La Préhistoire du Québec

In northern Quebec, we find the remains of the planet's first breath, formed about 4.5 billion years ago. These rocks, possibly the most ancient on Earth, also provide clues to the first beginnings of life.

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The Laurentians were once made up of very high elevations at the summits vertiginous, comparable to those of the modern Himalayas. Geologists shed light on their formation and the forces that shaped them over time.

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Quebec is full of fossils much older than those of dinosaurs. Climactichnites, Orthocera, Trilobites, Megalograptus… who are these strange Paleozoic aquatic creatures that preceded fish?

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Far from resembling our forests today, the first terrestrial ecosystem of Quebec looked like science fiction. These are not trees that were rising towards the sky, but indeed gigantic mushrooms!

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It is in Gaspésie, in the estuary of an ancient river that has now disappeared, that played one of the most extraordinary episodes in the history of life on Earth: the fascinating transition from fish to the terrestrial environment!

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The Charlevoix region is known for its mountainous terrain and earthquakes frequent due to a titanic upheaval whose repercussions are still being felt feel to this day despite the hundreds of millions of years that have passed.

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Dinosaurs are undoubtedly the stars of paleontology. However, at Quebec, they are conspicuous by their absence. Did these prehistoric reptiles walk the ground of our province and if so, where is the evidence?

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The animals in the cave paintings where saber-toothed tigers rub shoulders with horses and would prehistoric camels have lived in Quebec? One thing is certain, the giants who populated North America are surprising!

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After its withdrawal from the land, the Champlain Sea which once covered Quebec didn’t just leave fossils behind. The clays which had accumulated at the bottom of the water are causing us a lot of problems today.

At least 12,000 years old, Cliche-Rancourt is the oldest occupied site known human in Quebec. The place reveals many clues about the way of life and the landscape that was offered to these first inhabitants!

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Il y a 445 millions d’années, notre planète a été frappée par la première extinction de masse de son histoire. Des géologues nous guident sur les traces de cette hécatombe préservées dans les magnifiques falaises de l’île d’Anticosti.

Tout le monde connaît la grande barrière de corail d’Australie. Mais, il y a 420 millions d’années, une immense barrière de 1 000 km s’étendait au Québec. Accompagnés d’experts, nous découvrons l’histoire incroyable de ces vestiges sous-marins.

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La construction du réservoir Manicouagan a révélé un secret enfoui dans la roche depuis 214 millions d’années : un immense cratère d’astéroïde. Découvrez l’ampleur de ce choc colossal et ses traces encore visibles aujourd’hui.

Quels dinosaures et autres créatures fascinantes pouvait-on retrouver au Québec il y a 140 millions d’années? Même si les fossiles se font rares, un paléontologue nous partage ses récentes découvertes excavées près d’une mine de Shefferville.

Les Montérégiennes ont une origine bien différente de celle de la plupart des autres montagnes de la planète. Elles trouvent leur origine dans un phénomène extraordinaire qui est toujours actif dans les profondes entrailles de la Terre!

Imaginez un Québec frigorifié dans lequel la neige s’accumule sans jamais fondre! Le glacier qui en a résulté a complètement transformé le Québec. Venez découvrir les traces laissées sur son passage dans les falaises de Baie-Comeau et sous les rues de Montréal.