The content of this page is derived from a geotouristic panel located at the La Mauricie National Park, at the Esker picnic site, several kilometers from the St-Mathieu-du-Parc entrance. Andrée Bolduc (Quaternary Geologist at QGC) has collaborated closely with Jacques Pleau (Naturalist at the LMNP) and Jocelyne Boulais (Producer at Parcs Canada), in order to highlight this particular feature of our geological heritage. The photographs belong to the LMNP collection.

The word "esker" is of Irish origin.
It describes a long, winding ridge with steep-sided edges formed during the Ice Age.


In the Beginning...
Ten thousand years ago, as glacier retreated northwards, La mauricie gradually emerged from the ice.
 

Meltwater flowed through tunnels beneath the ice, carrying and depositing rock, gravel and sand from the glaciers.

 

As the glaciers melted, these subglacial river beds left behind natural embankments called eskers.




A funny name for a Picnic Area!

Not really, for the Esker picnic area owes its name to the eskers on which it lies.

One esker begins at the Shewenegan picnic area and winds along the southeast shore of Wapizagonke Lake, seperating it from lac de la Tourbièere. The Vallerand Trail runs along the top of his esker.

The long, sandy point covered in white pine that stretches out into the lake follows the contours of a second esker.
A Rare Phenomenon?

It depends on the area. The park is home to some ten eskers scattered through the sectors of Wapizagonke and Anticagamac lakes and Baie des Onze Îles, each stretching over several hundred meters.


  
Baie des Onze Îles
  
Northern basin of Wapizagonke Lake


Eskers Galore!

There are numerous eskers in Northern Quebec as well as in Maine, Labrador and the Northwest Territories, where the land is relatively flat.

Certain northern eskers run sporadically over dozens, and sometimes hundreds of kilometers.