The Laurentian Mountains (French: Laurentides) are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres (3,825 feet) at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre, Montmorency, Nord and St. Maurice rise in lakes in this mountain range.
Across the U.S. border to the south, the Adirondack Mountains in New York State are actually an extension of the Laurentians, although they are sometimes mistakenly included with the Appalachian Mountains.
Although one of Quebec's official regions is called Laurentides, the mountain range runs through four other regions: Capitale-Nationale, Outaouais, Lanaudière, and Mauricie. The foothills of the Laurentian range extend into Northeastern Ontario, particularly towards Bonnechere, Ontario as the Laurentian Highlands, Madawaska Highlands, a range of hills near the Madawaska River and Opeongo Lake, and the Opeongo Hills (another range of high hills, near Round Lake) in Ontario near the town of Combermere.
The Laurentian Mountain range is one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world. It contains rocks deposited before the Cambrian Period 540 million years ago. The Laurentians are the central part of the Grenville orogeny dating back to 1100-1000 mya (million years) ago.
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