Percé Rock
Encyclopedia
Percé Rock is a huge sheer rock formation in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula
in Quebec, Canada, off Percé Bay
. Percé Rock appears from a distance like a ship under sail. It is one of the world's largest natural arch
es located in water and is considered a natural icon of Quebec. It is a major attraction in the Gaspesie region
.
in 1607, in reference to the hole he had seen in the massive block of limestone
, which over the years has become a major attraction in the region of Quebec.
, despite wishing to stay in his familiar old world France. He was thus separated from his betrothed under expressed sentiments of loving each other for ever. He suffered pangs of separation as he traveled in Quebec. He was posted to the Fortress of St Louis and all his thoughts were of his betrothed. However, his fiancée also could not stand the separation and she decided to travel to Quebec with her brother, to get married to her beloved. Unfortunately, as they approached Newfoundland they engaged in fierce battle on the seas with a Spanish pirate ship. Even though the French crew offered stiff resistance, they were all killed by the pirates and their ship was gutted. However, the girl in question who was hiding in the ship in one of the cabins was dragged out and brought before the pirate captain. As soon as he saw the beautiful girl, he fell in love with her and proposed marriage. He told her that she had no way of escape and that he would sail his ship even to the fort of St. Lawrence where she could probably have a glimpse of her fiancé. The girl, nonplussed, agreed, although her intentions were otherwise. At the time of marriage celebrations she suddenly jumped out into the deep sea and drowned. This created chaos on the deck of the pirate ship and the ship was covered with thick fog making sailing difficult, and any rescue operations difficult. The following morning, as the ship was anchored, the crew were facing a huge mass of rock, the Percé Rock, which appeared to be floating near the shore. The Spanish pirates were frightened by the massive rock which appeared in a "veiled appearance in which they thought they recognized Blanche de Beaumont". They saw the girl raise her hand in "malediction". When they tried to turn the ship to avoid it hitting the rock, the apparition disappeared and the ship crashed. Next day morning people who watched from the shores saw a rock had emerged in the place of the ship, off the Cape Rosier. The rock appeared like a "large vessel under sail". The local fishermen still say that the gentle spirit of the Blanche De Beaumont haunts the great Perce Rock, two hundred years after the girl drowned there. After this incident, the young man also died out of shock.
Another version of the legend, which is also narrated by the local people of Percé town, is that they see the rock in the shape of a "phantom" during storms and hence call it "Le Génie deľisle Percé". This, however, could be interpreted to mean that the vapoury clouds that engulf the "vast flocks of water fowl" could give such an impression when viewed from a distance.
Percé Rock is part of the range of cliffs, bays and hills on the SW side of Mal Bay, which are formed of reddish-gold limestone
and shale
. It is linked to mainland (at Rue du Mont Joli) by a sandbar at low tide. The Bay of Perce is situated between this rock and the High Head. There is a reef to the SW of Percé Rock, about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) away from the shore. Percé town is located on the shores of the bay and it is inhabited by fishermen. Percé reef is about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) from the center of the town where small vessels can be moored. Midway across the rock is a shoal that stretches over a length of 0.25 miles (402.3 m).
The rock formation has about 150 fossil species. In Bonaventure Island
where the park is situated, conglomerates
from the Carboniferous period of more than 310 million years are recorded.
Next to the rock is the Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé
(Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park), founded in 1985, which covers an area of about 5.8 square kilometres (2.2 sq mi). Percé Rock is part of this park, integral to the park as a geologically and historically-rich segment of Québec; the park which extends over a 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) stretch of the coastline, at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, has five geological formations of which the Percé Rock is the one located within the park. Together, the park and the Percé Rock with its thin vegetation at the top where birds nestle, exhibit a wide variety of flora and fauna and the park as a whole is the migratory bird sanctuary of northern gannet
numbering over 110,000, which are unique nestling birds, the second largest in size. (It is now mentioned in the Municipal website of Percé town that the population of northern gannets is 121,000 exceeding the figures mentioned for the archipelago of St Kilda
in Scotland) Other birds reported from the island are: puffins, razorbills, Black guillemot
and kittiwakes, apart from over 200 other species. From May to December, some species of blue whale
, humpback whale
, minke whale
or fin whale
are also seen on the coast at Percé, Bonaventure Island and in Forillon National Park
.
