Mont-Mégantic National Park
| Mont-Mégantic National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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| Location | Hampden / La Patrie / Val-Racine, Quebec, Canada |
| Nearest city | Sherbrooke |
| Coordinates | 45°27′25″N 71°09′45″W / 45.45694°N 71.16250°WCoordinates: 45°27′25″N 71°09′45″W / 45.45694°N 71.16250°W |
| Area | 54.86 km2 |
| Established | June 16, 1994 |
| Visitors | 50 000 |
| Governing body | SÉPAQ |
Mont-Mégantic National Park (Parc national du Mont-Mégantic) is a national park in Quebec, Canada. It is located near the municipality of Notre-Dame-des-Bois in the Estrie region. The park was created in 1994 and is adjacent to the Samuel-Brisson Ecological Reserve which is located northeast of it.
Mont Mégantic is the approximate geographic centre of the park. Located at its peak is the Mont Mégantic Observatory, which is the most important astronomical observatory in eastern Canada. Part of the park is also recognized as important area for bird conservation.
The park is managed by the Quebec government through the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ).
The park terrain is characteristic of the frontier mountains in the Appalachia region, although the bulk of it is in fact the most easterly of the Montérégie. Four peaks are accessible by hiking trails including the Pic de l'Aurore (~ 835 m), Mont Victoria (~ 1050 m), Mont St. Joseph (~ 1075 m) and Mont Mégantic (1105 m). Mont Mégantic is the tenth highest mountain in Quebec and is the highest peak accessible by car.
The park is known for its scientific observatory at the top (at an elevation of 1111 m). The observatory hosts a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope of 1.6 m in diameter, the most powerful of this type in North America. The site is mainly used by the University of Montreal and Laval University who are the owners. If conditions permit, naked-eye observations are possible through the telescope during the Mont Mégantic Astronomy Festival, an event that usually takes place in early July.
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