Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick
Encyclopedia
Cape Jourimain is a headland
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...

 in the western part of the Northumberland Strait
Northumberland Strait
The Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada...

 on its southern shore, 3 kilometres west of New Brunswick's easternmost point at Cape Tormentine
Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick
Cape Tormentine is a Canadian rural community in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.The community derives its name from a headland of the same name which extends into the Northumberland Strait, forming the easternmost point in the province.-Railway:...

.

Cape Jourimain is formed by Jourimain Island and Trenholme Island, which have been connected to the mainland since 1965-1966 by an artificial causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...

 built using infill as part of an approach road and railway for an aborted causeway across the Abegweit Passage
Abegweit Passage
Abegweit Passage is the narrowest part of the Northumberland Strait, comprising the 13-kilometre wide portion between Cape Tryon, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick. Tidal currents in this area can reach up to 4 knots...

 of Northumberland Strait to Borden, Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

. The causeway blocked all water flow on the western side of the island and the shallow waters became heavily silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...

ed and formed a large salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

. The salt marsh and the islands themselves were designated the Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Area by the Canadian Wildlife Service
Canadian Wildlife Service
The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS is a branch of the Department of the Environment, also known as Environment Canada, a department of the Government of Canada....

 in 1980 due to the importance of the 675 hecatare site for supporting habitat of migrating seabirds.

Cape Jourimain saw the 1960s-era approach road rebuilt in the early 1990s and opened on June 1, 1997 as part of 5 kilometre realignment of Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...

 Route 16
New Brunswick Route 16
Route 16 is a secondary leg of the Trans-Canada Highway . The 51 kilometre-long route goes from an interchange with the mainline TCH near the Nova Scotia border in Aulac, to the Confederation Bridge at Cape Jourimain, connecting New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island...

 with the commissioning of the Confederation Bridge
Confederation Bridge
The Confederation Bridge is a bridge spanning the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, Canada. It was commonly referred to as the "Fixed Link" by residents of Prince Edward Island prior to its official naming. Construction took place...

. The railway, abandoned in the late 1960s after the aborted causeway project, was converted to a recreational trail.

In 2001, the provincial and federal governments built an interpretation facility for the National Wildlife Area and a co-located tourist information centre near the western abutment of the Confederation Bridge; it is named the Cape Jourimain Nature Centre.

External links

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