August 15, 2019
While I was driving towards the Saguenay River on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River I noticed an odd-shaped structure out in the water. I assumed it was some type of navigational aid for the massive cargo ships which sail east and west on the St. Lawrence. If nothing else I thought it might just house a radio “repeater” which constantly broadcasts the message “please don’t hit me, please don’t hit me, please don’t hit me”….
I took the photo above at around 10 am when the sun was behind the object. I took the photo below at around 3 pm as I was heading back south towards Quebec. The sun was now behind me and I could clearly see the distinctive red and white stripes. I was zoomed way in when I took the first photo and couldn’t make out the stripes.
Here is a better photo I found online:
(Photo credit: de.wikipedia.org)
I reversed the image above to show the same orientation as seen in my photos.
As the name indicates the lighthouse sits on a shoal, a small “mountain” located completely underwater. While I thought it was way out in the middle of the river it is actually much closer to the side where the Saguenay River empties into the St. Lawrence.
(Photo credit: parcmarin.qc.ca)
The image above also illustrates the “mixing” of salt and fresh water which makes this confluence of the two rivers an estuary.
