The Annapolis River () is a Canadian river located in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Annapolis Valley The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a Trough (geology), trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the B ...

Geography

Measuring 120 kilometres in length, the river flows southwest through the western part of the valley from its source in Caribou Bog (50 m 60 ftabove sea level) near the villages of

Aylesford Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, northwest of Maidstone. Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a villa ...

and Berwick in western

Kings County Kings County or King's County may refer to: Places Canada *Kings County, New Brunswick *Kings County, Nova Scotia * Kings County, Prince Edward Island ** King's County (electoral district), abolished in 1892 Ireland * County Offaly, formerly call ...

, to its mouth near Clementsport where it empties into the

Annapolis Basin The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy, located on the bay's southeastern shores, along the northwestern shore of Nova Scotia and at the western end of the Annapolis Valley. The basin takes its name from the Annapolis River, whic ...

. The estuary portion of the Annapolis River runs from

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

to near Clementsport and experiences a tidal range of approximately between tides. The eastern part of the Annapolis Valley is drained by the

Cornwallis River The Cornwallis River is in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately through eastern Kings County, from its source on the North Mountain at Grafton to its mouth near Wolfville on the Minas Basin. The lower p ...

, also rising in the Caribou Bog, which has been dated to 10,000 years old. According to estimates by the Province of Nova Scotia, there were 31,877 people resident within the Annapolis River watershed in 2011. The river flows through some of the most productive agricultural land in the province. The comparatively mild micro-climate produced by the valley's North and South mountain ranges, as well as its proximity to the waters of the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy () is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its tidal range is the highest in the world. The bay was ...

make the region ideal for fruit crops such as

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

History

The Annapolis River's importance in history is evident through its use as a transportation corridor in early

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

after

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

and

Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts Pierre Dugua de Mons (or Du Gua de Monts; – 1628) was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Calvinist, he was born in the Château de Mons, in Royan, Saintonge (southwestern France) and founded the first permanent French settlement ...

established the

Habitation at Port-Royal Port-Royal National Historic Site is a National Historic Site located on the north bank of the Annapolis Basin in Granville Ferry, Nova Scotia, Canada. The site is the location of the Habitation at Port-Royal, which was the centre of activi ...

on the north bank of the river's mouth in 1605. Champlain's map of 1609 showed the river as being named "Rivière du Dauphin". A British attack in 1710 saw this part of Acadia fall from French hands. An Acadian settlement at the mouth of Allains Creek, ten kilometres upriver from Port Royal, was renamed

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal is a town in and the county seat of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The community, known as Port Royal before 1710, is recognised as having one of the longest histories in North America, preceding the settlements at Plym ...

, in honour of the reigning monarch, Queen Anne. The river was also given the name Annapolis at this time. After France relinquished the part of Acadia which is now peninsular Nova Scotia to Britain in 1713, Annapolis Royal became the capital of the British colony of Nova Scotia until 1749;

Fort Anne Fort Anne is a historic fort protecting the harbour of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. It was built by Scottish settlers in August 1629 as Charles Fort. For the first 120 years of the fort's service period, the settlement of Port Royal, later A ...

was established at the mouth of Allains Creek where it drains into the river to protect the community from attack. Throughout the 18th to the 20th century the river was heavily used as a transportation corridor, particularly during the age of sail when sailing ships would sail as far upriver as

(the tidehead, and head of navigation); Bridgetown being home to a thriving shipbuilding industry. A ferry service once crossed the river at Annapolis Royal to

Granville Ferry Granville Ferry is a village in the Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Annapolis County. Granville Ferry is located directly across the Annapolis River from Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. It was t ...

on the north bank; it was succeeded by a bridge in the early 20th century. AnnapolisRoyalGeneratingStation

In 1984,

Nova Scotia Power Nova Scotia Power Inc. is a vertical integration, vertically integrated electric utility in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is privately owned by Emera and regulated by the provincial government via the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB). Nov ...

opened the

Annapolis Royal Generating Station The Annapolis Royal Generating Station was a tidal power generating station in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada. When operational, it was the only tidal generating station in North America and was one of the few in the world. Located upstr ...

, which operated as a tidal power plant. A rock-filled dam now blocks the river between Annapolis Royal and Granville Ferry, carrying

Trunk 1 Trunk may refer to: Biology * Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso * Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure, and the stem of woody plants * Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy * Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant Comput ...

and the stretch of river between Annapolis Royal and Bridgetown is now used as a reservoir. The station ceased operations in 2019. In the late 1980s, an application to designate the Annapolis River as a Canada federal Heritage River was rejected because of the high levels of pollution in the river from residential and agricultural development. A variety of monitoring and clean-up projects have followed in the wake of the rejection and led to the creation of the Clean Annapolis River Project (CARP).A Case Study of a Work in Progress: The Clean Annapolis River Project and The Atlantic Coastal Action Program

Popular culture

The title of

Dauphin Herald Extraordinary The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA; ) is part of the Canadian honours system under the Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General of Canada. The authority is responsible for the creation and gran ...

at the

Canadian Heraldic Authority The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA; ) is part of the Canadian honours system under the Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General of Canada. The authority is responsible for the creation and gran ...

is derived from the ancient name of the river.

Communities

Communities located along the Annapolis River in downstream order (from northeast to southwest), include: * Aylesford East *

* Auburn * Green Acres *

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ...

* South Farmington * Wilmot * Nictaux East * Middleton *

Nictaux Nictaux is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County. Nictaux is at the intersection of Highway 10 and Highway 201. The name Nictaux comes from the Mi'kmaq word Niktak, meaning 'The forks of a river'. S ...

* Lower Middleton * Nictaux West * Brickton * North Williamston * Lawrencetown * West Lawrencetown *

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

* West Paradise *

* Carleton Corner * Centrelea * Upper Granville * Tupperville * Belleisle * Round Hill * Granville Centre * Moschelle *

Lequille Lequille is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County. It is on Nova Scotia Trunk 8 at the foot of the South Mountain, midway between Annapolis Royal to the northwest and Highway 101 (Exit 22) to the so ...

* Allains Creek * Granville Beach * Upper Clements *

Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...

References

External links