The Laurentian Mountains (French: Laurentides) are a mountain range

Mountain range

A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...

 in southern Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River

Ottawa River

The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...

, rising to a highest point of 1166 metre

Metre

The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...

s (3,825 feet

Foot (unit of length)

A foot A foot A foot (plural: feet; abbreviation or symbol: ft or ′ (the prime symbol) is a unit of length in a number of different systems including Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, English units, Imperial units, United States customary units and the units of many Continental European...

) at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau

Gatineau River

The Gatineau River is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec...

, L'Assomption

L'Assomption River

The Assomption River is the most important waterway in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, Canada, is over 200 km long, and has a drainage basin of 4220 km². Its source is the Mont Tremblant massif...

, Lièvre

Du Lièvre River

The du Lièvre River is a river in western Quebec which flows south from the Mitchinamécus reservoir and empties into the Ottawa River at Masson-Angers. The river is 330 km in length and drains an area of 10,400 km²...

, Montmorency

Montmorency Falls

The Montmorency Falls are a large waterfall on the Montmorency River in Quebec, Canada. The falls are located on the boundary between the borough of Beauport, Quebec City, and Boischatel, about 12 km from the heart of old Quebec City...

, Nord

Rivière du Nord (Laurentides)

Rivière du Nord is a river in the Laurentides region that flows into the Ottawa River. The oldest bridge over the river was constructed by William Shaw near the village of Shawbridge, now part of the town of Prévost....

 and St. Maurice

Saint-Maurice River

The Saint-Maurice River is a river in central Quebec which flows south from Gouin Reservoir to empty into the Saint Lawrence River at Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The river is 563 km in length and has a drainage basin of 43,300 km² ....

 rise in lakes in this mountain range.

Across the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 border to the south, the Adirondack Mountains

Adirondack Mountains

The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....

 in New York State

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 are actually an extension of the Laurentians, although they are sometimes mistakenly included with the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

.

Note that although one of Quebec's official regions is called Laurentides, the mountain range runs through four other regions; Capitale-Nationale

Capitale-Nationale

Capitale-Nationale is one of 17 administrative regions of Quebec, Canada. Quebec City, Quebec's centre of government, is located in this region. It has a land area of 18,638.7 km2...

, Outaouais, Lanaudière

Lanaudière

Lanaudière is one of the seventeen administrative regions of Quebec, Canada, situated immediately to the northeast of Montreal. It has a total population of 429,053 inhabitants.-Geography:...

, and Mauricie

Mauricie

Mauricie is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,855.22 km² and a 2006 census population of 258,928 residents...

. The foothills of the Laurentian range extend into Northeastern Ontario

Northeastern Ontario

Northeastern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and east of Lakes Superior and Huron.Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin; and the single-tier municipality of Greater...

, particularly towards Bonnechere, Ontario as the Laurentian Highlands, Madawaska Highlands, a range of hills near the Madawaska River

Madawaska River (Ontario)

The Madawaska River is a river in Ontario, Canada. The river is long and drains an area of . It originates at Source Lake in the highlands of Algonquin Park at an elevation of and flows east, dropping before emptying into the Ottawa River at Arnprior....

 and Opeongo Lake

Opeongo Lake

Opeongo Lake is a lake in the Ottawa River drainage basin in the geographic townships of Bower, Dickson, Preston and Sproule in the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the largest lake in Algonquin Provincial Park and the source of the Opeongo...

, and the Opeongo Hills

Opeongo Hills

The Opeongo Hills are a range of hills in Southern Ontario, near Algonquin Provincial Park...

 (another range of high hills, near Round Lake

Round Lake (Ontario)

Round Lake is a lake located in Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Township, Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. The Bonnechere River flows into the lake in the northwest and flows out of the lake at the southeast....

) in Ontario near the town of Combermere

Combermere, Ontario

Combermere is a village located along the Madawaska River in south-eastern Ontario, Canada. It is part of Township of Madawaska Valley.Combermere is best known as home to Madonna House, but the community hosts a farmer's market and also provides access to numerous lakes and rivers for cottagers and...

.

The Laurentian Mountain range is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. It contains rocks deposited before the Cambrian

Cambrian

The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...

 Period 540 million years ago. The Laurentians are the central part of the Grenville orogeny

Grenville orogeny

The Grenville Orogeny was a long-lived Mesoproterozoic mountain-building event associated with the assembly of the supercontinent Rodinia. Its record is a prominent orogenic belt which spans a significant portion of the North American continent, from Labrador to Mexico, as well as to Scotland...

dating back to 1100-1000 mya (million years) ago.