Concentrations of sand and gravel, and a well-pronounced esker are noticeable remnants of the retreat of the glaciers about 10,000 years ago. An esker is a narrow, winding ridge of gravel or sand, deposited by the melting waters under a glacier.

The park landscape has also been shaped by more recent human events. In 1950, the area was flooded when the Des Joachims hydroelectric dam was opened, and much farmland and a small lake were submerged. A fire swept the forest in the southern part of the park in 1975, and now aspen, poplar, jack pine are growing up, and blueberry bushes are thriving in the ashy soil.