Sankt Lorenz Strom and its underwater world in the explorer

The Exploramer on the Sankt Lorenz Strom

Do you feel the same way: when I travel, I always want to learn a lot more about the region than is described in the travel guides? And it brings me to topics that I rarely think about otherwise. That's what happened to me on our last Quebec trip. This took us along the St. Lawrence River, which dominates the eastern part of the province. Traveling east from Quebec City, the river widens until, at Baie Comeau on its north bank and Matane on its south bank, it is so wide that you can barely see the opposite bank on the horizon. It took us a good two hours on the ferry to get from one bank to the other. When the sea was stormy, we took the evening ferry across to the south bank of the river. As I was almost lulled to sleep by the rough waves in my comfortable armchair, I asked myself what might be living in the waters below us? Certainly different species of fish. But what else?

The underwater world in the St. Lorenz Stream

I couldn't let go of the question. And so the next morning we set out for Ste. Anne-des-Monts, a small town on the shore of the St. Lawrence River, still churned up by wind-swept waves. White crests of foam on the crests of the waves testified to the strength of the storm. Above, the sun shone intensely from a deep blue sky. No sign of rain clouds! So the bit of wind shouldn't bother us. The aquarium is located on Rue du Quai, where the Route du Parc from the Parc de la Gaspésie meets the riverbank Exploramerwhere visitors can learn about the flora and fauna of the great river. Actually, we planned to take the boat out to the river. On this tour, the experts on board show the wildlife in their natural habitat. However, the swell on this day was so stormy that the boat trip had to be canceled. The effects of the storm became apparent. Therefore, we had to settle for the tanks in the aquarium.

A guided tour through the aquarium

Not a bad exchange, as it turned out – I also escaped the seasickness that I would otherwise have expected. The naturalist, who was originally supposed to accompany us on board the ship, presented the underwater world of the St. Lorenz Stroms. We learned how they eat, how they protect themselves against attackers, how they hunt themselves, and how they reproduce. There are fascinating forms of adaptation to the depths of the river. What particularly struck me is that the underwater world of St. Lawrence is less colorful than that of the west coast of Canada. While a true color spectacle of colorful fish, brightly colored plants and colored starfish populates the habitat there, the colors in the waters of the St. Lorenz are rather muted.

Exploramer is located at 1 Rue du Quai in Ste. Anne-des-Monts in Quebec, Tel. (418) 763-2500.

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Source Underwater world in the St. Lawrence River: On-site research with the support of Tourisme Quebec.

Text Sankt Lorenz Strom: Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Photos: Copyright Monika Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline
Video: Copyright Petar Fuchs and TravelWorldOnline

Underwater World of St. Lawrence River in Quebec: Explorative