The St. Lawrence River Estuary is an estuary at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. It stretches 655 km from west to east, from the outlet of Lake Saint Pierre to Pointe-des-Monts, where it becomes the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in Quebec, Canada.
The estuary is divided into 3 parts: the fluvial estuary, the middle estuary and the maritime estuary. The waters coming from the north shore of the St. Lawrence and Labrador come mainly from the Canadian Shield.
Tadoussac (French pronunciation: [tadusak]) is a village municipality in La Haute-Côte-Nord RCM (Regional County Municipality), on the north shore of the maritime section of the estuary of St. Lawrence river, in Côte-Nord region, Quebec, Canada.
The St. Lawrence River (French: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, pronounced [flœv sɛ̃ lɔʁɑ̃]) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, traversing Ontario and Quebec in Canada and New York in the United States. A section of the river demarcates the Canada–U.S. border.
As the primary drainage outflow of the Great Lakes Basin, the St. Lawrence has the second-highest discharge of any river in North America (after the Mississippi River) and the 16th-highest in the world. The estuary of the St. Lawrence is often cited by scientists as the largest in the world. Significant natural landmarks of the river and estuary include the 1,864 river islands of the Thousand Islands, the endangered whales of Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park, and the limestone monoliths of the Mingan Archipelago.
The Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is a National Marine Conservation Area, one of three in the Canadian national park system, located where the Saguenay River meets the maritime estuary of the St. Lawrence River. This park is jointly managed by Parks Canada (Government of Canada) and Sépaq (Government of Quebec). It is the first park in all of Canada to protect a purely marine environment, and covers a surface area of 1,245 km. The area that is now the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park is a part of the Innue Essipit First Nation's land claim, and a treaty resulting from this claim could impact activities that are practiced within the park. The region surrounding the park is an important part of the history of Canada, being one of the first points of contact between Indigenous Peoples and European explorers and the birthplace of the intercontinental fur trade.
The Maritime estuary of St. Lawrence begin at the Saguenay Fjord this meeting form a distinct ecosystem for the species in the park. Different species of whales in particular are drawn to the rich food supply stirred up by the mixing of these waters. One of these species is the St. Lawrence Beluga whale, which is endemic to Canada and a species at risk. The most popular activity in the park is whale-watching. The park provides a variety of opportunities on and off the water for visitors to see them. There are several human impacts that threaten the park such as climate change, noise pollution, chemical pollution, and overfishing, many of which are not fully understood.
A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots know local details such as depth, currents, and hazards. They board and temporarily join the crew to safely guide the ship's passage, so they must also have expertise in handling ships of all types and sizes. Obtaining the title "maritime pilot" requires being licensed or authorised by a recognised pilotage authority.
Les Escoumins (French pronunciation: [lez‿ɛskumɛ̃]) is a municipality in La Haute-Côte-Nord Regional County Municipality in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the maritime estuary of the St. Lawrence River.
Its name has traditionally been recognized to come from the Innu-aimun iskomin, meaning "where there are many seeds" or "there are fruits or seeds", in turn from the roots isko or ishko ("as far as this/that") and min (red seeds, or wild berries in general). According to more recent theory, it could also be a variation of the Mi'kmaq term eskumunaak, meaning "lookout place". In addition, other sources say that the place is named Essipit in Innu-aimun, meaning "river of shells".