Conception Bay

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Conception Bay
Conception Bay
Canada Newfoundland relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Conception Bay
Location in Newfoundland
Location Newfoundland
Coordinates 47°45′N53°00′W / 47.75°N 53.00°W / 47.75; -53.00 Coordinates: 47°45′N53°00′W / 47.75°N 53.00°W / 47.75; -53.00
Ocean/sea sources Labrador Sea, [1] North Atlantic Ocean
Basin  countries Canada
Islands Bell Island

Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Contents

The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 [2] making it one of the most densely populated areas of the province. Conception Bay is adjacent to the St. John's Metropolitan Area which contains 5 of the 10 largest settlements in the province and is home to over 200,000 people.

The smaller communities in Newfoundland may often be referenced by the Bay in which they are located, e.g.: 'Port de Grave, CB'.

Geography

The bay indents the Avalon Peninsula, opening towards the Atlantic Ocean at its northeast. It is bounded by Cape St. Francis 47°48.63′N52°47.15′W / 47.81050°N 52.78583°W / 47.81050; -52.78583 in the south and Split Point 48°05.99′N52°50.94′W / 48.09983°N 52.84900°W / 48.09983; -52.84900 near Bay de Verde in the north. It has a maximum depth of 300 metres (980 ft). [3]

Conception Bay covers an area of 1295 square kilometres and contains several islands, the three largest being Bell Island, Little Bell Island and Kellys Island. The Bay is fed by rivers from its east and west, which flow on into the Atlantic Ocean.

View of Conception Bay, looking southwest from Portugal Cove 47deg36.50'N 52deg51.34'W / 47.60833degN 52.85567degW / 47.60833; -52.85567 towards Holyrood. The larger island is Kellys Island and the smaller one is Little Bell Island. Conceptionbay southview.jpg
View of Conception Bay, looking southwest from Portugal Cove 47°36.50′N52°51.34′W / 47.60833°N 52.85567°W / 47.60833; -52.85567 towards Holyrood. The larger island is Kellys Island and the smaller one is Little Bell Island.
View of Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, looking north from Portugal Cove 47deg36.50'N 52deg51.34'W / 47.60833degN 52.85567degW / 47.60833; -52.85567. Bay de Verde and Baccalieu Island can be seen in the distance. Conceptionbay northview.jpg
View of Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, looking north from Portugal Cove 47°36.50′N52°51.34′W / 47.60833°N 52.85567°W / 47.60833; -52.85567 . Bay de Verde and Baccalieu Island can be seen in the distance.

History

In 1501 and 1502, the Corte-Real brothers explored and charted Greenland and what is today the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, claiming these lands as part of the Portuguese Empire. The name Conception Bay comes from the Portuguese Baía da Conceição ("Bay of the Conception") and was presumably given in honour of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8. The name first appears on the Oliveriana (Pesaro) map of around 1504–1505.

Conception Bay was the site of Britaniola Colony, established in 1610. It was the site of Sea-Forest Plantation founded in 1610 and Bristol's Hope Plantation founded in 1619. During the 1610s, the Bay was the hideout of the infamous Newfoundland based buccaneer, Peter Easton. Artifacts from the 17th-century planter era through the 19th century have been found, such as Spanish coins, one minted in Peru. There was trade between Newfoundland and Bilbao during the 17th century. [4] [5]

A rather famous story in its day was the following case: in 1873, a fishing boat and Theophilus Picot was in here, it were attacked by a giant squid. [6]

From the late 1890s to the 1960s, Bell Island was home to an iron ore mine in Wabana, operated most recently by the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO). The ore was shipped for processing to DOSCO's steel mill in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

During World War II, anchored DOSCO cargo ships, along with the loading pier at Wabana, were the target of Nazi U-boats on at least two occasions. The attacks occurred on 5 September 1942, when U-513 sank the British ship SS Saganaga and the Canadian ship Lord Strathcona, and on 2 November when U-518 sank the Free French ship P.L.M. 27 and the Canadian ship Rose Castle. During the first attack, aiming for the anchored ore carriers, a torpedo missed its target and struck the pier, making Bell Island one of the few places in North America to suffer a direct enemy attack (see Attacks on North America during World War II). The wrecks of the four cargo ships sunk during these two attacks are visible at low tide; a memorial on shore is dedicated to the 69 merchant sailors who lost their lives.

Since 2011 Memorial University of Newfoundland has been conducting archaeological excavations at Carbonear bordering the bay.

Other information

The provincial government operates a passenger-vehicle ferry service from Bell Island to Portugal Cove (on the bay's southeastern shore), [7] operating through what locals know as the "Bell Island Tickle."

Humpback whales have been known to enter the bay while migrating. Private vessels and tourist charters frequent the bay's waters during the summer months.

Property development in the St. John's exurb of Conception Bay South in recent decades has led to increasing recreational use of the bay.

Related Research Articles

Avalon Peninsula Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland

The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland. It is 9,220.61 square kilometres (3,560.10 sq mi) in size.

Division No. 1, Newfoundland and Labrador Census division in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Division 1, Newfoundland and Labrador is a census division covering the entire Avalon Peninsula including the Isthmus of Avalon of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. 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.

Bell Island (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Bell Island is an island located off the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in Conception Bay. Measuring 9.7 kilometres (6.0 mi) in length and 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) in width, it has an area of 34 square kilometres. The subsurface is composed of Ordovician sandstone and shale with red hematite. It was once the site of large iron ore mines.

Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde

Carbonear-Trinity-Bay de Verde is a provincial electoral district of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The district covers the eastern edge of Trinity Bay and the tip of Conception Bay. As of 2011, there are 6,968 eligible voters living within the district.

Carbonear Town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasize education, health care, retail, and industry. As of 2018, there were 5,015 people in the community.

Caplin Cove Community in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Caplin Cove is a small community on the north shore of Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is surrounded on the north by Low Point near the end of the Bay de Verde Peninsula, and on the south by Lower Island Cove. Caplin Cove was probably named for the large body of capelin in its waters.

The Bay de Verde Peninsula is the largest peninsula that makes up part of the Avalon Peninsula, of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The peninsula separates both Trinity and Conception Bay.

Victoria is an incorporated town in Conception Bay located approximately midway on the Bay de Verde Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

Portugal Cove–St. Philips Town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Portugal Cove–St. Philip's is a rural seashore community located on the eastern Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is a bedroom community of the provincial capital of St. John's.

Carbonear Island

Carbonear Island or "Stoners Island" as one may call it is a small uninhabited island on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada. It is located at the mouth of Carbonear harbour. It became a strategic haven for the British settlers of Carbonear fending off the raids by the French and became known for a time as the "Gibraltar of Newfoundland".

Port de Grave is a peninsula on Conception Bay (CB) in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The peninsula contains the communities of Bareneed, Black Duck Pond, Otterbury, Ship Cove, Blow Me Down, Hibb's Cove, Pick Eyes, and Hussey's Cove with a population of approximately 975 (2006). This community is located in the provincial electoral district of Port de Grave. An unincorporated area, for statistics purposes it is called Division No. 1, Subdivision L. The Peninsula is accessible by road via Route 72.

Small Point-Adams Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove Town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Small Point-Adam's Cove-Blackhead-Broad Cove is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located in the Trinity-Conception Bay District north of Carbonear.

Bay Roberts Town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Bay Roberts is located on the north shore of Conception Bay on the northeastern Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The growth of the local economy can be connected to the town's proximity to other major Newfoundland markets, by road and by water.

Wabana, Newfoundland and Labrador Town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Wabana is a Canadian town and the largest, and only incorporated, community on Bell Island in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Avalon Peninsula campaign 1690s French campaign against English settlements in Canada

The Avalon Peninsula campaign occurred during King William's War when forces of New France, led by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Governor Jacques-François de Monbeton de Brouillan, destroyed 23 English settlements along the coast of the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland in the span of three months. The campaign began with raiding Ferryland on November 10, 1696, and continued along the coast until they raided the village of Heart's Content

Division No. 1, Subdivision G, Newfoundland and Labrador Unorganized territory in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Division No. 1, Subdivision G is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated communities of Baccalieu Island, Besom Cove, Bradley's Cove, Burnt Point, Caplin Cove, Daniel's Cove, Grates Cove, Gull Island, Job's Cove, Kingston, Long Beach, Lower Island Cove, Low Point, Northern Bay, Ochre Pit Cove, Red Head Cove, Riverhead, Smooth Cove and Western Bay.

Division No. 1, Subdivision H is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated communities of Clowns Cove, Flatrock, Freshwater, Halfway House, Perry's Cove and Spout Cove.

Division No. 1, Subdivision I is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated community of Bristol's Hope.

Division No. 1, Subdivision L is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated communities of Bareneed, Black Duck Pond, Blow Me Down, Coley's Point South, Hibb's Cove, Pick Eyes, Port de Grave, Ship Cove and The Dock

In 1942, the German U-boats attacked Bell Island two times which led to four ore boats sinking, and more than 60 men dead, making it one of the few places in the Dominion of Newfoundland raided during the Second World War. The Germans also tried to capture St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland. These engagements are considered part of the larger Battle of the St. Lawrence. Bell Island is in Conception Bay, Newfoundland and the waters were part of an important Atlantic convoy route that allowed supplies to flow from the United States to its allies in Europe. Many ships brought supplies in these waters to Britain's troops, but many of them were cut off by the German U-boats. Later in the war, many other ships sunk which led to the death of more than 137 people.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 28 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ http://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/statistics/Census2011/PDF/Pop_CCS_2011.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  3. ↑ DeYoung, Brad; Sanderson, Brian (1994-09-06). "The Circulation and Hydrography of Conception Bay, Newfoundland" (PDF). Department of Physics, Mmeorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  4. ↑ Peter E. Pope and Bryn Tapper, "Historic Carbonear, Summer 2013" [ permanent dead link ], Provincial Archaeology Office 2013 Archaeology Review, Vol. 12-2013, accessed 24 April 2015
  5. ↑ Mark Rendell, "17th-century coins unearthed in Carbonear" Archived 2015-04-24 at archive.today , The Telegram, 17 April 2014, accessed 24 April 2015
  6. ↑ "Attack of the giant squid! (1874)". 4 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "NL Government web site:Bell Island - Portugal Cove Ferry Service". Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
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