The North Shore–Gaspé drainage region extends across 369,095 km2 of Quebec. In 2011, the land cover was dominated by natural and semi-natural areas (98.9%), followed by arable land (0.6%) and built-up area (0.4%).
The population was 508,869 in 2011, with a population density of 1.5 persons/km2.
Surface freshwater intake from manufacturing, mining, drinking water plants and irrigation was 203.2 million m3 in 2013.
The average annual water yield was high at 290.4 km3 over the period 1971 to 2013, the third highest among drainage regions. The water yield per unit area was 0.79 m3/m2, compared to 0.35 m3/m2 at the Canada level. Data on the monthly water yield and trends over time are not available.
Sources of nitrogen and phosphorus residuals in the environment include fertilizer application, livestock and poultry production, as well as industrial emissions. On average residual soil nitrogen on agricultural land was 59.8 kg/ha in 2011 compared to 23.2 kg/ha at the Canada level.
