Strait of Canso
Encyclopedia
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
located in the province of 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...
. It divides the Nova Scotia peninsula
Nova Scotia peninsula
The Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America.-Location:The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the neighbouring province of New Brunswick through the Isthmus of Chignecto...
from 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 is a long thin channel approximately 27 kilometres long and averaging 3 kilometers wide (1 km at its narrowest). The strait connects Chedabucto Bay
Chedabucto Bay
Chedabucto Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of mainland Nova Scotia between the Atlantic Ocean and the Strait of Canso next to Guysborough County...
on the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to St. George's Bay
St. George's Bay (Nova Scotia)
St. George's Bay is a bay in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located on the north shore of the province fronting both the Nova Scotia peninsula and Cape Breton Island, thus comprising a sub-basin of the Gulf of St. Lawrence....
on the Northumberland Strait
Northumberland Strait
The Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada...
, a sub basin of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The strait is extremely deep (200+ feet) with two major communities at Port Hawkesbury
Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia
-Historical residents:*Henry Nicholas Paint , member of Parliament for Richmond county, merchant and land owner. His family received land grants at Belle Vue on the Strait of Canso in 1817 and at Point Tupper in 1863, and did much to develop the local communities in the area.*Arthur John Langley ...
on the eastern side facing Mulgrave
Mulgrave, Nova Scotia
Mulgrave is a small town on the Strait of Canso in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Canada; immediately across from the town of Port Hawkesbury. As of 2006 the population was 879....
on the western side, both ports. The strait is crossed by the Canso Causeway
Canso Causeway
The Canso Causeway is a rock-fill causeway in Nova Scotia, Canada.The causeway crosses the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula...
for vehicular and rail traffic, opened in 1955. The Canso Canal
Canso Canal
The Canso Canal is a short canal located in Nova Scotia, Canada.-Canal location:The Canso Canal is located in the Strait of Canso, on the eastern side of the Canso Causeway, a rock-fill causeway which opened in 1955 to carry a 2-lane highway and railway tracks from Cape Breton Island to mainland...
allows ships to pass through the causeway, and this can accommodate any vessel capable of transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway.
An interesting account of early settlement in the area is given in the letters of local resident Henry Nicholas Paint
Henry Nicholas Paint
Henry Nicholas Paint was a Canadian politician, shipowner and merchant.-Career:Henry Paint was the son of Nicholas Paint, JP, by Mary Le Messurier, both of old Guernsey families which had been trading with Nova Scotia since at least the mid-18th century; a 'Paint Island', off Canso, is recorded in...
(1830-1921), Member of Parliament for Richmond county and merchant, whose father Nicholas secured valuable land grants and settled in a stone-built house at Belle Vue in 1817.
External links
- Strait of Canso - Economic Development Studies (online collection of studies of the Strait of Canso area)