Cap Tourmente
National Wildlife Area

(Cadastral map of site also available: 71 K)

Situated some 50 kilometres east of Quebec City, this National Wildlife Area created in 1978 is dedicated to protecting a wide diversity of habitats, especially habitat for Greater Snow Geese. A key part of our natural heritage, this was also the very first Ramsar site in Canada.

Intertidal marsh of American bulrush. Photo: Léo-Guy de Repentigny, CWS

The site has an intertidal marsh of American bulrush and a coastal swamp marsh, and farther inland the coastal plain on which there are some cultivated fields. The piedmont plain and the Laurentian Plateau, with their different forest communities, also characterize the Wildlife Area.

Greater Snow Geese on Cap Tourmente flats. Photo: CWS

This location has a rich variety of flora, with up to 22 forest stands and nearly 700 plant species. From a wildlife standpoint, the diversity is equally impressive, with large populations of birds, particularly Greater Snow Geese. Waterfowl and aquatic and forest birds are also found there in large numbers, as are mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

This site covering 7.78 hectares, acquired by the Canadian Wildlife Service, consists chiefly of a coastal marsh and an intertidal marsh, although part of the land is also under cultivation. The acquisition has helped to end the fragmentation of two major portions of the territory, thus consolidating the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area and facilitating management of the site.