At low tide, the rock is approachable on foot. The rock and the bird colony in Bonaventure Island can be approached from Percé town by boat, which is about 75 minutes boat ride. Visit to the rock is restricted to the period from 28 May to 12 October. During such visits, park administration would provide information though a guide on beach organisms or geology of Pierce Rock, also called the "cathedral of limestone that rose from the Equator
", and fossils. The rock mass is estimated to be a 5 million tonnes monolith. It has been inferred that the rate at which the rock is getting eroded (losing about 300 tonnes per year of its mass due the action of water and wind), it may disappear in about 16,000 years. However, in view of its collapsing tendencies it is dangerous to venture close to the rock on foot during low tide. The top of the rock is also not accessible. However, only snowy gannet
, silvery gull
, black cormorant
and other species of birds perch there.
An interpretation centre in Percé, housed in Le Chafaud, an elegant restored building, has a thematic exhibition titled "Un rocher, une île, un parc national", meaning "one rock, one island, one national park", which recounts the bird life, marine life, geology, history and ecosystem of the park and the rock.
, the first colonist arrived here in 1534, he reported three arches in the massive rock formation. In time, two of the arches disappeared, with the last one collapsing on June 17, 1845, leaving a separated pillar. Percé Rock's huge limestone formation is geologically dated to the Devonian period of more than 400 million age (375 million years is also mentioned). However, Percé Rock is only a small component of the large areas of Devonian rocks that occupy the interior that were first mapped in 1844 by Sir William Edmond Logan, known as the father of Canadian geology. Devonian rocks embody variety of animal and plant communities from both terrestrial and marine habitats evolved since the Devonian period.
stack
formation, with sandstone
and siltstone
veins, with steep rock faces on all sides. It is 0.66 miles (1.1 km) long, 90 metres (295.3 ft) wide, and 88 metres (288.7 ft) high at its highest point. It is described as a narrow bluff emerging out of the sea, "resembling a bleached supertanker from some angles".
When it was seen in 1603 by the French geographer and founder of Quebec City
, Samuel de Champlain
, it had only one arch. However, in 1760, a picture of Percé Rock drawn by an English officer showed two arches, one of which collapsed in June 1845. Percé rock's two large holes were cut through by the sea waves. One of the holes seen now is an arch described as "gothic arch of rock", which is about 20 metres (65.6 ft) high. A small boat can pass through the arch during high tide. Of the two arches, the outer arch, which had collapsed with great force in 1845, is now seen as remnants in the form of an "obelisk".
For four hours at a time during low tide, the water recedes from a wide spit
that allows the rock itself to be visited. It contains 150 species of different fossils such as brachiopod
, trilobites, dalmanites
, corals and marine worms from the Devonian
period.
.jpg)
Percé Rock is a major tourist attraction in Quebec, with picturesque views of the rock from both Percé and nearby Bonaventure Island.
A made-in-Quebec animated feature film titled Vinland, the Legend of Percé Rock is in the planning stages. It is directed by Nicola Lemay, Director at the National Film Board of Canada
.
French surrealist poet André Breton
(1896–1966) visited Gaspé in October 1944 and recorded his impressions of the visit in Arcanum 17, "a hymn of hope, renewal, and resurrection". The name of the poem stands for the 17th tarot
card in the Major Arcana
, called the Star, which symbolizes a woman pouring lunar forces into a mundane world and represents negative connotations of loss or abandonment of hope or bright prospects. During the visit, Breton was attracted to the Percé Rock and drew inspiration from it. In contrast to his unhappy personal life in war-torn Europe, the Rock provided him with the inspiration and reminder that "nature renews herself and that death is only transitory." He called Percé Rock a "razor blade rising out of the water, an image very imperious and commanding, a marvelous iceberg of moon stone ... to a distracted observer though to a common man it is just but a resting place of birds".
