[2][3] It consists of 3 non-contiguous areas totalling 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi) of land in the centre of Anticosti Island.

Already in the 1920s, the richness of Anticosti's flora was highlighted by botanist Marie-Victorin, who described the canyon of the Vauréal River as a "remarkable sanctuary" for ferns.

In 1987, the Regional County Municipality of Minganie officially incorporated the idea of creating a park in the Vauréal River area in its development plan.

[7] Located within protected areas[3] free from any industrial activity, the site is endowed with exceptionally well-preserved, abundant and diverse fossil fauna.

This Anticosti fauna represents the first mass extinction of animal life on a global scale, 447 – 437 million years ago, at the end of the Ordovician period.