Once again, I'm out of the water and examining the shoreline to see what there is to learn. This time I'm at the mouth of the Saquenay Fjord in Quebec on the St Lawrence river. Just a short distance down-river from the town of Tadoussac are enormous sand banks lining the shore. Locally referred to as 'dunes' they are actually the remains of a giant river delta that formed during the last glacial period. There are several levels to the 'dunes' suggesting that there were various stages of development.
Once down on the shoreline one gets a clear picture of how big these dunes are and how steep the face is. What is also clear is how much of the dune is now missing, having been washed away by both tide and river actions over the past several thousand years.
Climbing up the dune also contributes to the wearing away of the sand although I don't imagine most people would notice much change in a single lifetime. There is lots of sand to last us for some time yet! In this last photo one can see the last high tide line right against the bottom of the dune. Not a good place to find oneself on a windy day at high tide...!
I've posted a walking tour guide on EveryTrail about this area at:
1 comment:
Hi Michael, kayaking is a wonderful learning experience. You always come off the water with more questions than answers about our natural environment. Great post.
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