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
in Quebec, Canada, off Percé Bay
Percé, Quebec
Percé is a small village near the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in Québec. As a municipality, it is 432.39 square km in area. It has a long history of being an important seasonal fishing centre under the French...
. Percé Rock appears from a distance like a ship under sail. It is one of the world's largest natural arch
Natural arch
A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...
es located in water and is considered a natural icon of Quebec. It is a major attraction in the Gaspesie region
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
.
Etymology
The massive rocky cliff is called by several names, such as le rocher percé, Pierced Rock, Split Rock or Percé Rock. The name is attributed to the pierced rock that formed an arch of 20 metres (65.6 ft) height on its seaward southern end, as though a needle had cut through the rock. It was named Percé ("pierced rock") by Samuel de ChamplainSamuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
in 1607, in reference to the hole he had seen in the massive block of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, which over the years has become a major attraction in the region of Quebec.
Legend
The Percé Rock, described as "the monstrous giant; pierced through by an immense eye, now green, now gray, now blue or violet, according to the moods of the sea", is linked in legend to a young man of a noble French family. The legend associated with the young man, named Chevalier Raymond de Nerac, is that after his engagement to a lovely girl named Blanche de Beaumont, as an officer of the French army he was posted to a regiment in New FranceNew France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
, despite wishing to stay in his familiar old world France. He was thus separated from his betrothed under expressed sentiments of loving each other for ever. He suffered pangs of separation as he traveled in Quebec. He was posted to the Fortress of St Louis and all his thoughts were of his betrothed. However, his fiancée also could not stand the separation and she decided to travel to Quebec with her brother, to get married to her beloved. Unfortunately, as they approached Newfoundland they engaged in fierce battle on the seas with a Spanish pirate ship. Even though the French crew offered stiff resistance, they were all killed by the pirates and their ship was gutted. However, the girl in question who was hiding in the ship in one of the cabins was dragged out and brought before the pirate captain. As soon as he saw the beautiful girl, he fell in love with her and proposed marriage. He told her that she had no way of escape and that he would sail his ship even to the fort of St. Lawrence where she could probably have a glimpse of her fiancé. The girl, nonplussed, agreed, although her intentions were otherwise. At the time of marriage celebrations she suddenly jumped out into the deep sea and drowned. This created chaos on the deck of the pirate ship and the ship was covered with thick fog making sailing difficult, and any rescue operations difficult. The following morning, as the ship was anchored, the crew were facing a huge mass of rock, the Percé Rock, which appeared to be floating near the shore. The Spanish pirates were frightened by the massive rock which appeared in a "veiled appearance in which they thought they recognized Blanche de Beaumont". They saw the girl raise her hand in "malediction". When they tried to turn the ship to avoid it hitting the rock, the apparition disappeared and the ship crashed. Next day morning people who watched from the shores saw a rock had emerged in the place of the ship, off the Cape Rosier. The rock appeared like a "large vessel under sail". The local fishermen still say that the gentle spirit of the Blanche De Beaumont haunts the great Perce Rock, two hundred years after the girl drowned there. After this incident, the young man also died out of shock.
Another version of the legend, which is also narrated by the local people of Percé town, is that they see the rock in the shape of a "phantom" during storms and hence call it "Le Génie deľisle Percé". This, however, could be interpreted to mean that the vapoury clouds that engulf the "vast flocks of water fowl" could give such an impression when viewed from a distance.
Geography
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
. It is linked to mainland (at Rue du Mont Joli) by a sandbar at low tide. The Bay of Perce is situated between this rock and the High Head. There is a reef to the SW of Percé Rock, about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) away from the shore. Percé town is located on the shores of the bay and it is inhabited by fishermen. Percé reef is about 0.5 miles (804.7 m) from the center of the town where small vessels can be moored. Midway across the rock is a shoal that stretches over a length of 0.25 miles (402.3 m).
