The Northwest Passage: From Myth to Reality
As far back in history as the days of Marco Polo, European mariners, dreamed of a shorter sea route for reaching the riches of silk, porcelain, jewels and spices of Asia.
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Create AccountAs far back in history as the days of Marco Polo, European mariners, dreamed of a shorter sea route for reaching the riches of silk, porcelain, jewels and spices of Asia.
The Joggins Fossil Cliffs are located in Nova Scotia, on the shores of Cumberland Basin in the upper Bay of Fundy.
Bay d'Espoir is a fjord-like arm of Hermitage Bay on Newfoundland’s south coast. More than 50 km from mouth to head, Bay d'Espoir — French for “hope” — is ice-free, with sheer cliffs and steep-sided hills rising 180 to 300 m. The bay divides into two principal arms to the north and northeast of Bois Island. Because of the tremendous watershed from a surrounding glacial plateau, the area is the site of a hydroelectric generating plant. Opened in 1967, today the plant has a generating capacity of more than 600 MW.
Cabot Strait, the passage between southwest Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island. Named for explorer John Cabot, it is 110 km wide between Cape Ray, Nfld, and Cape North, NS.
Dark Harbour, located on the west side of GRAND MANAN ISLAND, New Brunswick, is the only suitable haven for fishing craft along the island's western shore, which is dominated by high cliffs. It is relatively isolated from the communities on the more hospitable eastern side facing the Bay of Fundy.
Metlakatla Pass, or Venn Passage, is located 4 km west of Prince Rupert on the northern BC coast.
The Strait of Georgia is a body of water separating Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia south of Quadra Island.
Clayoquot Sound is a dramatically varied inlet of the Pacific Ocean nearly 100 km wide on the west coast of Vancouver Island (estimated area, water 784.25 km2; land including freshwater 2715.75 km2 ). Clayoquot ("clah quat") Sound takes in the highly scenic islands and mainland drainages from Quisitis Point northwest to Escalante Point. Population is concentrated at Tofino, a fishing, tourism and wilderness recreation centre at the terminus of Highway 4. Most native communities are accessible only by air or water.
Tucked into the westernmost corner of Prince Edward Island, Cedar Dunes Provincial Park (established 1962, 37 ha) has been developed around an historic lighthouse. Known as West Point, the site is the result of centuries of accretion of sand from a north to south coastal current.
The Fraser River Lowland is a triangular area in southwestern British Columbia. The eastern apex of the triangle is at Hope, about 160 km inland from the Strait of Georgia. From here, the lowland broadens to the west to a width of about 50 km. The international boundary between British Columbia and Washington State crosses the southwestern part of the lowland. The Coast Mountains form the northern boundary of the delta-lowland. The Fraser River Lowland is the largest area of level land with suitable agricultural soils in coastal British Columbia.
The importance of Beringia is twofold: it provided a pathway for intercontinental exchanges of plants and animals during glacial periods and for interoceanic exchanges during interglacials; it has been a centre of evolution and has supported apparently unique plant and animal communities.
The Northwest Passage is a sea corridor through Canada's Arctic archipelago and along the northern coast of North America. European explorers searched in vain for the passage for 300 years, intent on finding a commercially viable western sea route between Europe and Asia.
It is virtually landlocked but is joined to the Arctic Ocean to the north by Foxe Channel and Fury and Hecla Strait, and to the Atlantic Ocean on the east by Hudson Strait. Baffin Island lies athwart the entrance to the bay, and Southampton, Coats and Mansel islands are lodged across the northern gap.
Lying north of mainland Canada, the Arctic Archipelago consists of 94 major islands (greater than 130 km2) and 36,469 minor islands covering a total of 1.4 million km2. Apart from Greenland, which is almost entirely ice covered, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago forms the world's largest High Arctic land area.