It is located about 3km south of the town of Wolfville on the Gaspereau River. The name "Gaspereau" is often used to refer to all of the communities along the 15km Gaspereau Valley which include Gaspereau, Wallbrook, Melanson, Benjamin Bridge and White Rock.
The name is derived from the Gaspereau fish, Alosa pseudoharengus, which migrates up the river every spring. The fishing of Gaspereau has been important to human settlement of the Gaspereau Valley for thousands of years.[1] When the Acadians came here around 1680, they named the fish and the area "Gasparot". There is still a commercial fishery for Gaspereau in the river.
The term "Rivière des Gasparots" is mentioned in a 1701 census of Acadia. [2]
View of Gaspereau Valley from the south slopeGaspereau Vineyards, NSPlate showing Gaspereau Valley Scene
Gaspereau is primarily an agricultural community, hosting dairy farms and apple orchards. In recent years many grape vineyards have been established and there is more than one winery in the village. Gaspereau Vineyards, opened in 2004, and L'Acadie Vineyards, opened in 2008, are both popular destinations in the village of Gaspereau.
The Gaspereau River is also known for tubing. During the hot summer months residents and visitors float on inner-tubes down through lush, tranquil river scenery when the river is high. Visitors can often rent tubes from nearby houses, but they should also be aware that the river is part of nature, not a theme-park: depending on the activity of the hydro dam that controls water levels and flow in the river there can be areas of powerful flow, overhanging obstacles or protruding rocks. Non-swimmers should wear life jackets and be in the company of competent swimmers.
Gaspereau is also home to a canal (referred to as "The Canal" or "The Gaspereau Canal" or "White Rock Canal"). The 1.5km long canal brings water from the White Rock reservoir to the hydroelectricity generating station.[3]
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. Statistics Canada defines the Annapolis Valley as an economic region, composed of Annapolis County, Kings County, and Hants County.
Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School.
The Bay of Fundy is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its tidal range is the highest in the world. The name is probably a corruption of the French word fendu, meaning 'split'.
Kings County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 62,914 in the 2021 Census, Kings County is the third most populous county in the province. It is located in central Nova Scotia on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, with its northeastern part forming the western shore of the Minas Basin.
The alewife is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenus Pomolobus of the genus Alosa. As an adult it is a marine species found in the northern West Atlantic Ocean, moving into estuaries before swimming upstream to breed in freshwater habitats, but some populations live entirely in fresh water. It is best known for its invasion of the Great Lakes by using the Welland Canal to bypass Niagara Falls. Here, its population surged, peaking between the 1950s and 1980s to the detriment of many native species of fish. In an effort to control them biologically, Pacific salmon were introduced, only partially successfully. As a marine fish, the alewife is a US National Marine Fisheries Service "Species of Concern".
The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.
Grand-Pré is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to "Great/Large Meadow" and the community lies at the eastern edge of the Annapolis Valley several kilometres east of the town of Wolfville on a peninsula jutting into the Minas Basin surrounded by extensive dyked farm fields, framed by the Gaspereau and Cornwallis Rivers. The community was made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Evangeline and is today home to the Grand-Pré National Historic Site. On June 30, 2012, the Landscape of Grand-Pré was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Battle of Grand Pré, also known as the Battle of Minas and the Grand Pré Massacre, was a battle in King George's War that took place between New England forces and Canadian, Mi'kmaq and Acadian forces at present-day Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia in the winter of 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession. The New England forces were contained to Annapolis Royal and wanted to secure the head of the Bay of Fundy. Led by Nicolas Antoine II Coulon de Villiers and Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne under orders from Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Roch de Ramezay, the French forces surprised and defeated a force of British troops, Massachusetts militia and rangers that were quartered in the village.
The Cornwallis River is in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately 48 kilometres (30 mi) through eastern Kings County, from its source on the North Mountain at Grafton to its mouth near Wolfville on the Minas Basin. The lower portion of the river beginning at Kentville is tidal and there are extensive tidal marshes in the lower reaches. In its upper watershed at Berwick, the river draws on the Caribou Bog while a longer branch continues to the official source, a stream on the North Mountain at Grafton.
Gaspereau Lake is a lake in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada, about 10 km south of the town of Kentville, Nova Scotia on the South Mountain. It is the largest lake in Kings County, and the fifth largest lake in Nova Scotia. The lake is shallow with dozens of forested islands and hundreds of rocky islets (skerries).
Avonport is a community in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in Kings County between the mouths of the Avon River and the Gaspereau River. Early settlers included the Fillis and Reid families. It was part of the Horton Township settlement and was known as Horton Point until its name was changed to Avonport in 1864.
Canard is a rural community occupying a ridge to the north of the Canard River between the Canard and Habitant Rivers in Kings County in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The name comes from the French word for duck which was in turn derived from the Mi'kmaw name for the river which described the large numbers of black ducks once found there.
Benjamin Bridge is a place in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Kings County. It is located between the communities of Gaspereau and White Rock.
Hortonville is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Kings County at the mouth of the Gaspereau River and is part of the Landscape of Grand Pré UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Canard River is a river in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada which drains into the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy between the communities of Canard and Starr's Point. It is known for its fertile river banks and extensive dyke land agriculture.
The Gaspereau River is a river in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Steam Mill Village is a rural community north of Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada beside Camp Aldershot. It is named after an early steam-powered saw mill.
White Rock is a community in Kings County, Nova Scotia near the town of Wolfville.
The St. Margaret's Bay Hydroelectric System consists of three hydroelectric power plants and the related lake, dam, and river systems driving them. The system is situated within both Lunenburg County and the Halifax Regional Municipality, beginning approximately 2.5 km (1.6 mi) east of the Head of Saint Margarets Bay and approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Hammonds Plains. The system is part of the East Indian River watershed and drains 271 square kilometres (105 sq mi), with water storage provided in Lunenburg County by Mill Lake, Coon Pond, Sandy Lake, Wrights Lake, Big Indian Lake, Five Mile Lake and, at times, an overflow from Pockwock Lake in the Halifax Regional Municipality. The system is owned and operated by Nova Scotia Power Inc.
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