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New Brunswick is part of the Appalachian region, one of Canada’s seven physiographic regions. The province’s principal geographic divisions are the watershed of the Bay of Fundy, centering on the Saint John River valley, and the north and east shores. The residents of the north and east shores live in coastal fishing villages and interior lumbering settlements along rivers. They are separated physically from the valley communities by uplands and belts of forest. They are also separated culturally by their predominantly French language and Catholic religion.

Flatfish is the common name for fish belonging to the order Pleuronectiformes. There are 14 families of flatfish and over 800 species worldwide. In Canadian waters there are approximately 39 species of flatfish, from five families. These families are Pleuronectidae, Bothidae, Paralichthyidae, Scophthalmidae and Cynoglossidae. Familiar flatfishes found in Canada include halibut, plaice, flounder and turbot. Among their distinguishing features, flatfish have both eyes on one side of their body.

The Battle of the Atlantic, from 1939 to 1945, was the longest continuous battle of the Second World War. Canada played a key role in the Allied struggle for control of the North Atlantic, as German submarines worked furiously to cripple the convoys shipping crucial supplies to Europe. Victory was costly: more than 70,000 Allied seamen, merchant mariners and airmen lost their lives, including approximately 4,400 from Canada and Newfoundland. Many civilians also lost their lives, including 136 passengers of the ferry SS Caribou.

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), or simply “leatherback,” is the largest turtle and widest-ranging reptile in the world. It began evolving over 100 million years ago and is the last remaining member of the Dermochelyidae family. It has seven subpopulations worldwide, two of which can be found in Canadian waters.

Right whales are a baleen whale found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. There are three species: the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica), North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and southern right whale (Eubalaena australis). In Canadian waters, the North Pacific right whale is rarely sighted, but was historically found along British Columbia’s coast. The North Atlantic right whale is found along the Scotian Shelf and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Both the North Pacific and North Atlantic right whale are listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. (See also Endangered Animals in Canada.)

The word Maritimes is a regional designation for the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. These provinces constitute a cluster of peninsulas and islands that form the northeastern extension of the Appalachian Highlands and are also significantly affected by the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the Maritime provinces cover 133,850 km² — or just a little more than 1 per cent of Canada's land surface.

The natural resources of the Atlantic provinces include fish and crustaceans, forests, hydroelectricity, minerals, fossil fuels and agricultural land.

The Atlantic Ocean is the world’s second-largest ocean, covering 20 per cent of the planet’s surface. It forms Canada’s eastern seaboard and includes the entire coasts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. It also includes Quebec’s southeastern border, along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The total length of Canada’s Atlantic coastline is approximately 42,000 km.