Bic National Park

Bic National Park is an 33.2km2 national park of Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, near the villages of Bic and Saint-Fabien, southwest of Rimouski. It was founded on October 17, 1984, and is home to large populations of harbor seals and gray seals. Its highest point is Pic Champlain at 1140ft. Slightly less than half of the park is a coastal marine environment.The park is owned by the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks of Quebec. It is managed by the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ).Bic National Park is typical of the southern coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, containing several characteristics of this region: low-flow rivers (la rivière du Sud-Ouest) salt marshes (the marsh at Pointe-au-Spruce) rocky hills with a very steep northern slope and a relatively gentle southern slope (Pic Champlain, Citadelle, Cap-l'Original, etc.)HistoryHuman occupation of Bic dates back almost 7,000 years, when Native Americans visited the site: the park's interpretive center displays tools they left behind.Battle at Bae de BicAccording to Jacques Cartier, the Battle at Bae de Bic happened in the spring of 1534, 100 Iroquois warriors massacred a group of 200 Mi’kmaq camped on Massacre Island in the St. Lawrence River. Bae de Bic was an annual gather place for the Mi’kmaq along the St. Lawrence. Mi’kmaq scouting parties notified the village that the Iroquois attack the evening before the morning attack. They evacuated 30 of the infirm and elderly and about 200 Mi’kmaq vacated their encampment on the shore and retreated to an island in the bay. They took cover in a cave on the island and covered the entrance with branches. The Iroquois arrived at the vacated village in the morning. Finding it vacated, they divided into search parties but failed to find the Mi’kmaq until the morning of the next day.