city, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, eastern Quebec province, Canada. It lies along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at the east end of the Gaspé Peninsula. First visited in 1534 by Jacques Cartier, it has been the site of a Roman Catholic mission since 1670. Percé is now a fishing port and summer resort. Offshore, but connected by a sandbar at low tide, is famed Rocher-Percé (“Pierced Rock”)—a rocky island 290 feet (88 metres) high that is pierced by a 60-foot- (18-metre-) high arch; it and another nearby tourist attraction, Bonaventure Island, are bird sanctuaries. Pop. (2006) 3,419.