The Wentworth Valley is a valley in the
Cobequid Mountains
The Cobequid Mountains, also sometimes referred to as the Cobequid Hills, is a Canadian mountain range located in Nova Scotia in the Nova Scotia peninsula, mainland portion of the province.
Geologic history
Geologically, the Cobequid Mountains are ...
of northwestern
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 ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It comprises the lowest elevation pass through the Cobequids. It was named after the colonial governor
John Wentworth (1792-1808).
Physical geography
The valley is oriented north–south and is located in a glacial trough named the "Folly Gap" (originally spelled "Folleigh"). The section framed by mountains measures approximately in length, from
Folly Lake in the south to
Wentworth Provincial Park in the north with the width of the valley floor varying from in the south to in the north.
The west wall of the valley is formed by Higgins Mountain ( elevation) and the east wall is formed by several unnamed peaks (- elevation). The south end and highest point of the trough is Folly Lake ( elevation) which drains south to 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 ...
through the Folly River, therefore its waters do not enter the valley.
The
Wallace River flows north through the valley to the
Northumberland Strait from its source in Dicks Meadows on Higgins Mountain.
The trough descends abruptly north of Folly Lake where over a distance of approximately the valley floor levels out at approximately elevation. From there, the valley floor and the serpentine Wallace River gradually descends over the next to approximately elevation at the junction with the West Branch Wallace River.
Transportation
In 1872 the
Intercolonial Railway
The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canada, Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also compl ...
built its mainline between Halifax and
Rivière-du-Loup
Rivière-du-Loup (; 2021 population 20,118) is a small city (Quebec), city on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The city is the seat for the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality and the Judicial districts of Quebec ...
through the valley, rising along its western walls to gain altitude to reach the summit at Folly Lake. Today, these tracks are part of
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
's Springhill Subdivision and continue to form part of the mainline from Halifax to central Canada, hosting both freight and passenger trains.
Roads followed the railway during the 20th century and
Trunk 4 was built through the valley and over
Folly Mountain to the south. During the early 1960s this road was redesignated
Highway 104, forming part of the
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...
. A long realignment of Highway 104 opened as a
toll highway
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
on November 15, 1997, completely bypassing the valley. Located approximately west of the valley, this new section of highway is named
Cobequid Pass and was built at a much higher elevation than the Wentworth Valley, since it crosses the summit of Westchester Mountain at elevation. Following this realignment, the former Highway 104 alignment in the valley reverted to its original Trunk 4 designation and is currently classed as a secondary road.
Settlements
The valley contains the following communities from south to north:
*
Folly Lake
*
Wentworth (including the railway point named
Wentworth Station and a hamlet named
East Wentworth)
*
Wentworth Centre
*
West Wentworth
*
Lower Wentworth
Economy
The Wentworth Valley is economically dependent on the towns of
Truro
Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...
and
Amherst for most goods and services.
The valley is a recreational centre in the winter months due to it being the location of
Ski Wentworth, the largest
alpine ski
''Alpine Ski'' (アルパイン・スキ一) is an alpine skiing arcade video game released by Taito in 1981. The player controls a skier on a vertically scrolling video game, vertically scrolling course who can move left, right, or increase for ...
hill in Nova Scotia. The valley is also home to the deactivated
Folly Lake Satellite Ground Terminal previously operated by
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
.
In the nineteenth century there were watermills on the Folly and Wallace Rivers and copper was mined from the bedrock. A copper smelter operated for a short time at West Wentworth.
"Many Watermills and Two Copper Mines Once Operated At Wentworth"
''The Oxford Journal'', March 23, 1972
References
{{coord, 45, 35, 54.82, N, 63, 33, 43.08, W, scale:250000, display=title
Valleys of Nova Scotia
Landforms of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia