Nothing calms the soul and eyes so much as a calm and measured flow of the river. Coastal beauties allow you to fully enjoy your vacation, and centuries-old history (after all, rivers “live” for hundreds of years) gives the place mystery.
In North America, the most famous waterway with a rich history and undeniable economic importance is the St. Lawrence River . The reservoir of unique beauty and popularity has many features and distinctive features that are appreciated by both locals and foreign tourists.
Center for French Culture
Historically, during the Seven Years' War the St. Lawrence River and its valley turned out to be a theater of operations between the French and British. Despite the fact that the lands were captured by Britain, the province of Quebec stubbornly continued to remain faithful to the French flag: people expressed themselves in French, cherished and passed on their traditions from generation to generation.
The entire St. Lawrence River basin is certainly picturesque places, but here, in Quebec, the charm of old Europe, transported by its inhabitants from their homeland in the most reliable packaging, to the heart, is especially noticeable.
Geography and Shipping
Apparently, this territory, indeed, was blessed St. Lawrence. River full of water, picturesque, it attracts many tourists. The passage of huge ocean freight and passenger ships is possible here. True, they go along artificially created bypass channels, but this does not matter much, because shipping brings enormous economic benefits to the two countries through which the river flows - Canada and the United States.
The St. Lawrence River originates from Lake Ontario and flows into the bay of the same name, connecting the Great Lakes group with the Atlantic Ocean.
A little west of Montreal, nature has awarded the river a multitude of rapids and rapids that impede shipping. Bypassing these imperfect and superfluous formations from the point of view of any captain, several wide and deep channels were built through which large ocean vessels can go deep into the mainland eight months a year.
The idea and its implementation were economically supported by the two largest North American countries, allowing the organization of unhindered movement of goods and tourists. But the river fauna was damaged by the construction of canals: ocean lampreys that made their way into the river almost destroyed the entire indigenous freshwater population (fish).
Special river
It’s standard to call the river one of the largest waterways of North America, except for someone who has never heard of the amazing features and history of the reservoir.
This is an extraordinary river - the St. Lawrence River. The features of the river are the miscibility of fresh and salt water - essentially two very similar and completely different water worlds. Also, the uniqueness of the reservoir lies in the presence of one of the largest and most beautiful fjords in the world - Saguenay, as well as in the "dottedness" of the channel with many large, small and tiny islands.
Usually, when asked about where the St. Lawrence River is , Canadians answer: "In the garden of the Great Spirit." This Iroquois legend has become another highlight of the river. A beautifully presented story about the emergence of the “thousand islands” attracts tourists like a magnet.
Here is a summary of this legend. The Great Spirit (aka the Creator) rewarded the Indian tribes with fertile land on the condition that they forever end the feud. The Indians promised to live in peace, but after some time they could not restrain themselves and again went on the warpath. For this, God demanded that the gift be returned. Representatives of the tribes wrapped the earth in a canvas and began to raise it to heaven. And when the huge bundle almost reached the heavenly vault, someone could not hold the end of the canvas, the earth spilled out and scattered along the river bed and the nearby lakes.
How many islands really are and what they are
Exact counting of all islands and islets was made at the beginning of the 18th century: they were ungrouped by size, thus obtaining eight island groups. The total number of islands is about two thousand.
And since at that time such real estate could be purchased for mere pennies, many shipowners and other citizens gladly bought an islet or several, telling in a circle of acquaintances that the land was given to them by St. Lawrence. The river then still had rich stocks of fish, on the shore nearby it was possible to get hold of high-quality building materials.
And now most of the small islands are inhabited and privately owned. And the large islands are natural parks, open-air museums, hotel complexes and even sleeping areas.
All islands are divided between the USA and Canada, but swimming in other people's territorial waters does not require a visa : the St. Lawrence River allows travelers to enjoy both countries alternately for several hours.
Unique places
One of the man-made sights of St. Lawrence named the tall bridge of the Thousand Islands. Bending its back over the channel, the bridge rises to the height of a 20-story building and connects two cities: Ivy-Lee (USA) and Collins-Landing (Canada). The bridge is quite old, it was built in 1938. It is very picturesque.
Tourists who are not alien to romance are most attracted to the island called Heart, which knows such a sad love story that a living heart is torn to pieces from it.
The island has many elegant buildings, most of which are castles. Some of them are similar to medieval, others like Disney, but each of them testifies that they were built, at least for princesses.
And to some extent it is. One of the castles, the most romantic and magnificent, was built by German Boldt for his wife Louise. He kept the construction secret, preparing his wife a royal gift. When the work was already nearing completion, Boldt received a telegram from Philadelphia that Louise was dead. This made the knight in love curtail all work and leave the island, so that he would never return.
He left, but the castle remained. Its history has been preserved for centuries. Now she has become the most touching on the whole thousand islands.
Motley fauna
The story of St. Lawrence would be incomplete without mentioning the rich and unusual for the river animal world.
In which of the rivers you can still meet a blue whale, a huge beluga whale and finwala? The combination of flora and fauna is so diverse that it is recognized as the most extraordinary on the planet.
Fish, despite the lampreys invasion, there are about 200 species in the river. There are also more than 20 species of reptiles and amphibians, more than 300 species of birds nesting on the shores of St. Lawrence and nearby lakes.