Nova Scotia has more diversity of landscapes and habitats packed into its 55,000 km² than is found in many areas of comparable size in Canada. It also has 400,000 km² of continental-shelf and -slope waters, which support some of the most productive marine environments in the world. It is interesting to think of Nova Scotia as a kind of crossroads, where two ancient continents met millions of years ago, where now continent and ocean meet, and where the southerly climatic and forest regions make the transition into the northern Boreal Zone.

The continental margin is where evidence of crustal movement is most obvious. The meeting of land and water, maximized by Nova Scotia's long and convoluted coastline, also results in a variety of environments which are physically dynamic and biologically productive. Finally, the province is a region of transition, lying between the milder climatic region of the southern United States and the harsher boreal region of the Canadian north.

This Document Includes:

Geology
Physiography
Glaciation
Climate
Soils
Vegetation
Fauna

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Additional Keywords:
Appalachian Region, podzolization, Acadian Forest Region, Europeans.