St. Patricks Channel

Last updated
St. Patricks Channel
Mi'kmawi'simk: Wetewa'q
Nova Scotia topographic map.png
Red pog.svg
St. Patricks Channel
St. Patricks Channel in Nova Scotia
Canada relief map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
St. Patricks Channel
St. Patricks Channel (Canada)
Location Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
Coordinates 46°03′50″N60°51′02″W / 46.06389°N 60.85056°W / 46.06389; -60.85056
Type Channel
Part of Bras d'Or Lake
Ocean/sea sources Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Atlantic Ocean
Basin  countries Canada
Max. length11.8 nautical miles (21.9 km; 13.6 mi)
Max. width2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi)
References Geographical Names of Canada - East Bay

St. Patricks Channel [1] (Mi'kmawi'simk: Wetewa'q) is an arm of the Bras d'Or Lake located on Cape Breton Island, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. St. Patricks Channel lies entirely within Victoria County.

Contents

Description

St. Patricks Channel runs roughly in a northeast to southwest direction from the village of Baddeck to Little Narrows where it joins Whycocomagh Bay. [2] The channel's shores are generally heavily wooded and consist mainly of bold & rocky shorelines interspersed with distinctive white gypsum outcrops and barrachois (barrier) points and beaches. As the channel is part of the Bras d'Or Lake system and the lake is essentially a fiordal system connected to the North Atlantic via two restricted channels at the Great Bras d'Or Channel north of Boularderie Island and the Little Bras d'Or Channel to south of Boularderie Island, the waters of St. Patricks Channel are brackish, partially fresh/ salt water.

Geology

The Bras d'Or Lakes were occupied by glaciers during the last ice age. When the ice had gone they were freshwater lakes until ca. 6,350 calendar years ago, when rising sea level connected them with the ocean. The rate of sea-level rise at the start of inundation was 79 cm/century, and has declined throughout the past 6000 years. Due to this relatively high rate of inundation by the ocean the lakes contain some of the best-preserved drowned shorelines in Atlantic Canada. These ancient shores lie 25 metres below modern sea level. Submerged river networks occur in St. Patricks Channel and the nearby Denys Basin. [3]

History

By 1829 the shores and rivers of St. Patricks Channel were all settled, chiefly by Scottish emigrants, but not much of the back country was occupied. Timber ships from Great Britain visited the channel, loading wood for export. [4]

Boating

The Cruising Club of America recommends the Washabuck River as one of their favored anchorages for cruising pleasure craft.

Industry

CGC Little Narrows. Operated by Little Narrows Gypsum, a division of United States Gypsum, this surface mine near the settlement of Little Narrows exports raw gypsum and anhydrite and has been producing gypsum since 1935, under two different owners. United States Gypsum (USG) has owned the company since 1954. Today, the mine and plant cover an area of approximately 809 ha. From docking facilities on St. Patricks Channel adjacent to the quarry, Little Narrows Gypsum ships approximately one million tonnes of quarried gypsum yearly by vessel to several destinations in the United States, including Baltimore, Maryland and Florida. As the loading facility is closed from January to March, this amounts to roughly 30 vessels per year from April to December. [5] Little Narrows Gypsum Company's anhydrite quarry produced 71,441 tonnes in 2004. Gypsum production for the same year was 1,105,480 tonnes. [6] The company employs 51 people. [5]

The name

The present day name for the channel, "St. Patricks Channel" (or slight spelling variations), appears in written accounts as early as 1829, [4] and on maps of the area at least as far back as 1855. [7] The present official spelling, "St. Patricks Channel" (without the apostrophe), was officially adopted on August 14, 1962. [2]

The original Mi'kmawi'simk name, Wetewa'q, means "noise heard from afar."

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Breton Island</span> Island in Nova Scotia, Canada

Cape Breton Island is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bras d'Or Lake</span> Lake in Nova Scotia, Canada

Bras d'Or Lake is an irregular estuary in the centre of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a connection to the open sea, and is tidal. It also has inflows of fresh water from rivers, making the brackish water a very productive natural habitat. It was designated the Bras d'Or Lake Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2011.

Cape Breton was a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was created as part of the British North America Act, 1867.

Cape Breton North and Victoria was a federal electoral district in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1968.

Boularderie Island is an island separating the Cabot Strait from Bras d'Or Lake on the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It takes its name from Louis-Simon le Poupet de la Boularderie, who was granted the area as a concession from the King of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia Highway 105</span> Highway in Nova Scotia

Highway 105 in Nova Scotia represents the Cape Breton Island leg of the Trans-Canada Highway. It runs from the Port Hastings Rotary just east of the Canso Causeway in Port Hastings to the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal in North Sydney, representing a distance of 142 kilometres (88 mi).

Dalem Lake Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Boularderie Island.

The Bras d'Or Lakes Scenic Drive is a scenic roadway on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. It extends around the perimeter of Bras d'Or Lake.

Route 223 is a collector road in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Christmas Island, Nova Scotia is a Canadian community of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. It has a post office, a firehall and a very small population. It has a beach with access to the Bras d'Or Lake. A small island just off shore, also named Christmas Island, encloses Christmas Island Pond, a pond that runs into the lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Bay, Nova Scotia</span> Unincorporated community in Nova Scotia, Canada

East Bay is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island. It is situated on the south side of the East Bay of the Bras d'Or Lake, from which it gets its name. East Bay has one public beach and a large number of summer cottages with beach front property. Home of famous Fish & Chips, and East Bay Country Market, located on the Eskasoni turn off.

Big Beach is a community located on the north side of the Boisdale Hills on the east side of the Great Bras D'Or Lake on Provincial Route 223, which runs from Leitches Creek to Little Narrows, through Central Cape Breton Island in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the "Bras D'Or Lakes Scenic Drive" it is part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Central Cape Breton Island.

Portage is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barra Strait</span> Channel in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

The Barra Strait is a 1.22 km (0.76 mi) wide channel located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It connects the northern and southern basins of Bras d'Or Lake, an inland saltwater body that dominates the centre of Cape Breton Island. The border between two of Cape Breton Island's counties runs through the strait; the community of Grand Narrows, in Cape Breton County, is situated on the eastern shore while the community of Iona, in Victoria County is situated on the western shore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uisge Ban Falls</span> Waterfall in Nova Scotia, Canada

Uisge Ban Falls is a waterfall near Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada. The falls is located in Uisge Ban Falls Provincial Park near New Glen, Victoria County, 14.5 kilometres north of Baddeck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Bay (Nova Scotia)</span> Bay in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

East Bay is a bay of the Bras d'Or Lake on Cape Breton Island in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It lies entirely within Cape Breton County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Narrows Bridge</span> Canadian railway bridge

The Grand Narrows Bridge is a Canadian railway bridge crossing between Victoria County, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton County. At 516.33 m (1,694 ft), it is the longest railroad bridge in the province. The bridge incorporates a swing span at its eastern end to permit the continued passage of marine traffic through the strait.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kellys Mountain</span> Mountain in Nova Scotia, Canada

Kellys Mountain is a mountain located in Victoria County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Trans-Canada Highway winds its way up the mountain via Route 105. It is known for both its scenic view from the top and its steep slope on both sides of the mountain highway. There is a parking space at the top known as the Bras d'Or Look Off that gives a view of Seal Island Bridge, Great Bras d'Or channel and Boularderie Island, areas where the highway travels after the driver descends the eastern portion of the Highway. Travellers should be aware of a sharp hairpin turn at the foot of the eastern end of the mountain that switches back greater than 180 degrees after a steep descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barra Strait Bridge</span> Canadian bascule road bridge

The Barra Strait Bridge is a Canadian road bridge crossing the Barra Strait of Bras d'Or Lake, carrying Nova Scotia Route 223 between Iona, Victoria County, on the West side, and Grand Narrows, Cape Breton County on the east side. The bridge incorporates a double leaf bascule section at its eastern end to permit the continued passage of marine traffic through the strait.

References

  1. ↑ Geographical Names of Canada - St. Patricks Channel
  2. 1 2 "Nova Scotia Geographical Names Database entry for "St. Patricks Channel" (includes map)". Government of Nova Scotia. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  3. ↑ "A History of Change in the Bras d'Or Lakes Since the Last Ice Age-- John Shaw". Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  4. 1 2 An historical and statistical account of Nova-Scotia, Volume 2, by Thomas Chandler Haliburton. J. Howe, 1829. 1829. Retrieved October 8, 2013. St. Patrick's Channel.
  5. 1 2 "Cape Breton mine records two million accident-free hours". Canadian Mining Journal, 2012-08-01. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ Active Mining Operations in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, 2006. 1829. Retrieved October 8, 2013. St. Patrick's Channel.
  7. ↑ "Belcher's map of the Province of Nova Scotia, including the Island of Cape Breton - David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (includes map)". C.H. Belcher, Halifax, 1855. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
Notes
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.