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Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2012) |
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and is oriented northwest-southeast, measuring approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide, surrounded by low hills measuring up to 160 metres (520 ft) in elevation, although most elevations range up to 30–60 metres (98–197 ft). The basin is fed by water from the Sackville River and has a maximum depth of 71 metres (233 ft); [1] The basin's geologic history can be traced to the Wisconsin Glaciation when it, along with "The Narrows", formed part of the pre-historic Sackville River valley. [2]
The basin contains the following sub-basins:
Bedford on the northwestern corner takes its name from the basin, while Dartmouth sits on its eastern shore and Rockingham occupies the majority of the western shore. Africville Park is situated on the southern shore near the entrance into The Narrows.
The lands surrounding the basin are heavily developed with the only significant greenspace remaining being along the northeastern shore of the basin where a significant blast buffer zone surrounds Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Bedford (CFAD Bedford); this is the Royal Canadian Navy's weapons depot for its Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT). [3]
The south shore of the basin at Fairview Cove hosts one of Halifax's two container terminals [4] [5] as well as the railway yard, Pace Yard, operated by Canadian National Railway (CN). [6] The east shore of the basin hosts Burnside Industrial Park, the largest industrial park in HRM, [7] as well as a bulk gypsum terminal at Wrights Cove [8] and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (which also derives its name from the basin) situated near the entrance to The Narrows. [9] The vast majority of the western shore to the head of the basin is fronted by rail lines, behind which are a mix of residential/commercial and institutional developments.
Though inhabited by the Mi'kmaq and the French having known of the site since the 17th century, the basin was named for John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, who was the British Secretary of State for the Colonies when Halifax was founded in 1749. [10] The North American station of the Royal Navy was based just outside the entrance of the basin from 1759 to 1905, at the Royal Naval Dockyards. The naval base served as the station's headquarters until 1818, when it became the summer headquarters of the station. Defences were built around the approach towards the basin's entrance, with the construction of the York Redoubt at Ferguson's Cove, as well as fortifications on Georges Island, and McNabs Island. These defences were a part of the Halifax Defence Complex. In 1907, the Royal Naval Dockyards was transferred to the Government of Canada, and continues to operate as CFB Halifax.
The basin played a key role during the First and Second World Wars when commercial shipping was being attacked by enemy submarines. Given the size of the Port of Halifax, and its vicinity to Europe in contrast to other North American ports, the basin was used as an assembly point for transatlantic convoys bound for Europe. With defences built just outside of the only access point into the basin (a strait called The Narrows), it provided a safe place to assemble convoys consisting of hundreds of merchant ships and their escorts in relative security, while torpedo nets kept submarines at bay. In December 1917 the basin was the site of the Halifax Explosion, where two ships collided in the basin causing an explosion that levelled most of the surrounding area. [11]
In 1994, the defences that protected Bedford Basin were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, commemorating the assembly of convoys in Bedford Basin during the Second World War. [12] In 2010, on the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Navy, a plaque was unveiled at Bedford Lake, Griesbach, Edmonton, Alberta, in recognition of the role played by Bedford Basin in the world wars. [13]
"Bedford Basin is a large enclosed anchorage, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia on Canada's Atlantic coast. The basin is quite deep and the good holding ground on the basin floor makes it an ideal anchorage and a protected location for ships.
The Basin came to international significance during both the First and Second World Wars when the German navy began to use submarines as an offensive weapon against Allied shipping Canada's prominent role in the First World War led to Halifax being chosen as the primary logistic port for resupplying Western Europe. The protected waters of Bedford Basin allowed the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy to assemble convoys consisting of hundreds of merchant ships in relative security while torpedo nets kept German submarines at bay. As observed By Rear Admiral Leonard W. Murray (RCN), Halifax saw first hand the tragic loss of life amongst merchant seamen. The Basin was a daily witness to the grim war at sea. Stricken vessels limped back to port and seamen fold their stories of battle and the hazards of the North Atlantic convoy routes.
Today, CFB Halifax is located on the channel at the entrance to Bedford Basin and is the home of Canada's Atlantic fleet."- Bedford Basin Memorial in Alberta
On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the harbour of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Mont-Blanc, laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond district of Halifax. At least 1,782 people were killed, largely in Halifax and Dartmouth, by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time. It released the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT (12 TJ).
