Tantaré Ecological Reserve

IUCN Category Ia - Strict Nature Reserve

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The Réserve écologique de Tantaré is furnished in 1978 14.5 km ² protected area in the south of the Canadian province of Quebec, in the MRC La Jacques- Cartier.

Thus, it is part of the Capitale-Nationale region and located 42 kilometers north of Quebec City, on the territory of the municipality of Saint -Gabriel -de- Valcartier. It protects a small part of the Laurentides du Saguenay, a mountain range to the Rivière Saguenay, which represents a transition zone between the south and the boreal forests of the north.

The area lies at an altitude 380-680 m above sea level. The underlying rock consists mainly of gneiss with intrusions of granite and anorthosite. It is Tillit that emerged from seasoned in the edge of the glacier area rock during the last ice age. Layers of organic material have been deposited in many places, but especially in the riparian zones of the Lac Tantaré. The soils are strongly permeated by stones podzol, ie acidic, nutrient- poor soil.

Below 400 m there is the sugar maple before, often accompanied by ponderosa pine on dense, less moist soils, and the American beech on thin to poor soils. They represent rather the southern forests. At higher altitudes, however, are balsam fir and ponderosa pine, which would otherwise occur further to the north. On less favorable sites is rather the paper birch. In addition, Moore made ​​with an area of ​​2 ha, where the black spruce on peat, can be found at the mineral-rich locations, but they also colonized poor, waterlogged, slightly waterlogged and late frost endangered sites. Some of the trees have a considerable age.

The name Tantaré goes back to a place name in the Wyandot, which can be around with, where a lake is translated '.