The rock formation has about 150 fossil species. In Bonaventure Island
Bonaventure Island
Bonaventure Island is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence located off the southern coast of Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula, southeast of the village of Percé...
where the park is situated, conglomerates
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
from the Carboniferous period of more than 310 million years are recorded.
Next to the rock is the Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé
Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé National Park
Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé National Park is a National Park of Quebec, Canada.The park is located at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula near the village of Percé, Quebec, and was created in 1985 to protect the large migratory bird sanctuary found on Bonaventure Island, as well as nearby Percé...
(Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park), founded in 1985, which covers an area of about 5.8 square kilometres (2.2 sq mi). Percé Rock is part of this park, integral to the park as a geologically and historically-rich segment of Québec; the park which extends over a 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) stretch of the coastline, at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, has five geological formations of which the Percé Rock is the one located within the park. Together, the park and the Percé Rock with its thin vegetation at the top where birds nestle, exhibit a wide variety of flora and fauna and the park as a whole is the migratory bird sanctuary of northern gannet
Northern Gannet
The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
numbering over 110,000, which are unique nestling birds, the second largest in size. (It is now mentioned in the Municipal website of Percé town that the population of northern gannets is 121,000 exceeding the figures mentioned for the archipelago of St Kilda
St Kilda, Scotland
St Kilda is an isolated archipelago west-northwest of North Uist in the North Atlantic Ocean. It contains the westernmost islands of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The largest island is Hirta, whose sea cliffs are the highest in the United Kingdom and three other islands , were also used for...
in Scotland) Other birds reported from the island are: puffins, razorbills, Black guillemot
Black Guillemot
The Black Guillemot or Tystie is a medium-sized alcid.Adult birds have black bodies with a white wing patch, a thin dark bill, and red legs and feet. They show white wing linings in flight. In winter, the upperparts are pale grey and the underparts are white. The wings remain black with the large...
and kittiwakes, apart from over 200 other species. From May to December, some species of blue whale
Blue Whale
The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales . At in length and or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed....
, humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
, minke whale
Minke Whale
Minke whale , or lesser rorqual, is a name given to two species of marine mammal belonging to a clade within the suborder of baleen whales. The minke whale was given its official designation by Lacepède in 1804, who described a dwarf form of Balænoptera acuto-rostrata...
or fin whale
Fin Whale
The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long...
are also seen on the coast at Percé, Bonaventure Island and in Forillon National Park
Forillon National Park
Forillon National Park, one of 43 national parks and park reserves across Canada, is located at the outer tip of the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec and covers 244 km². Created in 1970, Forillon was the first national park in Quebec. The park includes forests, sea coast, salt marshes, sand dunes,...
.
At low tide, the rock is approachable on foot. The rock and the bird colony in Bonaventure Island can be approached from Percé town by boat, which is about 75 minutes boat ride. Visit to the rock is restricted to the period from 28 May to 12 October. During such visits, park administration would provide information though a guide on beach organisms or geology of Pierce Rock, also called the "cathedral of limestone that rose from the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
", and fossils. The rock mass is estimated to be a 5 million tonnes monolith. It has been inferred that the rate at which the rock is getting eroded (losing about 300 tonnes per year of its mass due the action of water and wind), it may disappear in about 16,000 years. However, in view of its collapsing tendencies it is dangerous to venture close to the rock on foot during low tide. The top of the rock is also not accessible. However, only snowy gannet
Northern Gannet
The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
, silvery gull
Silver Gull
The Silver Gull also known simply as "seagull" in Australia, is the most common gull seen in Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly coastal areas. The South African Hartlaub's Gull and the New Zealand Red-billed Gull The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus...
, black cormorant
Great Cormorant
The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...
and other species of birds perch there.
