Percé Rock (French rocher Percé, "pierced rock") is an island and sheer rock formation in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence just off the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec, Canada, near the village of Percé. It is one of the largest and most spectacular natural arches in the world.
It is a massive limestone stack 433 metres (1420 ft) long, 90 metres (296 ft) wide, and 88 metres (289 ft) at its highest point. The rock gets its name from a large 15 metre (50 ft) high arch near its seaward end.
Together with Bonaventure Island, Percé Rock is part of the provincial Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé.
There were actually two arches in the rock, until the outer arch collapsed on June 17, 1845. For four hours at a time during low tide, the water recedes from a wide spit that allows the rock itself to be visited. Percé Rock is a major tourist attraction in Quebec, with picturesque views of the rock from both Percé and nearby Bonaventure Island. It contains millions of marine fossils such as trilobites, tetracoralla, brachiopods and ostracods from the Devonian period.
Percé Rock is the locale of André Breton's surrealist text Arcanum 17, of which it is the major motif.
A made-in-Quebec animated feature film titled Vinland, the Legend of Percé Rock is in the planning stages.[1]
As of May 2008, access to Percé Rock is only possible while being accompanied by a guide. Contact Parcs Quebec for more information.
