Recreation and Places to Visit

Nova Scotia is renowned for its varied scenery, from the lush orchard country of Annapolis Valley to the rocky shores of Peggy’s Cove on the Atlantic Coast. The sea is never far away, and there are many sandy beaches, campgrounds, and picnic areas.

Parks and Historic Sites

Nova Scotia has 2 national parks and 122 provincial parks. Cape Breton Highlands National Park, near the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, is renowned for its rugged coastline and mountain scenery. Kejimkujik National Park, in southwestern Nova Scotia, attracts hikers, campers, and canoeists. There are 16 national historic sites, including Fort Anne at Annapolis Royal, Canada’s oldest fort; Louisbourg National Historic Site on Cape Breton Island, a reconstruction of a walled town built by the French; Halifax Citadel in Halifax; Port Royal, near Annapolis Royal, the reconstructed Habitation of 1605; Grand Pré, with its statue of Evangeline, the heroine of Longfellow’s poem; and Alexander Graham Bell Museum at Baddeck.

Nova Scotia has many well-preserved historic houses and buildings that are maintained by the provincial government and open to the public; many of these historic sites are part of the Nova Scotia Museum (NSM) system. They include the Perkins House, located in Liverpool and built in 1766; the Ross-Thomson House at Shelburne, erected in the 1780s; Uniacke House, built at Mount Uniacke near Halifax, from 1813 to 1815; and the Wolfville Historic House at Wolfville.

Natural Regions

The Maritime provinces are part of the Appalachian Region, a geographic zone that extends over much of eastern North America. More than half the area of Nova Scotia lies within the Atlantic Upland, a large upland plateau that gradually rises from the Atlantic coast. The Atlantic Upland stretches from the southern tip of the peninsula to Cape Breton Island in the northeast. Underlain by granites, quartzites, and some slates, the upland consists of five main sections that are separated by lowlands. The most important lowlands are in the southwest, along Minas Basin and the Bay of Fundy, and in the north, along Northumberland Strait. Thick glaciers covered the entire province during the last ice age, and in many areas the hills were stripped of their soil as the glaciers retreated. In other areas, the action of glaciers produced numerous bogs and lakes.

The highest elevations in Nova Scotia are found in the Northern Highlands, areas of uplands that reach across northern parts of the province. The highest point, 532 m (1,745 ft) above sea level, is found in Cape Breton Highlands National Park near the extreme northeastern end of the island. However, the average elevation of the uplands is less than 300 m (1,000 ft), with occasional rounded knobs rising above the general level. In the north central region are the Cobequid Mountains, which rise to slightly more than 300 m (1,000 ft) and extend about 140 km (about 90 mi) from east to west. Further to the west a steep ridge, called North Mountain, separates the Annapolis Valley from the Bay of Fundy.

The largest and most important lowland in Nova Scotia is the fertile Annapolis Valley, which is drained by the Annapolis and Cornwallis rivers. The valley is about 130 km (about 80 mi) long and varies in width from 5 to 15 km (3 to 10 mi). The valley consists mainly of red sandstones and shales. The valley’s tidal marshes were the first lands cultivated by European settlers in Canada, and some of the original dikes built to control tidal flooding survive to the present day.

East of the Annapolis Valley and extending southward toward the interior of the peninsula is another lowland that contains shales and sandstones. Most of the southern half of Cape Breton Island is a region of lowlands underlain by sandstones, limestones, and coal. Bordering Northumberland Strait are the Northumberland coastal lowlands, which are generally marshy and much cooler than the Annapolis Valley. These lowlands are underlain by old sedimentary rocks that give the soil a red color in some places. Many of the sediments contain coal.

Coastline

Nova Scotia’s rugged Atlantic coast in the south is deeply indented with many coves and harbors, and numerous small islands dot the shoreline. It is a good example of a drowned coastline, the land having been depressed by the weight of the ice during the last glacial period. Halifax and Lunenburg, centers of the fishing industry, are located on deep inlets on the coast. In the west the shores are swept by the Bay of Fundy, which records among the highest tides in the world. The difference between high tide and low tide may be as much as 18 m (60 ft).

Rivers and Lakes

Nova Scotia has hundreds of rivers and small streams and several thousand lakes. Most rivers are narrow and short, generally less than 80 km (50 mi) long. All have their origins in the Atlantic Upland. The Annapolis, Sissiboo, and Shubenacadie rivers flow into the Bay of Fundy. Among other rivers, the Mersey drains Lake Rossignol, and the Saint Mary’s flows into the Atlantic Ocean east of Halifax.

Located on the western side of Cape Breton Island, Lake Ainslie is the largest natural freshwater lake in Nova Scotia. Even larger is Bras d’Or, a saltwater tidal lake linked to the Atlantic Ocean that covers nearly one-fourth of Cape Breton Island. Extensive bogs are found throughout the province.

Museums and Libraries

The Nova Scotia Museum (NSM), a part of the provincial department of tourism and culture, contains 26 museums across the province. It includes specialized museums, historic buildings, and other historically significant sites. The NSM is highly decentralized, with many branches operated by local boards or societies. The NSM also provides financial grants to dozens of community museums. Among the NSM’s specialized museums are the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and the Museum of Natural History, both in Halifax; the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, in Lunenburg; Ross Farm Museum; the Museum of Industry at Stellarton; and the Fundy Geological Museum in Parrsboro. Historic sites include Barrington Woolen Mill, Sherbrooke Village, and Haliburton House.

The Nova Scotia Provincial Library, a part of the provincial department of education, coordinates public library services throughout Nova Scotia. The public library system includes nine regional libraries, each with many community branches. Nova Scotia was the first province in Canada to offer free Internet access in all public library branches. Specialized libraries include the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Legislative Library, and the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Library.

Source: MSN Encarta: Online Encyclopedia