File:St Lawrence River, New Brunswick, Canada (MODIS 2017-04-28).jpg

English: Springtime in Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada means warming temperatures and melting sea ice – but chilly conditions and snow are common, especially in early spring. The average last frost dates for northern Quebec along the St. Lawrence River are May 11 – 20, while much of New Brunswick can expect frost as late as May 31.

Snow still dappled the greening landscape on April 24, 2017 when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite captured a true-color image of the northern St. Lawrence River and surrounding land. The province of Quebec sits on both sides of the river, and on the southern side gives way to the maritime province of New Brunswick.

The St. Lawrence River, sometimes called “The Great River” carries water from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, then to the North Atlantic Ocean. As it flows to the northwest from Lake Ontario, the river forms part of the boundary between New York State, USA, and Canada, and passes both Montreal and Quebec, Canada. The far northern reaches are saline and tidal compared to the fresh water south of Quebec, and as such they are slower to form sea ice in the frigid winters.