Lac Saint-Pierre. 27/05/98; Québec; 11,952 ha; 46°08'N 072°39'W. Lac Saint-Pierre includes an archipelago of about 100 islands, several large bays and a very large area of open water. The lake is surrounded by the largest freshwater floodplain of Quebec. Each year at least 7,000 ha of meadows, shrub areas, woods and cultivated land are flooded. The site includes a section of Saint-Laurent (St. Lawrence) River between Sorel and Trois-Rivières, about 65 km east of Montreal. Many of the plant species in the site are regionally or nationally threatened. The seasonally flooded agricultural land is used each spring as a stopover by 350,000 waterbirds (ducks and geese), including more than 70,000 Branta canadensis. Aquatic plants cover more than 6,200 ha and are used by fishes for reproduction and feeding. In the site, the main human activities are extensive agriculture and recreation. In the surroundings, land is privately owned, and much of the area is used for agriculture. Lac Saint-Pierre, and especially the archipelago, is much used for water sports, sport fishing, hunting and birdwatching. Ramsar site no. 949. Most recent RIS information: 2001.