Grosse Ile at a Glance
Out of all of the Îles
de la Madeleine, Grosse Île is said to have remained truest to its original
form. A large part of its landscape is protected by the East
Point Wildlife Reserve, where 684 hectares (1,690 acres) of the singular vegetation,
wildlife, limestone cliffs and white beaches characteristic of the islands are
accessible by interpretive nature trails. Beneath the surface, extensive salt
deposits are currently being mined
as one of Grosse Île's major economic resources, assets of which are supplemented
by the catches of local fishermen, often descendants of original settlers from
Scotland.
Winds have whipped the Dune
du Nord's sands into a series of hills rooted with delicate grasses leading
southward to the tiny Pointe-aux-Loups.
The now uninhabited Île
Brion, the first of the islands to be spotted by Jacques Cartier in 1534,
is located north of Grosse Île, and has been an important ecological reserve
since 1993. The nearby rocky Rocher
aux Oiseaux is another solitary island, and is a significant breeding ground
for more than a dozen species of seabirds.
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WELCOME TO Grosse Ile!
