This activity isn’t just for kids – grown-ups are sure to enjoy it too!
Discover the various types of pebbles found at Pointe-au-Pic during low tide. You’ll find stairs leading down to the foreshore. Our identification guide will help you name at least 15 unique specimens!
Ready to find them all?
SLAG - Artificial origin. A blackish, porous rock. Often mistaken for a meteorite. It is actually a waste product from metallurgy factories, frequently used as fill under railway tracks. Rarity: 10/10.
SANDSTONE - Sandstones are sedimentary rocks made of sand grains cemented together. Rarity: 5/10.
Quartzite is a metamorphosed quartz. There is a lot of it in the area. Rarity: 3/10.
PEGMATITE - Pegmatite is an igneous rock with large crystals of Feldspar (white) and Quartz (grey). An outcrop of it can be found at Cap-à-l'Aigle. Rarity: 8/10.
CHARNOCKITE - This rock is on the border between igneous and metamorphic. It's brownish, especially on the surface. You'll find a lot of it in the Charlevoix backcountry. Rarity: 6/10.
Bricks, pipes, glass - Sandstone can be manufactured in factories to make bricks and pipes. Here, it's not quite natural! Rarity: 7/10.
COAL - Not local. Likely linked to the old train. Rarity: 5/10.
BRECCIA - Sometimes, sandstones contain larger, angular fragments within them. In such cases, we call it a breccia. Rarity: 5/10.
ASPHALT - An artificial mixture of pebbles and tar. A waste product. Rarity: 9/10.
MIGMATITE - Migmatite is a metamorphic rock that has undergone changes due to heat and pressure. It was likely once granite. Rarity: 7/10.
GNEISSIC GRANITE - As granite begins to undergo pressure and heat (metamorphism), its minerals tend to align. Rarity: 3/10.
GABBRO - An igneous (magmatic) rock with a large quantity of pyroxene (a black mineral) and feldspar (a white mineral). Rarity: 3/10.
LIMESTONE - Limestone (sedimentary) is made up of the remains of microorganisms and suspended matter in water that has been deposited in layers over millions of years. Rarity: 1/10.
ANORTHOSITE - Charlevoix anorthosite (igneous) is purplish, with large crystals of plagioclase feldspar. Rarity: 7/10.
WHITE GRANITE - When the feldspar in granite (igneous) is white or beige, it's called this. Rarity: 2/10.
PINK GRANITE - An igneous rock. It's made up of three minerals: quartz (grey), feldspar (pink), and biotite (black). Rarity: 1/10.
