Mahone Bay is a bay on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

coast of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

along the eastern end of Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands, and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the Mahone Islands Conservation Association has been working to protect the natural environment of the bay. The bay and its islands contain a variety of habitats including forests, rocky shores, beaches,

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

, and mudflats. Wildlife in the area include

black guillemot The black guillemot or tystie (''Cepphus grylle'') is a medium-sized seabird of the Alcidae family, native throughout northern Atlantic coasts and eastern North American coasts. It is resident in much of its range, but large populations from the ...

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

leach's storm petrel Leach's storm petrel or Leach's petrel (''Hydrobates leucorhous'') is a small seabird of the tubenose order. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek. ''Hydrobates'' is from ...

s, puffins,

razorbill The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis im ...

s, and great blue herons.

History

The area was first inhabited by the indigenous

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the no ...

. The first Europeans in the area were the French, the early maps of whom labelled the bay as ''La Baye de Toutes Iles'' (The Bay of Many Islands). The current name derives from the French ''mahonne'', a type of barge. In 1754 the British brought German speakers from Europe to colonize the area, starting in Lunenburg. German was the main language spoken in the area for many years, and today in the Bayview Cemetery, there are several gravestones dating from the late 1700s marked in German. Early settlers' names commemorated there include Zwicker, Eisenhauer, Heyson, and Kedy. The site was the scene of hostilities during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. Economic activity in the mid-1800s, which included forestry, shipbuilding, shipping, and farming, led to the construction of churches and schools. In 1903 a rail link was established to Halifax. In 1919 the town was incorporated. Today the principal economic driver is tourism.

Geography

Opening south directly onto the Atlantic, its eastern shore is formed by the

Aspotogan Peninsula The Aspotogan Peninsula () is a peninsula in the eastern part of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, separating St. Margarets Bay in the east from Mahone Bay in the west. The peninsula was originally settled by second generation French immigrants o ...

and its western shore is formed by the First Peninsula (of Lunenburg). The Chester Peninsula juts several kilometres into Mahone Bay at roughly its midpoint. The bay's geological history differs from its eastern neighbour, St. Margarets Bay, in that Mahone Bay shows a greater variety of soils and bedrock. Numerous glacial

drumlin A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...

s on the western shore near the towns of Mahone Bay and Lunenburg have produced soil conditions suitable for small-scale farming operations. Mahone Bay also differs from St. Margarets Bay in that it is dotted with innumerable small and medium-sized islands throughout its waters. The shelter provided by these islands, along with the summer southwesterly flow, led to the scenery around Mahone Bay becoming a tourist attraction in itself. Today the towns of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and Mahone Bay have become a destination for cruising in pleasure yachts. A scenic provincial park at Graves Island just east of Chester is a popular camping destination. Mahone Bay is home to numerous picturesque working fishing communities, one of the most famous being the communities of Big Tancook and Little Tancook, on Big Tancook Island and Little Tancook Island respectively. Other important fishing ports include Blandford.

In popular culture

Frank Parker Day Frank Parker Day (9 May 1881 – 30 July 1950) was a Canadian athlete, academic and author. Since Day's father was a Methodist minister who moved to a new congregation every three years, Day spent his youth living throughout Nova Scotia, living ...

's novel ''

Rockbound ''Rockbound'' is a novel published in 1928 by Canadian writer Frank Parker Day. Overview The "Rockbound" mentioned in the title is name of small fictitious island inspired by East Ironbound, a remote island near Big Tancook Island off the coast o ...

'' takes place on the fictional island of the same name, which was based on the nearby island of

East Ironbound East Ironbound is an inhabited island located off the Aspotogan Peninsula in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, between St. Margarets Bay and Mahone Bay.Nautical chart #4386 ''St. Margarets Bay'', published by Canadian Hydrographic Service, 2004 ...

and includes references to many other Mahone Bay islands and towns. Day visited the area and created ''Rockbound'' as a fictionalized, exaggerated account of life on the islands. Mahone Bay contains

Oak Island Oak Island is a privately owned island in Lunenburg County on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. The tree-covered island is one of several islands in Mahone Bay, and is connected to the mainland by a causeway. The nearest community is th ...

, well known in connection with tales of buried treasure. The 2006 independent movi
'A Stone's Throw'
was filmed primarily in and around Mahone Bay.

References

External links

"Mahone Bay"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. {{Coord, 44, 30, N, 64, 13, W, region:CA_type:waterbody_scale:250000, display=title Bays of Nova Scotia Landforms of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia