Browse / Canada / Nova Scotia / Mahone Bay
Mahone Bay
Nova Scotiatown
Mahone Bay
Total population
1,036
Demographic figures from Statistics Canada. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Overview
Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands, and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the Mahone Islands Conservation Association has been working to protect the natural environment of the bay. The bay and its islands contain a variety of habitats including forests, rocky shores, beaches, wetlands, and mudflats. Wildlife in the area include black guillemots, eagles, osprey, leach's storm petrels, puffins, razorbills, and great blue herons.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
The area was first inhabited by the indigenous Mi'kmaq. The first Europeans in the area were the French, the early maps of whom labelled the bay as La Baye de Toutes Iles (The Bay of Many Islands). The current name derives from the French mahonne, a type of barge. In 1754 the British brought German speakers from Europe to colonize the area, starting in Lunenburg. German was the main language spoken in the area for many years, and today in the Bayview Cemetery, there are several gravestones dating from the late 1700s marked in German. Early settlers' names commemorated there include Zwicker, Eisenhauer, Heyson, and Kedy. The site was the scene of hostilities during the French and Indian War and the War of 1812. Economic activity in the mid-1800s, which included forestry, shipbuilding, shipping, and farming, led to the construction of churches and schools. In 1903 a rail link was established to Halifax. In 1919 the town was incorporated. Today the principal economic driver is tourism.
Geography
Opening south directly onto the Atlantic, its eastern shore is formed by the Aspotogan Peninsula and its western shore is formed by the First Peninsula (of Lunenburg). The Chester Peninsula juts several kilometres into Mahone Bay at roughly its midpoint. The bay's geological history differs from its eastern neighbour, St. Margarets Bay, in that Mahone Bay shows a greater variety of soils and bedrock. Numerous glacial drumlins on the western shore near the towns of Mahone Bay and Lunenburg have produced soil conditions suitable for small-scale farming operations. Mahone Bay also differs from St. Margarets Bay in that it is dotted with innumerable small and medium-sized islands throughout its waters. The shelter provided by these islands, along with the summer southwesterly flow, led to the scenery around Mahone Bay becoming a tourist attraction in itself. Today the towns of Chester and Mahone Bay have become a destination for cruising in pleasure yachts. A scenic provincial park at Graves Island just east of Chester is a popular camping destination. Mahone Bay is home to numerous picturesque working fishing communities, one of the most famous being the communities of Big Tancook and Little Tancook, on Big Tancook Island and Little Tancook Island respectively. Other important fishing ports include Blandford.
Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Geography
Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Climate
Air quality
Walkability
Amenities nearby
Wildlife & biodiversity
Earthquake history
Photos
Sights & places nearby
Notable people from here
People born within ~10 km, from Wikidata (CC0). Click any name for their Wikipedia article.
Nearby places in Nova Scotia
Geography & sun
Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.
Nearby airports
Public attention
Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.
Books about Mahone Bay
Search results from Open Library.
Recent natural events nearby
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species
Research-grade observations from iNaturalist (within ~15 mi).
Events
Gallery
Official Identifiers
StatCan — Statistics Canada
- SGC code
- 1206008
- Population (Wikidata)
- 904
- Wikidata
- Q1885050
Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) via Wikidata P3012
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • Wikidata
- • iNaturalist
- • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
- • Wikipedia Pageviews API
- • Open Library
- • StatCan — Statistics Canada — Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) via Wikidata P3012