Saint-Jacques Escarpment facts for kids
The Saint-Jacques Escarpment (French: Falaise Saint-Jacques) is a special green space in Montreal, Canada. It's like a long, steep hill or cliff covered in trees, located west of downtown Montreal. This natural area is right next to the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood. It stretches about 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) long and covers more than 20 hectares (about 50 acres) of wooded land.
Home to Wildlife
This green space is very important for nature. It has many poplar trees and is located between Mount Royal and the Lachine Rapids. Because of its location and trees, it's a great home for many different kinds of birds. Both birds that live there all the time and birds that are just passing through during their migration can be found here. You can also find a large number of brown snakes living in the area.
A Bit of History
Long ago, the land at the bottom of this escarpment was a body of water called "Lac St-Pierre." But when the Lachine Canal was opened in 1825, the lake started to lose its water.
Before the City of Montreal bought the land, the escarpment was sometimes used as a place where people left trash. However, the city bought it to turn it into parkland.
Future Plans for the Escarpment
Even though the city bought the land for a park, it's not open to the public yet. There are a few reasons for this. Some parts of the slope are not stable and could be dangerous. Also, the city wants to keep the escarpment as a natural space. This goal sometimes conflicts with plans from the Province of Quebec to change the Turcot Interchange. These plans include moving the Ville-Marie Expressway and a Canadian National Railway line closer to the bottom of the escarpment.
In 2020, the City of Montreal announced an idea to turn a large part of this area into a park. This new park would stretch for almost 2 kilometers (about 1.2 miles).
Images for kids
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Falaise Saint-Jacques, looking east, from near the west entrance. (November 2021)
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