Saguenay River in the context of Beluga (whale)

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.

Canada was a French colony within New France. It was claimed by France in 1534 during the first voyage of Jacques Cartier in the name of the French king, Francis I. The colony remained a French territory until 1763, when it became a British colony known as the Province of Quebec at the end of the global Seven Years' War.

In the 16th century the word Canada could refer to the territory along the Saint Lawrence River (then known as the Canada River) from Grosse Isle to a point between Québec and Trois-Rivières. The terms "Canada" and "New France" were also used interchangeably. French explorations continued west "unto the Countreys of Canada, Hochelaga, and Saguenay" before any permanent settlements were established. In 1600 a permanent trading post and habitation was established at Tadoussac at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers. However, because this trading post was under a trade monopoly, it was not constituted as an official French colonial settlement.

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (French pronunciation: [saɡnɛ lak sɛ̃ ʒɑ̃], locally [saɡne lak sẽ ʒã]) is a region in Quebec, Canada on the Labrador Peninsula. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region. It is also known as Sagamie in French, from the first part of "Saguenay" and the last part of "Piekouagami", the Innu name (meaning "flat lake") for Lac Saint-Jean, with the final "e" added to follow the model of other existing region names such as Mauricie, Témiscamie, Jamésie, and Matawinie. With a land area of 95,542.70 km (36,889.24 sq mi), Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean is the third-largest Quebec region after Nord-du-Québec and Côte-Nord. The region was created in 1966.

This region is bathed by two major watercourses, Lac Saint-Jean and the Saguenay River, both of which mark its landscape deeply and have been the main drives of its development in history. It is also irrigated by several other large watercourses. Bordered by forests and mountainous massifs, the southern portion of the region constitutes a fertile enclave in the Canadian Shield called the Saguenay Graben. Both the scenery and the cultural sites and activities of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean attract tourists every year. Lac Saint-Jean is a popular vacation destination in the summer for residents of the more urban regions of Quebec.

The Laurentian Mountains, also known as the Laurentians or Laurentides, are a mountain range in Canada. The range is 1,400 km (900 mi) long and ranges in height from 500 m (1,600 ft) with peaks over 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The Laurentian Mountains extend across Labrador and Quebec within the Laurentian Upland, which contains foothills in northeastern Ontario. The range is located near the rivers of Ottawa, St. Lawrence, and Saguenay. The Laurentian Mountains primarily stretch across multiple regions in Quebec, with geologic formations such as the Jacques-Cartier Massif located within the range.

The Laurentians Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges on earth. The range formed around one billion years ago during the Grenville orogeny, in which the Grenville Province formed, a subdivision of the Canadian Shield. During that time, Laurentia, the geologic core of the Canadian Shield, collided with other continents and formed Precambrian rocks which extend across the range. The mountain range is located around other related geographic features, such as the Monteregian Hills and the Adirondack Mountains.

The Saint-Maurice River (French: Rivière Saint-Maurice, pronounced [ʁivjɛʁ sɛ̃ mɔʁis]; Atikamekw: Tapiskwan sipi) is one of the main tributaries of the St. Lawrence River, after the Ottawa and the Saguenay Rivers and drains an area of 42,735 km. It touches the Lake Saint John watershed to the north; the Nottaway River watershed, a major tributary of James Bay, to the northwest; and the southwestern tributaries of the Ottawa River. The Saint-Maurice River is located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada.

The main tributaries of the Saint-Maurice River are:

Lac Saint-Jean (French: [lak sɛ̃ ʒɑ̃], Quebec French pronunciation: [lak sẽ ʒã]) is a large, relatively shallow lake in south-central Quebec, Canada, in the Laurentian Highlands. It is situated 206 km (128 mi) north of the Saint Lawrence River, into which it drains via the Saguenay River. It covers an area of 1,053 km (407 sq mi), and is 63.1 m (207 ft) at its deepest point. Its name in the Innu language is Piekuakamu. Lac Saint-Jean has been also been mapped and known as Lake St. John.

Saguenay (/ˈsæɡəneɪ, ˌsæɡəˈneɪ/ SAG-ə-nay, -⁠NAY, French: [saɡnɛ], locally [-ne]) is a city in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, on the Saguenay River, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Quebec City by overland route. It is about 126 kilometres (78 mi) upriver and northwest of Tadoussac, located at the confluence with the St. Lawrence River. It was formed in 2002 by merging the cities of Chicoutimi and Jonquière and the town of La Baie. Chicoutimi was founded by French colonists in 1676. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 148,000 and the metropolitan area had a population of 170,000.

The city of Saguenay constitutes a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE); its geographical code is 941. Together with the regional county municipality of Le Fjord-du-Saguenay, it forms the census division (CD) of Le Saguenay-et-son-Fjord (94). The mayor of Saguenay since 2025 is Luc Boivin. Prior to its use as the name of the city, the term "the Saguenay" or (less commonly) "Saguenay Valley" had already been used for the entire Saguenay River region (see Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean). Saguenay is the seat of the judicial district of Chicoutimi.

Chicoutimi (/ʃɪˈkuːtɪmi/ shih-KOO-tim-ee, French: [ʃikutimi]) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada.

It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and commercial centre of the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region. In 2002 it merged into the new city of Saguenay and forms the heart of the 5th-largest urban area of the province of Quebec. At the 2021 census, its population was 69,004.