An interpretation centre in Percé, housed in Le Chafaud, an elegant restored building, has a thematic exhibition titled "Un rocher, une île, un parc national", meaning "one rock, one island, one national park", which recounts the bird life, marine life, geology, history and ecosystem of the park and the rock.
History
Originally, the Percé Rock was inferred as connected to the main land. In early 1900s, enchanted by the beauty of the Percé Rock, travelers started visiting the area of Gaspe, Percé and Bonaventure Island. However, when Jacques CartierJacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
, the first colonist arrived here in 1534, he reported three arches in the massive rock formation. In time, two of the arches disappeared, with the last one collapsing on June 17, 1845, leaving a separated pillar. Percé Rock's huge limestone formation is geologically dated to the Devonian period of more than 400 million age (375 million years is also mentioned). However, Percé Rock is only a small component of the large areas of Devonian rocks that occupy the interior that were first mapped in 1844 by Sir William Edmond Logan, known as the father of Canadian geology. Devonian rocks embody variety of animal and plant communities from both terrestrial and marine habitats evolved since the Devonian period.
Description
Percé Rock is a massive siliceous limestoneLimestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
stack
Stack (geology)
A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion. Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the...
formation, with sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and siltstone
Siltstone
Siltstone is a sedimentary rock which has a grain size in the silt range, finer than sandstone and coarser than claystones.- Description :As its name implies, it is primarily composed of silt sized particles, defined as grains 1/16 - 1/256 mm or 4 to 8 on the Krumbein phi scale...
veins, with steep rock faces on all sides. It is 0.66 miles (1.1 km) long, 90 metres (295.3 ft) wide, and 88 metres (288.7 ft) high at its highest point. It is described as a narrow bluff emerging out of the sea, "resembling a bleached supertanker from some angles".
When it was seen in 1603 by the French geographer and founder of Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
, it had only one arch. However, in 1760, a picture of Percé Rock drawn by an English officer showed two arches, one of which collapsed in June 1845. Percé rock's two large holes were cut through by the sea waves. One of the holes seen now is an arch described as "gothic arch of rock", which is about 20 metres (65.6 ft) high. A small boat can pass through the arch during high tide. Of the two arches, the outer arch, which had collapsed with great force in 1845, is now seen as remnants in the form of an "obelisk".
For four hours at a time during low tide, the water recedes from a wide spit
Spit (landform)
A spit or sandspit is a deposition landform found off coasts. At one end, spits connect to land, and extend into the sea. A spit is a type of bar or beach that develops where a re-entrant occurs, such as at cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift...
that allows the rock itself to be visited. It contains 150 species of different fossils such as brachiopod
Brachiopod
Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection...
, trilobites, dalmanites
Dalmanites
Dalmanites is a genus of trilobite in the order Phacopida.The trilobites of this genus have slightly convex exoskeletons with an average diameter of 4–7 cm . The cephalon is semicircular or parabolic. The glabella is often pear-shaped, and tapers outward toward the front...
, corals and marine worms from the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
period.
In popular culture
A made-in-Quebec animated feature film titled Vinland, the Legend of Percé Rock is in the planning stages. It is directed by Nicola Lemay, Director at the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
.
French surrealist poet André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
(1896–1966) visited Gaspé in October 1944 and recorded his impressions of the visit in Arcanum 17, "a hymn of hope, renewal, and resurrection". The name of the poem stands for the 17th tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
card in the Major Arcana
Major Arcana
The Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...
, called the Star, which symbolizes a woman pouring lunar forces into a mundane world and represents negative connotations of loss or abandonment of hope or bright prospects. During the visit, Breton was attracted to the Percé Rock and drew inspiration from it. In contrast to his unhappy personal life in war-torn Europe, the Rock provided him with the inspiration and reminder that "nature renews herself and that death is only transitory." He called Percé Rock a "razor blade rising out of the water, an image very imperious and commanding, a marvelous iceberg of moon stone ... to a distracted observer though to a common man it is just but a resting place of birds".