Gulf of Saint Lawrence

Gulf of Saint Lawrence, body of water covering about 60,000 square miles (155,000 square km) at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. It fringes the shores of half the provinces of Canada and is a gateway to the interior of the entire North American continent. Its name is not entirely accurate, for in a hydrologic context the gulf has to be considered more as a sea bordering the North American continent than as simply a river mouth. Its boundaries may be taken as the maritime estuary at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, in the vicinity of Anticosti Island, on the west; the Strait of Belle Isle between Newfoundland and the mainland, to the north; and Cabot Strait, separating Newfoundland from the Nova Scotian peninsula, on the south.

The gulf is also a relief phenomenon, for the underlying topography is in fact made up of submerged portions of the northern end of the Appalachian mountain range, as well as of the southern periphery of the vast, ancient rock mass known as the Canadian Shield. The topography of the floor of the gulf can be subdivided into several sections. First of all, there are the deepest zones: the St. Lawrence Channel and the Mingan Passage, whose orientation is toward the southeast, and the Eskimo Channel, running to the southwest. Together, these channels occupy approximately one-quarter of the total area of the gulf. Then there are the submarine platforms, often less than 165 feet (50 metres) in depth, of which the most important, known as the Acadian Platform, occupies a large semicircle between the Gaspé Peninsula and Cape Breton. The relief of this area is not at all uniform because it includes depressions such as the Chaleurs Trough, shelves such as the Bradelle Bank, the Northumberland Strait, and above-water sections such as Prince Edward Island. On the far side of the axial St. Lawrence Trough are three northern elongated platforms: the Anticosti Platform, near the island of the same name; another platform that skirts the low northern coast of the gulf; and finally, one lying between the Eskimo Channel and Newfoundland. The reefs on these surfaces, coupled with the hazards of fog and ice, have caused a large number of shipwrecks.

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The body of water constituting the gulf is replenished not only by the local rainfall (35.5 inches [900 mm] annually at Cap-aux-Meules in the Magdalen Islands) but also from three great “gateways.” The first of these, the maritime estuary, discharges approximately 500,000 cubic feet (14,000 cubic metres) per second of cool, soft water, and at ebb tide, a considerably larger volume of seawater, together with a formidable quantity of ice in the winter months. In the Strait of Belle Isle, which forms the second entry, the oceanographic situation is very complex. No less than seven types of water have been distinguished there, with temperatures varying from 29 °F (-2 °C) to 52 °F (11 °C) and a salinity fluctuating from 27 to 34.5 parts per thousand. The third gateway, Cabot Strait, is by far the most important; through it the Atlantic and Arctic waters enter (having already passed Newfoundland to the east), and it is through here that the major proportion of water and ice leaves the gulf.

The principal current consists of a peripheral counterclockwise circulation, which hugs the platforms of the northeast and then enters the estuary. This penetrates as far inland as the Pointe des Monts and even reaches as far as the entry of the Saguenay River into the St. Lawrence just over a hundred miles from the city of Quebec. This current continues under the name of the Gaspé Current, having three branches between the Honguedo and Cabot straits.

This circulation, as well as a weak tide, tends to mix the waters of the gulf, but they remain stratified. In the centre of the gulf are three superimposed levels: the deep stratum (38 °F [3.5 °C] and 33.5 parts per thousand salinity), the intermediate stratum with a depth of 165 feet (50 metres) (33 °F [0.5 °C] and 32.5 parts per thousand salinity), and the surface stratum, which is less salty and undergoes strong seasonal thermal variations.

Ice floes constitute one of the most prominent characteristics of the gulf. Ice formation is delayed because of the salinity, the latent heat of the mass of water, and the slow passage of upstream ice; thus ice is not abundant in the gulf before mid-February. The thaw, often late, permits the Cabot Strait to have normal maritime traffic at least a month before the Strait of Belle Isle.