Introducing North Shore
The Côte Nord (North Shore) comprises two regions: Manicouagan (stretching to Godbout) and Duplessis (east to the Labrador border). Statistics here are as overwhelming as the distances you have to drive to cross the areas. The two regions encompass an awesome 328,693 sq km (the size of New Zealand, Belgium and Switzerland combined). In this vast expanse live just over 100,000 hardy souls, mostly on the 1250km of coastline, making the area's population density just 0.3 persons per square kilometer.
The further northeast you go, the greater the distance between villages, the fewer the people, the deeper the isolation and the wilder the nature. This part of the Canadian Shield was heavily glaciated, resulting in a jumble of lakes and rivers.