The Inverness Coastal Plain is divided geographically into two sub-Units:
(a) Inverness/St. Rose Coalfield
(b) Chéticamp Coast

Geology and Landscape Development

Inverness/St. Rose Coalfield (sub-Unit 551a)
From Inverness

Inverness Beach, Inverness County Click to enlarge

northwards towards Margaree Harbour lies a hilly, faulted, and narrow belt of Late Carboniferous strata. They form two small basins, one centred at Inverness and the other at Chimney Corner. At Inverness they are in Pictou strata and at Chimney Corner in Riversdale strata. Both basins contain coal seams which dip steeply under the Northumberland Strait.

Chéticamp Coast (sub-Unit 551b)
Beyond Margaree Harbour, a thin strip of Windsor strata, overlain by red Canso Group sandstones and siltstones and greyish Riversdale sandstones, form a narrow coastal plain (see Figure 21). The Windsor strata form a valley at the base of the highland slope and, where gypsum is present, karst topography occurs. Crystalline gypsum (selenite) is common.

Chéticamp Island is composed of red Riversdale sandstones and is undergoing rapid erosion. At present it is connected to the mainland by a long sand and gravel bar. Just to the north, coastal erosion has reduced a deposit of red Carboniferous sandstone to stacks which lie at the mouth of Trout Brook. The sandstone generally forms low cliffs along the shore.

North of Chéticamp Village is a terrace of glacial outwash material. A bar has formed across the mouth of the Chéticamp River, and an esker projects out to the bar, dividing the lagoon into two.

Fresh Water
The short, straight streams in this Unit drain directly into the Northumberland Strait. In sub-Unit 551a, streams flow from ravines and also from Lake Ainslie (Unit 584). The mouth of the Margaree occurs in sub-Unit 551b, and several small tidal marshes occur near Chéticamp. Freshwater systems are productive and generally alkaline. Conductivity in Grand Lac has been recorded at 200 micromhos/cm. Sinkholes and small solution lakes associated with karst topography are common.

Soils
The soils in this Unit form a complex mix, ranging from sands to clay loams. The dominant soil is Shulie, which has developed from glacial tills derived from coarse grey and brown sandstones of the Riversdale group. They range from stony loam to stony, sandy loam in texture.

Inverness/St. Rose Coalfield (sub-Unit 551a)
The outlet of Lake Ainslie is marked by a large sand plug, with outwash sands and gravels, on which well-drained Canning loamy sands have developed. These soils are on level to rolling terrain and tend to be droughty. Elsewhere, imperfectly drained Queens and poorly drained Kingsville clay loams have developed. Well-drained Shulie soils occur on higher ground north of Broad Cove.

Chéticamp Coast (sub-Unit 551b)
Small areas of sandy Canning soils occur around Margaree Harbour. Further north along the coast, Queens, Kingsville, and Shulie soils occur with some well-drained Pugwash sandy loam and its poorly drained associate Masstown. Digby soils (excessively drained sandy loams) have developed on beach deposits. Near Chéticamp, Hebert soils are found on outwash sands and gravels. Chéticamp Island is a mix of Shulie, Debert, Masstown, and Kingsville soils.

Plants
The vegetation in this Unit is heavily influenced by the prevailing westerly winds off the Gulf of St. Lawrence. White Spruce is the most common species, but shade-tolerant hardwoods are found on the better-drained and more sheltered sites. Black Spruce and larch grow in wet depressional areas. Elsewhere, a mixed forest of spruce, fir, and pine with maple and birch is common. Marsh Marigold is scattered along the low lands in wet places.

Animals
Margaree Island provides some breeding habitat for seabirds, including a moderate population of Black Guillemot.

Cultural Environment
Coal has been mined at Inverness and Chimney Corner in sub-Unit 551a, but the seams dip steeply out under the Northumberland Strait and much of the coal is inaccessible. Near Chéticamp, where the plain broadens (sub-Unit 551b), extensive gypsum deposits have been mined down to the underlying rock.

Acadians settled the Chéticamp area after the

Pétit Étàng Click to enlarge

deportation, turning to fishing as well as subsistence farming for a living. Protected from Atlantic fogs by the Cape Breton highlands, the fishing stations along the gulf shore of Cape Breton, particularly Chéticamp, were the best places for drying fish. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Chéticamp fishermen traded dried cod to the Channel Islands (United Kingdom) merchants who controlled the Cape Breton fishing industry and exported dried cod to world markets. Today the lobster and crab fisheries are particularly important in Chéticamp.

In the nineteenth century, Scots settled the Inverness area (sub-Unit 551a), and fishing, farming, and forestry have provided a means of livelihood from the land. Coal continues to be mined at St. Rose, Inverness County. The beaches and scenic coastal views of the Inverness Coastal Plain attract tourism and recreational activities such as whale-watching excursions out of Chéticamp.

Sites of Special Interest

• Petit Étang (IBP Proposed Ecological Site 16) - eutrophic marsh with uncommon plants such as Canada Anemone and Shrubby Cinquefoil
• Chimney Corner, Chéticamp, Cape North, and St. Anns Bay - a pre-glacial wave-cut notch in the side of the cliffs
• Chéticamp - selenite in an old gypsum quarry; karst topography
• Chimney Corner and Inverness - thin coal seams in the sandstone and siltstone along the shore
• Trout Brook (north of Chéticamp) - stacks of red sandstone
• Inverness Miners' Museum - coal mining history
• Chéticamp - exhibition centre for the Cape Breton Highlands National Park

Provincial Parks and Park Reserves

• Broad Cove Marsh
• Friars Head
• St. Joseph du Moine

Proposed Parks and Protected Areas System includes Natural Landscape 61.

Scenic Viewpoints

• Sub-Unit 551b: Margaree Harbour (estuary of Margaree River); north of Chéticamp on the Cabot Trail (view of Jerome Mountain to the north)

Associated Topics T2.4 The Carboniferous Basin T3.3 Glaciation, Deglaciation and Sea-level Changes T3.4 Terrestrial Glacial Deposits and Landscape Features T6.1 Ocean Currents T7.3 Coastal Landforms T11.7 Seabirds and Birds of Marine Habitats T12.3 Geology and Resources T12.11Animals and Resources

Associated Habitats H6.3 Mixedwood Forest (White Spruce, Fir-Maple, Birch Association) Associated Offshore Unit 914 Northumberland Strait