841 Capes & Bays
| Geology & Landscape | Freshwater & Wetlands | Soils | Plants Animals | Cultural Environment | Sites of Interest Topics & Habitats |
Geology and Landscape Development
This Unit extends from Lower Woods Harbour in the west to Medway Harbour in the east. The bedrock geology is dominated by greywacke
into which several bodies of granite have been intruded. The heat from the largest granite bodies baked the surrounding Meguma sediments and
enabled minerals of a high metamorphic grade to form.
Throughout this area, granite and greywacke form a hummocky, rather uninteresting terrain with little relief. The coastline is very indented and divided into well-developed capes and long narrow bays. The bays are drowned river estuaries.
Glacial till deposits are variable in thickness but are generally less than 3 m deep; bedrock is exposed in fairly large areas, especially on the granite. Typically, very few drumlins are found on this granite and greywacke bedrock. Three have been mapped around Lockeport Harbour, but otherwise they are absent. Other glacial deposits include a series of outwash fans along the Medway River and around Medway Harbour.
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| Carter's Beach, Queen's County Click to enlarge |
Freshwater Environments and Coastal Wetlands
Many of Nova Scotia's most extensive river and chain-lake systems drain into the Atlantic through the many estuaries and inlets in this
Unit. Small and medium-sized lakes and ponds are scattered throughout, and pH levels average 6.0. Concentrations of wetlands are associated with the
river and lake systems. The freshwater wetlands are largest in the western areas, with large concentrations in the middle of Cape Sable Island. Tidal
marshes are scattered all along the coast in the inlets and barachois ponds.
Soils
Soils in this area have mostly developed from coarse-textured parent materials: granite, quartzite, and schist. The principal soils are Port
Hebert (well-drained sandy loam) and Lydgate, its imperfectly drained associate; both often develop subsurface cemented layers. Well-drained Halifax soils
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| Cape Sable, Shelburne County Click to enlarge |
Plants
The low relief, the effects of fire, and the ready formation of ortstein layers have resulted in large areas of bog and barren. Labrador Tea,
Lambkill, and blueberries provide the main vegetative cover on the barrens. Elsewhere the forest is chiefly White Spruce and Balsam Fir with maple, birch,
and poplar. Some pine and Red Oak can be found on better-drained sites further inland. In wet, peaty areas, Black Spruce, larch, and alders are found.
Animals
Coastal habitats include many sand beaches, salt marshes, intertidal muds and sands at the heads of the longer inlets, and cobble
beaches. Rocky shores are mostly confined to the shoreline between Liverpool and Port Medway. This section of the coast is on the route for migratory
waterfowl and shorebirds. The relatively mild winters and ice-free waters also make this Unit a prime wintering area for many species.
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| Common Tern Click to enlarge |
Offshore, nutrient-rich waters provide food for overwintering pelagic seabirds and whales. In the summer, warm-water incursions from the Gulf Stream often bring exotic tropical species to the beaches and inlets in this area.
The area immediately around Barrington Passage is unique in that its population of Red-backed Vole exhibits an exceptionally high incidence of melanism (an excess of black pigment which is genetically controlled). The incidence has been calculated at 18.4 percent, compared to 0.01 percent elsewhere in Nova Scotia. Brook Trout and Yellow Perch are typical freshwater fish species.
Cultural Environment
Land grant settlements in this Unit during the mid-1700s were based on deep harbours at Liverpool, Barrington, and Shelburne. This
coastline, primarily settled by Loyalists, has always had a marine orientation and focused on fishing, shipbuilding, and forestry exports. Wood from backland
areas supplies the Brooklyn newsprint mill. Sand and gravel deposits are commercially exploited by large producers at several coastal locations. The
tradition of building Cape Island boats originated along this shoreline
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| Lobster in boxes Click to enlarge |
- Port Joli Federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary - chiefly for protection of Canada Goose habitat
- Carters Beach at South West Port Mouton (IBP Proposed Ecological Site 46) - illustrates a classic sand-dune successional sequence and has the highest dunes in the Atlantic Coast Region; Pearlwort is found in the depressions
- Sandhills Beach in Barrington Bay (IBP Proposed Ecological Site 49) - combines a sand dune with a Cord Grass-Rockweed salt marsh community
- Port l'Hebert Pocket Wilderness Trail - access to forest and coastal habitats
- Kejimkujik National Park has a Seaside Adjunct in the Port Joli area at Mouton Head and
Cadden Bay
Provincial Parks and Park Reserves
- Port Joli
- Broad River
- Summerville Beach
- Summerville Centre
- Western Head
- Liverpool
Proposed Parks and Protected Areas System includes Natural Landscape 11.
Scenic Viewpoints
- Shelburne Harbour (both sides)
- Lockeport town (unusual site)
- Port Medway (road and trail to Medway Head)
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