[1] The Manicouagan – Uapishka Biosphere Reserve was formed by the erosion of millions of years, combined with the collision of a huge meteorite, the crushing passage of glaciers and an ancient sea that smoothed the land.

The salt marshes of the Manicouagan – Uapishka reserve are among the most productive habitats on the planet, acting as important resting places for more than 200 migratory birds.

Fauna characteristic of boreal forests in the area include the vulnerable boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), least weasel (Mustela nivalis), short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and the threatened wolverine (Gulo gulo) and beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas).

The main economic activities include timber transformation, agriculture, aluminum production, mining, commercial fisheries and merchant shipping.

The Manicouagan population along the coastline has over time become almost exclusively French with the descendants of ancient Indigenous families living on the Pessamit reserve.