Mont Saint-Bruno

The Lac seigneurial near the summit

The Mont Saint- Bruno is a 218 meter high hill in the Canadian province of Québec. It lies 20 kilometers east of Montreal and is one of the Montérégie hills. The hill rises 170 meters out of the surrounding plain. The summit area is a nature reserve and is the 5.9 km ² Parc national du Mont -Saint- Bruno.

Geography

Mont Saint- Bruno is located on the territory of the communes of Saint -Bruno- de - Montarville ( summit and south-eastern flank ), Saint -Basile -le -Grand ( southeast side ) and Sainte -Julie (northern edge). While the hillsides fall precipitously, the peak area is strongly flattened. He also has several depressions in which lakes are the seigneurial Lac, Lac des Bouleaux, Lac du Moulin, Lac à la Tortue and Lac des Atocas. There is a quarry on the northwest flank. The Canadian Army operates a shooting range on the eastern flank.

The slopes and the summit plateau are covered with mixed forest, mostly beech, maple, oak, hickory, hemlock and pine. The IRDA, a research institute of the province of Quebec, has for scientific purposes, an apple tree grove.

Geology

The hill was created during the Cretaceous period, around 125 million years ago by the intrusion of igneous rocks and hornfels. These are much more resistant to weathering than the surrounding sedimentary rock that has been eroded over millions of years. Predominant are therefore dark colored rocks such as gabbro and Mafit - peridotite, sometimes even brighter rocks as syenite.

Winter sports

On the northwest flank of the hill, next to the quarry, is the winter sports area Ski Saint- Bruno. It was opened in 1965 and is due to the small distance to Montreal is a popular destination. Eight chairlifts and ski lifts connect 15 slopes with a maximum height difference of 134 meters; added a fun park. All the slopes are lit up at night and could be artificially snowed. The ski school, the largest in Canada, is one of 550 teachers and 33,000 customers annually. Around the summit cross country ski trails are groomed with a length of 35 km.