Mont Saint-Hilaire (in English:
Mount Saint-Hilaire), (
see names of mont Saint-Hilaire for other names) is an isolated hill, high, in the
Montérégie region of southern
Quebec. It is about thirty kilometres east of
Montreal, and immediately east of the
Richelieu River. It is one of the
Monteregian Hills. Around the mountains are the towns of
Mont-Saint-Hilaire and
Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Other nearby towns include
Otterburn Park,
Beloeil and
McMasterville.
The area surrounding the mountain is a
biosphere reserve, as one of the last remnant of the primeval forests of the
Saint-Lawrence valley. Most of the mountain is currently the property of
McGill University, as the
Gault Natural Reserve. The University has opened the western half of the mountain to visitors (at a fee) for
hiking and
cross-country skiing, as the
Milieu Naturel (Eng.
Natural Area). The eastern half, or
Milieu de Conservation (Eng.
preservation area) is not accessible to the general public.
Mont Saint-Hilaire is home to a wide variety of fauna and flora, as well as a number of rare minerals, including some which are unique to the region. Until the late nineteenth century, the lack of information on more remote summits of Quebec, as well as the relatively high prominence (about ) In actuality, Saint-Hilaire's 414 metres falls far short of making it the
highest......
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