Anticosti Channel

North of Anticosti Island, a deep submarine valley runs through the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Anticosti Channel branches from the Laurentian Channel and extends towards the Jacques Cartier Strait, bordered by shallower shelves along the island and the northern shore. Deep Atlantic water moves into the gulf through the channel system, beneath the fresher surface waters flowing seaward. Above this hidden terrain, seasonal ice and the exposed coasts of Anticosti shape the passage through the gulf.