District 550 is divided into two Units, primarily on the basis of oceanographic and climatic conditions:
551 Inverness Coastal Plain
552 Victoria Coastal Plain

Geology and Landscape Development
Around the shoreline of the northern Cape Breton peninsula is a narrow fringe of Carboniferous strata. This forms a usually flat area at the base of the steep, dissected shoulder of coarse Horton deposits and volcanics which flank the highlands massif.

The widest parts of this band of lowland are found between Margaree Harbour and Chéticamp, and in the Aspy Valley. Around St. Anns Bay to Cape Smokey the band is very narrow, with only vestiges of the original deposits. Many of the strata are Windsor Group deposits that are being eroded very rapidly. Where gypsum underlies the surface, karst topography has formed.

On the west side of the peninsula from Margaree Harbour to Chéticamp, the Windsor deposits are overlain by a narrow strip of younger rocks: Riversdale strata (including some coal seams) and, further north near Chéticamp, red Canso strata. All around the coastline, a pre-Wisconsin wave-cut notch can be seen overlain by loose glacial material. Glacial sands and gravels washed down from the highlands are common throughout the District.

Scenic Quality

Inverness Beach, Inverness County Click to enlarge

Lying between mountains and ocean, these narrow lowlands display scenery that ranges from pleasant to spectacular. Where the mountain plateau is set further inland or rises less abruptly (as at Inverness, Belle Côte, and Cape Egmont), the dramatic effect is somewhat reduced. However, the settled Acadian farmlands between Belle Côte and Chéticamp have much interest and allow unrestricted vistas. Particularly noteworthy are the long-lot field patterns. Vestiges of farming settlement remain in the Aspy Valley, where the embracing effect of surrounding mountains provides a sense of shelter and seclusion.