Charlevoix (/ˈʃɑːrləvwɑː/ SHAR-lə-vwah,[1] French: [ʃaʁləvwa] ⓘ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield.
This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands, and bays; the region was designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1989.
[citation needed] For much of its history, Charlevoix was home to a thriving summer colony of wealthy Americans, including President William Howard Taft.
There have been several major earthquakes in the region in recorded history: Situated some 80 km east of Quebec City, Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve borders the Saint Lawrence River to the south.
); estuarine tidal marsh and flats dominated by Scirpus americanus meadows including Zizania palustris, Sagittaria cuneata and S. latifolia; tundra with ericaceous zones consisting of Kalmia spp., Ledum groenlandicum; stunted vegetation community (krummholz) with Picea mariana and Abies balsamea; agro-ecosystems with cereals, fruits and legumes, and river ecosystems.
Between Baie-Saint-Paul and La Malbaie, the highway turns inland with Quebec Route 362 serving the riverside communities of Les Éboulements and Saint-Irénée.