The Royal Canadian Navy is the naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 Halifax-class frigates, 12 Kingston-class coastal defence vessels, 4 Victoria-class submarines, 4 Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessels, 8 Orca-class patrol vessels, and several auxiliary vessels. The RCN consists of 8,400 Regular Force and 4,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by 3,800 civilians. Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee is the commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and chief of the Naval Staff.
Royal Canadian Navy base HMCS Protector, also known as the Point Edward Naval Base, was located next to Sydney Harbour, on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. It was founded in 1940 and used by the navy during the Second World War. It was mainly used to provision, protect and repair the various merchant marine convoys to Quebec, Halifax, and the United Kingdom. It was a main combat zone during the Battle of the St. Lawrence and the more general Battle of the Atlantic. It continued to be utilized during the Cold War's early stages. It was decommissioned in 1964 and became the initial facility to house the Canadian Coast Guard College that same year. Currently, the Sydport Industrial Park utilizes the base's former piers and land.
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2023, it is estimated that the population of the Halifax CMA was 518,711, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County.
The Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) is a major Government of Canada ocean research facility located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. BIO is the largest ocean research station in Canada. Established in 1962 as Canada's first, and currently largest, federal centre for oceanographic research, BIO derives its name from the Bedford Basin, an inland bay comprising the northern part of Halifax Harbour, upon which it is located.
HMCS Sackville is a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later served as a civilian research vessel. She is now a museum ship located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the last surviving Flower-class corvette.
The Halifax Peninsula is a peninsula within the urban area of the Municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax is Canada's east coast naval base and home port to the Royal Canadian Navy Atlantic fleet, known as Canadian Fleet Atlantic (CANFLTLANT), that forms part of the formation Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT).
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbours in the world. Before Confederation it was one of the most important commercial ports on the Atlantic seaboard. In 1917, it was the site of the world's largest man-made accidental explosion, when the SS Mont-Blanc blew up in the Halifax Explosion on December 6.
The Battle of the St. Lawrence involved marine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower St. Lawrence River and the entire Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Strait of Belle Isle, Anticosti Island and Cabot Strait from May–October 1942, September 1943, and again in October–November 1944. During this time, German U-boats sank over 20 merchant ships and four Canadian warships. There were several near-shore actions involving the drop of German spies, or the attempted pickup of escaping prisoners of war. Despite the 23 ships lost, this battle marked a strategic victory for Canadian forces as ultimately they managed to disrupt U-boat activity, protect Canadian and Allied convoys, and intercept all attempted shore operations. This marked the first time that a foreign power had inflicted casualties in Canadian inland waters since the US incursions in the War of 1812.
The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in Nova Scotia, Canada has a widely varied geography.
The community of Halifax, Nova Scotia was created on 1 April 1996, when the City of Dartmouth, the City of Halifax, the Town of Bedford, and the County of Halifax amalgamated and formed the Halifax Regional Municipality. The former City of Halifax was dissolved, and transformed into the Community of Halifax within the municipality.
Shannon Park is an urban neighbourhood and former national defence site in the north end of Dartmouth on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is immediately south of the A. Murray MacKay Bridge in the community of Dartmouth. It straddles Highway 111, a CN Rail freight line, and Halifax Harbour. It is bordered on the south by Tuft's Cove.
Fairview is a community within the urban area of Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) is a major generator of economic activity in Atlantic Canada.
In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. It was once referred to as Canadian Atlantic Station.
CSS Acadia is a former hydrographic surveying and oceanographic research ship of the Hydrographic Survey of Canada and its successor the Canadian Hydrographic Service.
Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Shelburne is a former Canadian Forces Station that was a shore terminus for the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) from 1955 to 1994. It was located in the Municipality of the District of Shelburne, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia.
Erg was a vessel built and owned by Halifax Steamship Ltd. in 1915. She was used to ferry workers across the harbour to vessels under repair during the Second World War. Erg was sunk in the Halifax Harbour three times and is currently located in the Bedford Basin.
HMS Castle Harbour was a civilian harbour vessel of 730 tons that was taken-up from trade (TUFT) during the Second World War by the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda for use by the Royal Naval Examination Service and later armed and commissioned as a warship, providing harbour defence from submarines.
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