St. Paul Island, Nova Scotia
Encyclopedia
St. Paul Island is a small uninhabited island located approximately 24 km (14.9 mi) northeast of Cape North
on Cape Breton Island
and 71 km (44.1 mi) southwest of Cape Ray
on Newfoundland; it is along the boundary between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Cabot Strait
.
An extension of the Appalachian Mountains
and the Cape Breton Highlands
, the highest point on St. Paul Island is 147 m
(485 feet) atop “Croggan Mountain.”
St. Paul Island is formed of granite
and is extremely rugged with its shores being completely encircled by rockface cliffs. It is split by a narrow channel that fills with sea water. No land mammals inhabit the island, although it is inhabited by numerous seabirds. Its ecosystem is considered fragile and due to the danger posed by visiting the island, visits must be cleared beforehand with the Canadian Coast Guard
which administers the island on behalf of its owner, the Government of Canada
.
The island is nicknamed the “Graveyard of the Gulf” (of St. Lawrence) as it is fog
-bound throughout much of the navigation
season and posed a significant hazard during the age of sail. Although it may have seen use by the Mi’kmaq Nation, it is believed to have been discovered by John Cabot
.
A lighthouse was first established on the island in 1839. This light burned in 1916. It was replaced by a cast iron cylindrical lighthouse in 1917. This was in turn replaced by an automated system in 1962.
With the light station
now automated using solar power
, the island sees few visitors, aside from Canadian Coast Guard
helicopter
s on maintenance trips. The island used to host a Marconi
wireless station and it still sees occasional amateur radio
operators who use the callsign prefix CY9. Other visitors include birdwatchers and SCUBA
divers.
Cape North
Cape North may refer to:* North Cape, Norway, commonly referred to as the northernmost point in Europe* Cape North * Cape North * Cape North * Cape North Vodka...
on 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....
and 71 km (44.1 mi) southwest of Cape Ray
Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Labrador
Cape Ray is a small fishing community on the southwest coast of the Island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.- Geography :...
on Newfoundland; it is along the boundary between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso...
.
An extension of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
and the Cape Breton Highlands
Cape Breton Highlands
The Cape Breton Highlands, commonly called the Highlands, refer to a highland or mountainous plateau of ancient rock across the northern part of Cape Breton Island in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia....
, the highest point on St. Paul Island is 147 m
Metre
The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...
(485 feet) atop “Croggan Mountain.”
St. Paul Island is formed of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and is extremely rugged with its shores being completely encircled by rockface cliffs. It is split by a narrow channel that fills with sea water. No land mammals inhabit the island, although it is inhabited by numerous seabirds. Its ecosystem is considered fragile and due to the danger posed by visiting the island, visits must be cleared beforehand with the Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
which administers the island on behalf of its owner, the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
.
The island is nicknamed the “Graveyard of the Gulf” (of St. Lawrence) as it is fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
-bound throughout much of the navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
season and posed a significant hazard during the age of sail. Although it may have seen use by the Mi’kmaq Nation, it is believed to have been discovered by John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
.
A lighthouse was first established on the island in 1839. This light burned in 1916. It was replaced by a cast iron cylindrical lighthouse in 1917. This was in turn replaced by an automated system in 1962.
With the light station
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
now automated using solar power
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
, the island sees few visitors, aside from Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s on maintenance trips. The island used to host a Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
wireless station and it still sees occasional amateur radio
Amateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
operators who use the callsign prefix CY9. Other visitors include birdwatchers and SCUBA
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
divers.