South Harbour is a small community in Victoria County

Victoria County, Nova Scotia

Victoria County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.The shire town and largest municipality is the village of Baddeck.-History:Named after Queen Victoria, it was established by statute in 1851...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The community is located in the Aspy Bay region of Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

. It sits on the Cabot Trail

Cabot Trail

The Cabot Trail is a highway and scenic roadway in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.It is located in northern Victoria County and Inverness County on Cape Breton Island....

, and borders the Cape Breton Highlands National Park  to the south.

History

The earliest European settlers were English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, who arrived between 1830 and 1850.

Geography

Properly speaking, South Harbour is a misnomer - the sole outlet of the “harbour” is a channel through a sandbar into the ocean, and is too small for commercial watercraft to traverse. The sandbar is narrow enough that the salty ocean water seeps into the harbour, causing the harbour's water to be brackish. Therefore the body of water is actually an estuary. The channel periodically plugs and unplugs, and shifts location up and down the sandbar. The two main freshwater sources that feed into South Harbour are Effie's brook and Glasgow brook.

Wildlife

The harbour and beach are frequented by many varieties of ducks and geese. The brackish water is ideal for a variety of mollusks.

Economy

As is the case with many communities on Cape Breton Island, the fisheries play a large role in the economy. Oysters and mussels are harvested in the harbour. Tourism is playing an increasing role in the local economy. A variety of seasonal accommodations are available for visitors, and there are many opportunities for outdoor activities such as canoeing, kayaking, hiking, swimming and sailing in and around the community.