842 Guysborough Harbours
| Geology & Landscape |
Freshwater & Wetlands | Soils | Plants Animals | Cultural Environment | Sites of Interest Topics & Habitats |
Geology and Landscape Development
The Guysborough Harbours Unit extends from Marie Joseph to New Harbour Cove.
The bedrock is predominantly greywacke with interfolded slates. The fold axes intersect the coastline at about 45°. Slip movements along the Chedabucto Fault caused a series of parallel faults to develop, dividing the bedrock into a number of blocks. These blocks have moved slightly northwards in a step pattern (en echelon). Weaknesses in the fault zones have been exploited by rivers, producing relatively straight valleys. These have been inundated by the sea and now form very long, narrow inlets. Sheet Harbour, Indian Harbour, Country Harbour, Isaacs Harbour, and New Harbour are examples of these drowned, fault-controlled river valleys. The valleys tend to be narrow and steep-sided, providing interesting variety in an otherwise uniform terrain with little relief.
Liscomb Harbour and Fishermans Harbour (near Port Bickerton) have been formed by erosion of the relatively weak slate bedrock. The east-west orientation of these two harbours contrasts with the northwest-southeast orientation of all other harbours. The only comparable feature in the Atlantic Coast Region is Yarmouth Sound.
The Unit is mantled with a thin quartzite till derived from the underlying greywacke. A single group of drumlins made up of red-brown till from the Carboniferous strata to the north crosses the area parallel to Indian Harbour River. The drumlins reach the coast between Holland Harbour and St. Marys Bay (Guysborough), where they form coastal bluffs.
There are several large areas of exposed bedrock. Glaciofluvial deposits are well developed along the valleys of the Indian Harbour and Country Harbour rivers, and along the shore of New Harbour. Thick sand and gravel deposits choke the valleys and impede drainage. New Harbour Lake is impounded by a gravel barrier across the valley at Port Hilford.
The coastal sediment supply is limited and there are few sand beaches. Coastal fringe deposits tend to be rocky or cobbly.
Freshwater Environments and Coastal Wetlands
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| On the estuary, St. Mary's River Click to enlarge |
Soils
Most of the soils have developed from medium to moderately coarse textured tills derived from the underlying quartzite. Because quartzite
does not weather easily, there is only a thin mantle of stony soil over bedrock; where the relief is more pronounced, rapidly drained sandy loams of the
Halifax series are found. On flatter areas, imperfectly to poorly drained Danesville and Aspotogan soils predominate. This Unit includes large areas of
organic deposits and Rockland. On the drumlins scattered between Cape St. Marys and Holland Harbour, finer-textured Wolfville soils (sandy clay loam
with moderately slow drainage) have formed. Hebert soils (excessively drained sandy loams) are found along a number of the valleys, formed on
glacial outwash sands and gravels.
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| Squince's Glade Bog, Guysborough County Click to enlarge |
Few tidal marshes occur along this coast because so little sediment is available, but some Eelgrass beds are found.
Animals
Because snowfall is considerably lower here than elsewhere on the coast, this Unit is an important wintering area for deer. Together
with adjacent Units, the highly indented coastline with its many islands provides breeding and feeding habitats for a wide range of waterfowl and
shorebirds, both resident and migratory. Like Unit 834, the area is regionally important since it provides a major portion of the breeding and brood-raising
habitat for the Common Eider in Nova Scotia. Other breeding species in this area are the Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Double-crested
Cormorant, Black Guillemot, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, and Great Blue Heron.
In the spring, substantial numbers of Black Duck, scoters, Common Goldeneye, Canada Goose, Oldsquaw, and Red-breasted Merganser migrate through the area. A number of species are winter residents but are thinly distributed. Oldsquaw, Black Duck, and Common Goldeneye are fairly common.
Along this cold-water coast, marine species diversity diminishes from west to east. Freshwater runoff strongly influences coastal water conditions and the distribution of brackish water species. The Banded Killifish, the Mummichog and their hybrids are found in the St. Marys River.
Cultural Environment
This area is more sparsely settled because of its lower resource potential. Limited fishing and forest exploitation occur here. Gold mining
once took place at Goldboro. Peat resources in this area are now being exploited.
- Bickerton Island (IBP Proposed Ecological Site 28) - typical coastal island nesting area for many species
- Tobacco Island (IBP Proposed Ecological Site 29) - one of the few known nesting areas for Fox Sparrow
- Eastern Shore Islands Wildlife Management Area - provincial area extending from Ecum Secum Inlet (Little White Island) to Beaver Point (Round Island), Halifax County
- Goldenville gold mine
- New Harbour Lake - impounded by gravel barrier
Provincial Parks and Park Reserves
- Liscomb Mills
Proposed Parks and Protected Areas System includes Natural Landscape 38.
Scenic Viewpoints
- Indian Harbour Lake
- Country Harbour (ferry)
- Isaacs Harbour (both sides)
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