Geography
Anticosti Island is part of the eastern Saint Lawrence lowlands. It is 217 km (135 mi) long and 16–48 km (10–30 mi) wide — 1.5 times larger than the province of Prince Edward Island. Its coastline is 520 km (320 mi) long, and is rocky and dangerous, offering little shelter for ships except in Gamache, Ellis, and Fox Bays. There are large shoals to the south.
The largest lake on the island is Lake Wickenden, which feeds the Jupiter River. There are numerous rivers on Anticosti, many of which flow through deep gorges and canyons to the north and south shores.
Topographically, Anticosti Island can be divided into three distinct regions: two lowland areas, rarely exceeding 150 metres (490 ft) in elevation, in the eastern and western thirds of the island linked along the coast; and a central highland forming a plateau that rises to just over 300 m (980 ft). This plateau is a unidirectional structure slightly tilted to the south, and is characterized by rolling cuestas. The rocks exposed on the island form a continuous sedimentary strata more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft) thick. These are the most complete strata in eastern North America of the Ordovician and Silurian periods.
The climate of Anticosti Island is maritime sub-boreal, tempered by the maritime influence of the Gulf of St. Lawrence which reduces the temperature differences. The average annual temperature is 1.9 °C (35.4 °F). The month of July is the warmest with an average temperature of 14.79 °C (58.62 °F). Conversely, February is the coldest month, on average −11.2 °C (11.8 °F). Snow precipitation is abundant, usually accumulating over 300 centimetres (120 in) in the western and central parts.
| Climate data for Port Menier | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −6 (21) |
−6 (21) |
−1 (30) |
3 (37) |
9 (48) |
15 (59) |
19 (66) |
18 (64) |
14 (57) |
8 (46) |
2 (36) |
−3 (27) |
6.0 (42.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −10 (14) |
−11 (12) |
−6 (21) |
0 (32) |
5 (41) |
11 (52) |
15 (59) |
14 (57) |
10 (50) |
4 (39) |
0 (32) |
−7 (19) |
2 (35.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −15 (5) |
−16 (3) |
−11 (12) |
−4 (25) |
1 (34) |
6 (43) |
11 (52) |
10 (50) |
6 (43) |
1 (34) |
−3 (27) |
−11 (12) |
−2.1 (28.3) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 63 (2.48) |
47 (1.85) |
61 (2.4) |
81 (3.19) |
89 (3.5) |
98 (3.86) |
91 (3.58) |
107 (4.21) |
121 (4.76) |
116 (4.57) |
98 (3.86) |
77 (3.03) |
1,049 (41.3) |
| Source: Weatherbase. | |||||||||||||
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