Pointe Platon

Located on the south shore between the villages of Sainte-Croix and Lotbinière,

Pointe Platon extends 6 km into the St. Lawrence River.


 


The Richness of a Unique Natural Environment

For thousands of years, Pointe Platon has diverted the river's currents, to bypass it.

Protected from strong currents and prevailing winds, the river's tidal flats, located east of Pointe Platon, allow vegetation to develop and wildlife such as the great blue heron, birds of prey, like the bald eagles, and waterfowl to benefit from a rich and protected habitat.

Pointe Platon benefits from a humid continental climate with a maritime character. Therefore, the Domaine enjoys a milder temperature compared to the Lotbinière region, permitting the planting of plants and trees that are a little more exotic.

 


Birth of a Landscape

On the North American continent, about one hundred thousand years ago, the climate cooled, prelude to a new ice age. Sliding southward, the glaciers carried with them various materials such as rocks, gravel, sand and clay. Then, a few tens of thousands years ago, the climate warmed definitively, forcing the glaciers to retreat. This ice age ended about twelve thousand years ago with the presence of the Champlain Sea.

The river has been carving its bed in the sediments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands for thousands of years. However, when its waters encountered more resistant shale and sandstone, its course was diverted. This movement slowed down its currents and forced the sedimentation of the alluvium. At the Domaine, this alluvium, shaped in two plates of unequal dimensions, takes the form of a point of land that juts out into the St. Lawrence.

Still today, east of the point, the tidal flats, protected from strong currents and prevailing winds, welcome alluvial deposits and allow vegetation to settle (marshes). To the west, at low tide, one can contemplate the wide tidal flats, where it is nice to walk, and admire the long crescent-shaped beach that leads to the magnificent sixty metres high cliffs grey shale.

Twice a day, the river is affected by freshwater tides. The movement of the rising and falling tides, with an average amplitude of 3.5 metres, imprints and transforms the landscape of the St. Lawrence tidal flats every hour of the day.

 


Microclimate

Pointe Platon, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, enjoys a humid continental climate with a maritime character. This site therefore enjoys milder temperatures, making it possible to grow fruit trees as well as perennial plants, shrubs and trees exotic to the region. The first two terraces of Pointe Platon, which extend into the river, are located within this narrow zone with a more favourable climate, which especially reduces the harmful effect of the drying winter winds. The third terrace, on the other hand, is located outside this zone and is subject to a harsher local climate.

As a result, the Domaine Joly-De Lotbinière benefits from a very special microclimate that allows for the cultivation of plants that are unusual in this part of the country, which enhances its unique character.