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The Bonavista Peninsula is a large peninsula on the east coast of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It consists of 50 incorporated towns/unincorporated communities which have a population of 12,176 as of the 2016 Canadian Census. Bonavista is the largest population centre on the peninsula. [1]
The peninsula runs 85 km northeast from a 19 km wide isthmus and measures between 15–40 km in width. It separates Bonavista Bay in the north from Trinity Bay to the south.
Starting at the Trinity Bay side it commences at the northeastern part of the bay at Shoal Harbour, immediately north of Clarenville. Continuing east the peninsula's south shore includes the communities of Trinity and Catalina, with Port Rexton in Robinhood Bay between them, ending at its easternmost tip at Cape Bonavista. The north shore of the peninsula includes the communities of Bonavista, Summerville and Musgravetown to Port Blandford.
The highways servicing the Bonavista Peninsula are Route 230 - Discovery Trail & Route 235 - Cabot Highway. Local roads include Route 232, Route 233, Route 234, Route 236, Route 237, Route 238 & Route 239. The Newfoundland Railway also had a branch built from Clarenville to Bonavista, later called the Bonavista Subdivision by CN Rail's Terra Transport division. It was abandoned in 1984, four years before the railway's mainline was abandoned across the island.
This peninsula contains some of the oldest settlements on the island of Newfoundland, particularly the towns of Bonavista and Trinity. Italian explorer John Cabot is reported to have landed at Cape Bonavista in 1497 claiming this part of the New World for the King of England. [2] [3]
The communities and towns on the Bonavista Peninsula are in a slow decline as the importance of the fishing industry decreases. Geographically isolated from major population centres, the provincial government has been attempting to diversify the local economy; most notably in tourism where the region has spectacular landscapes adjacent to the ocean.
The following is a list of the 9 incorporated towns on the Bonavista Peninsula by population in the 2021 Canadian Census.
The following is a list of the 41 unincorporated communities on the Bonavista Peninsula by population in the 2021 Canadian Census.
Clarenville is a town on the east coast of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Clarenville was incorporated in 1951. It is located in the Shoal Harbour valley, fronting an arm of the Atlantic Ocean called Random Sound.
Bonavista is a town on the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Unlike many Newfoundland coastal settlements, Bonavista was built on an open plain, not in a steep cove, and thus had room to expand to its current area of 31.5 km2 (12.2 sq mi). Bonavista is located approximately 300 km by road from the provincial capital of St. John's.
Avalon is a federal electoral district on Newfoundland Island in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004.
Bonavista South is a former provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011 the district had 6,843 eligible voters.
Trinity North was a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011, there were 8,278 eligible voters living within the district.
Bonavista Bay (BB) is a large bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. It opens directly onto the Atlantic Ocean.
Random Island is an island located off Canada's Atlantic coast. Part of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, it is located on the east coast of Newfoundland and partially surrounded by the Bonavista Peninsula on the north and within the confines of Trinity Bay. The island is approximately 35 km (22 mi) long, its width varies from 15 km (9.3 mi) on the eastern end, to 6 km (3.7 mi) in the middle, to 17 km (11 mi) on the western end, with a total area of around 310 km2 (120 sq mi). According to the 2016 census, the population of the island is 1,232.
Trinity Bight is a large area of the Northwestern portion of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The bight contains the communities of New Bonaventure, Old Bonaventure, Trouty, Dunfield, Goose Cove, Trinity, Lockston, Trinity East, Port Rexton, Champney's Arm, Champney's West, Champney's East, and English Harbour. The area is not to be confused with the bay named Trinity Bight in the Strait of Belle Isle, Newfoundland.
Upper Amherst Cove, is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Route 235, commonly called the Cabot Highway branches off from Route 230 at Southern Bay. Both Route 230 and Route 235 head towards Bonavista, Route 230 crossing the Bonavista Peninsula at this point to service towns on the Trinity Bay side of the Peninsula whilst Route 235 stays on the Bonavista Bay side of the Peninsula, going all the way to Cape Bonavista.
Route 230 is the main Bonavista Peninsula Highway, commencing from Route 1 at Thorburn Lake, about 10-15 kilometres north of Clarenville and proceeding all the way to Bonavista at the end of the Peninsula. The highway also carries the designation of Discovery Trail.
Cape Bonavista is a headland located on the east coast of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located at the northeastern tip of the Bonavista Peninsula, which separates Trinity Bay to the south from Bonavista Bay to the north. The nearby town of Bonavista takes its name from this historic landmark.
Smith Sound is a zigzag 24 kilometre inner region of Trinity Bay. This sound is one of the longest portions of inshore waterways in Newfoundland, located on its north-eastern coast in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Bonavista Peninsula is to the north of the sound, while Random Island is to the south. The waters that make up the sound is a continuous channel that encircles Random Island, broken only by a narrow channel located at Clarenville where a causeway was built to provide access to the communities on Random Island. The channel on the south side of Random Island is North West Arm.
Catalina is a community located on the eastern side of the Bonavista Peninsula, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Catalina adjoins the union town of Port Union, the town built for and home to the Fisherman's Union Company established by Sir William Coaker.
Port Rexton is a small town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the East Coast of the island of Newfoundland at the north end of Robinhood Bay, about 10 minutes east of Trinity and 3 hours north of St. John's. The town had a population of 690 in 1940, 449 in 1951, 454 in 1956, 351 in the Canada 2006 Census, 338 in the Canada 2011 Census and most recently 340 in the Canada 2016 Census. The town is part of a group of communities known as the Trinity Bight. The town is home to a few small businesses, including inns and restaurants as well as the Skerwink trail which connects Port Rexton to Trinity Harbour.
Birchy Cove is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Division No. 7, Newfoundland and Labrador is a census division in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, primarily comprising the Bonavista Bay region. Like all census divisions in Newfoundland and Labrador, but unlike the census divisions of some other provinces, the division exists only as a statistical division for census data, and is not a political entity.
Route 233, also known as Clode Sound Road, is a 32.1-kilometre-long (19.9 mi) east–west highway on the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It connects the communities along the southern shores of Clode Sound and Goose Bay with Route 1 and Route 230.