At the heart of the marine park, near Tadoussac, two giant waterways meet in a powerful, never-ending collision. Here, the sometimes nearly turquoise waters of the St. Lawrence River estuary meet the darker waters of the Saguenay River. This heart, beating to the rhythm of the tides, is also fed by a deep current flowing in from the gulf that rises to the surface as it strikes the shoal at the entrance to the fjord.

This massive mixing of the waters appears at the surface as two distinct phenomena: effervescent standing waves and plumes or whitish lines that extend across the fjord. Above all, it is the reason why this area of confluence shelters marine life of such exceptional diversity. What better place to demonstrate that the park truly is a “Crossroads of life, site of exchange and wellspring of riches”? Fish, whales and seals are drawn here by the plankton and other organisms that abound in these waters – waters that have also been shared and exploited by humans for thousands of years.