Digby Gut

Last updated March 18, 2023

Digby Gut is an inlet that breaks through the line of the North Mountain Range at the north-east end of Digby Neck, and connects the Bay of Fundy with Annapolis Basin.

The Digby Gut is a narrow channel connecting the Bay of Fundy with the Annapolis Basin. The town of Digby, Nova Scotia is located on the inner portion of the western side of the Gut. The eastern entrance is marked by the Point Prim Lighthouse. Strong tidal currents, numerous rocky ledges, frequent fogs and unpredictable winds make it a dangerous passage requiring a pilot or local knowledge. Tide flows create 5 knot tidal currents and create numerous whirlpools and eddies.^[1] The gut is about a half nautical mile in width and bordered by high rocky cliffs. It marks a break in the North Mountain ridge along the Annapolis Valley and is the eastern end of Digby Neck. Digby Gut had its origins as the northern terminus of the ancient Bear River, part of which is now a drowned river valley.^[2]

Digby Gut is overlooked by the Digby Pines Resort and has been used daily for many years by Digby-Saint John ferries such as the SS Princess Helene and MV Princess of Acadia. The famous poet Bliss Carman wrote a classic Canadian poem of courage about a fearless twelve-year-old sailor who single-handedly sailed a schooner through Digby Gut during a storm, entitled "Arnold, Master of the Scud".^[3]

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Digby is an incorporated town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is in the historical county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin near the entrance to the Digby Gut, which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy.

The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy, located on the bay's southeastern shores, along the northwestern shore of Nova Scotia and at the western end of the Annapolis Valley.

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Long Island is a Canadian island in Digby County, Nova Scotia.

Digby Neck is a Canadian peninsula extending into the Bay of Fundy in Digby County, Nova Scotia.

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North Mountain is a narrow southwest-northeast trending volcanic ridge on the mainland portion of southwestern Nova Scotia, stretching from Brier Island to Cape Split. It forms the northern edge of the Annapolis Valley along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. Together with South Mountain, the two ranges form the Annapolis Highlands region.

SS Princess Helene was a passenger and cargo ferry operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

The Fundy Basin is a sediment-filled rift basin on the Atlantic coast of southeastern Canada. It contains three sub-basins; the Fundy sub-basin, the Minas Basin and the Chignecto Basin. These arms meet at the Bay of Fundy, which is contained within the rift valley. From the Bay of Fundy, the Minas Basin trends northeast to Nova Scotia. Chignecto Bay runs from the Bay of Fundy northwest between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which is separated from the waters of the Northumberland Strait by the Isthmus of Chignecto. The Fundy Basin is best known for the bay it contains. The Bay of Fundy is home to huge tidal changes and tidal bores. It is part of the system of Eastern North America Rift Basins.

Smith's Cove is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipality of the District of Digby. in Digby County. It is one of several villages in the Annapolis Valley district of Nova Scotia.

Victoria Beach is a small community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, in Annapolis County. It is on the shore of Digby Gut, a narrow channel connecting the Bay of Fundy with the Annapolis Basin.

Round Hill is an historic community on the Annapolis River in Nova Scotia’s verdant Annapolis Valley halfway between the Valley market towns of Bridgetown and Annapolis Royal. It is 10 kilometres east of Annapolis Royal on Route 201 and the same distance west of Bridgetown.

The Bear River is a minor river in western Nova Scotia, Canada. Flowing from south to north, it is 40 kilometres (25 mi) long from its headwaters to its discharge into the Annapolis Basin, some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of Digby. The river is tidal for the last 9.7 kilometres (6.0 mi) of its length. The village of Bear River is situated near the head of the tide where shipbuilding took place in the nineteenth century.

The current Point Prim Lighthouse is the fourth in a line of lighthouses built at Point Prim in Canada since 1804. It is located at the mouth of the Digby Gut, which connects the Bay of Fundy with the Annapolis Basin. It is located approximately 8.5 km outside Digby.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nova Scotia:

References

↑ Sailing Directions for the South East Coast of Nova Scotia and Bay of Fundy (1888) British Hydrographic Service, p. 183-184
↑ Natural History of Nova Scotia Theme Region: 720 Basalt Ridge Archived December 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine , Nova Scotia Museum:
↑ ""Arnold, Master of the Scud", Canadian Poetry Archives website Library and Archives Canada". Archived from the original on 2004-08-31. Retrieved 2010-02-08.

External links

Live web cam of Point Prim, western entrance to Digby Gut

Coordinates: 44°40′35.5″N65°45′32″W / 44.676528°N 65.75889°W / 44.676528; -65.75889

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[1] Sailing Directions for the South East Coast of Nova Scotia and Bay of Fundy (1888) British Hydrographic Service, p. 183-184

[2] Natural History of Nova Scotia Theme Region: 720 Basalt Ridge Archived December 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine , Nova Scotia Museum:

[3] ""Arnold, Master of the Scud", Canadian Poetry Archives website Library and Archives Canada". Archived from the original on 2004-08-31. Retrieved 2010-02-08.

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