Anticosti, L'Île d'

Island in the Gulf of St Lawrence at the mouth of the St Lawrence River, 80 km/50 mi northeast of the Gaspé Peninsula and 600 km/375 mi northeast of Québec City, in east Québec, Canada; area 7,923 sq km/3059 sq mi; population (1991 est) 300. Heavily forested, with many small rivers, canyons, and a bog, it extends 220 km/135 mi from west-northwest–east-southeast, and rises to 191 m/625 ft in the north. Wildlife is abundant, and there are several hunting reserves. Port-Menier, near the western tip, is its only settlement, although there are also scattered campsites.

French explorer Jacques Cartier landed here in 1534. In 1680 the island was granted to Louis Joliet. It was ceded to Britain in 1763, and became part of Québec in 1774. It has never supported a viable community for any length of time, but has been a hunting reserve, vacation retreat, and logging centre. In 1926, it was taken over by paper interests.