The Crevasse and the Peak of dawn

The Crevasse The Crevasse is a gaping crack in the conglomerate of Mont Blanc (370 meters). From its two natural panoramic

viewpoints, we have an unimpeded view of the Chic-Chocs mountains to the west, as well as to the north along the coast, and the

fault which curves across the countryside evocative of the big geological disruptions which shaped the whole Gaspésienne

peninsula. All of this sector is crossed by thrust faults from the contact of rifts between the Carboniferous period (310 million years

ago), the superior Ordovicien period (440 million years ago) and the Cambrien period (540 million years ago). The Peak of dawn This

peak, from the inferior Devonian period (395 million years ago), with a height of 195 meters, is made up of the “Three Sisters” and “Le

Cap Barre,” which used to be called “La Muraille” (“The Wall”). Its overhang offers us a long-distance view to La Pointe de

Forillon, if weather permits, as well as a view of the omnipresent Percé Rock. It is an ideal site to observe the whales which frequent

the coastline: the small Rorquals, common Rorquals and humpbacked Rorquals. One occasionally sees blue Rorquals, Porpoises and

white-sided dolphins.

Mount Saint Anne

Mount Saint Anne is a conglomerate block from the Carboniferous period (between 280 and 345 million

years ago) with a height of 340 meters.It sticks out, like an immense amphitheater, over Percé bay. Its

summit spreads out a vast panoramic fan of the coast, the rock, the island, the coves, the capes and cliffs,

which are well anchored in the water of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a waterway which tirelessly reminds us

of its grandiose marine scenery. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the mountain was called the “Table-

a-Rolland” because of its flat, square summit. Its elevation, and, most importantly, its visibility from more

than 100 km off the coast, made it an excellent landmark for many Basque, Dutch, Breton and Normand

sailors.In the summer of 1676, Pierre-Denys-de-La-Ronde, the first lord of Percé, counted 500 cod

fisherman in the Island of Percé. With the wishes of the weather and the tides, these sea marks would

have been well known to the fisherman, so they dedicated it to Saint Anne, patron saint of fisherman

. Mount Saint Anne will forever inspire reverence. Once a year, the “Micmacs” (American Indians)

assembled there for Ascension Day to present the newborn children of their tribe to the Sun God.

Centuries before the 1884 acquisition by the diocese of Rimouski, which was later made the region’s

pilgrimage center, Percésiens would erect a cross and various other monuments dedicated to Saint Anne.

The annual pilgrimage on July 26th, the feast of Saint Anne (inaugurated in 1892) lasted until the 1960s.