |date=2024 |quote=Protected areas are also recognized as an essential tool for adaptation to climate change. In particular, they allow carbon to be stored.}}</ref><ref name="Map of protected areas in Quebec">{{cite web |title=Map of protected areas in Quebec |url=https://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/aires_protegees/aires-carte.pdf |publisher=Environment and Climate Change Canada |access-date=13 August 2024 |language=fr |date=March 2024 |quote=Protected areas register database, 2024 Ministry of Environment and Ecological reference framework, 2018 adapted}}</ref> extends over 274,431 km<sup>2</sup> and is established as follows:

*Continental environment (terrestrial and fresh water): 255,377 km2 or 16.89%;
*Marine and coastal environments: 18,991 km<sup>2</sup> or 12.21% distributed as follows:
*Marine protected areas and territories set aside in the marine environment: 16,140 km2 or 10.39%;
*Portions of territories in marine and coastal environments associated with protected areas whose conservation objectives do not specifically target the marine environment (national parks, national park reserves of Quebec and Canada, migratory bird sanctuaries, planned aquatic reserves, reserves of projected biodiversity, areas of concentration of aquatic birds, etc.): 2,854 km<sup>2</sup> or 1.84%;
*Plan Nord territory: 229,021 km<sup>2</sup> or 19.19%.<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>

The five provinces bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence have several provincial parks with protected coasts.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}
{{geoGroup}}

== See also ==
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
* [[Anticosti Island]]
* [[Atlantic Ocean]]
* [[Estuary of St. Lawrence]]
* [[Maritime Peninsula]]
* [[St. Lawrence Seaway]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* Eric W. Morse 1968, ''[http://parkscanadahistory.com/publications/fur-trade-canoe-routes.pdf Fur Trade Canoe Routes of Canada /Then and Now]'', pp 121
*[[Marie-Victorin Kirouac|Frère Marie-Victorin]] (1885-1944), [https://www.flickr.com/photos/dgda/albums/72157644711578566/ Anticosti, land with immense spaces, the sea all around, and a social world of the 1920s gone forever.] Anticosti/UdeM archives, 14 photos (French)
*[https://www.britannica.com/animal/cetacean Species of cetacean], comparison poster, Encyclopedia Britannica 2024
*[https://ogsl.ca/en/home-slgo/ Integrated Access to Knowledge and Open Data of the St. Lawrence], St. Lawrence Global Observatory (SLGO). (French)
*[https://www.environnement.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/atlas/index.htm Atlas of the biodiversity of northern Quebec], Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC). (French)
* [http://parkscanadahistory.com/plants/mingan-rare-plants-fr.pdf Rare plants of the Mingan Archipelago]  Environnement Canada, 2025 (French)
*[https://www.quebecmaritime.ca/documents/file/brochures%20english/lighthouse.pdf The lighthouse Trail], [[Bas-Saint-Laurent]], [[Gaspé Peninsula|Gaspésie]], [[Côte-Nord]], [[Magdalen Islands|Îles de la Madeleine]] (French)
* [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674972117 The New Map of Empire]. How Britain Imagined America before Independence, Harvard University Press
* [https://earlycanadianhistory.ca/2018/09/26/mapping-land-tenure-pluralism-in-the-st-lawrence-river-valley/ Mapping Land Tenure Pluralism in the St. Lawrence River Valley], Julia Lewandoski, essay kicks off a Borealia series on Cartography an Empire
* [https://collections.banq.qc.ca/bitstream/52327/2406244/1/22696_1.pdf Légendes du Saint-Laurent, Récits des voyageurs], Jean-Claude Dupont, 1985, 72 pages (French)
*[https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2024/mpo-dfo/Fs151-18-2024-eng.pdf Radio Aids to Marine Navigation 2024], Radio Aids to Marine Navigation 2024, (Atlantic, St. Lawrence, Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Arctic and Pacific) [[Fisheries and Oceans Canada]], 298 pages
*[[Royal Canadian Geographical Society|Royal Canadian Geographial Society]], [https://rcgs.org/maze-to-the-aguanish/ Maze to the Aguanish], a 680 kilometre [[canoe]] trip through the wilds of [[Labrador]] and [[Quebec]], that traverse the headwaters of the Romaine and the [[Little Mecatina River|Petit-Mécatina]] rivers, 2021
* [https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.667091/publication.html The Gulf of St. Lawrence - a Unique Ecosystem], Government of Canada 2005 [English | French]
* [http://www.erudit.org/revue/gpq/2001/v55/n2/008298ar.pdf Timing and position of late Wisconsinan ice-margins on the upper slope seaward of Laurentian Channel] David J. W. Piper et Adam Macdonald, 2001, 11 page

{{List of seas}}
{{Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean}}
{{Portal bar|Canada|Nova Scotia|Geography}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf of St. Lawrence}}
[[Category:Canada–Saint Pierre and Miquelon border]]
[[Category:Estuaries of Canada]]
[[Category:Gulfs of Canada|Saint Laurent]]
[[Category:Gulfs of the Atlantic Ocean|St. Lawrence]]