With its vast territory sprawling over 33,000 km2, its 20,000 lakes and dozens of rivers, the Outaouais region has many natural gems to discover! Enjoy ecotourism at its best while visiting, amongst others, the Gatineau Park, the Parc national de Plaisance, the Forêt de l’Aigle along with the  Réserves fauniques de Papineau-Labelle and La Vérendrye.

Relief

Geographically, the Outaouais is part of the Canadian Shield,whose origins date back 570 million years. The region’s geomorphology is basically drawn around a plain and a plateau. The narrow plain stretches out between Montebello to the east, and Allumette Island to the west. The latter is thus wedged between the Ottawa River to the south and the Laurentian Plateau to the north.  The altitude of these lowlands varies between 40 and 130 metres above sea level. The plateau itself owes its configuration to environmental effects of erosion that shaped the hill’s topography, with altitude rarely hovering above 400 metres.

Hydrographical network 

From east to west, the region is marked by the Ottawa River, and from north to south by the Dumoine, Noire, Coulonge, Gatineau, du Lièvre, La Blanche and Petite-Nation rivers.  The Outaouais counts thousands of newer lakes that resulted from the overdeepening of the Laurentian glacier. There are two types in the area: basins or pluvial lakes and plateau lakes.

Photo : Laflèche Adventure - Cave and Aerial Park