Spanish Bay (Nova Scotia)

Spanish Bay

Location of Spanish Bay in Nova Scotia

Spanish Bay ^[1] is a bay in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located at on the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton Island at the mouth of Sydney Harbour, which forms part of Spanish Bay.^[2] The current name for the bay, "Spanish Bay" (sometimes "Spanish Harbour", "Spaniards Bay" or "Port aux Espagnols") appears on maps of the area at least as far back as 1708.^[3][4][5]

Description

Spanish Bay opens to the north-west directly onto the southern terminus of the Cabot Strait and so to the North Atlantic. The bay measures approximately 9.2 kilometres (5.7 mi) wide at its mouth, between Point Aconi on Boularderie Island to the north-west, and Low Point on Cape Breton Island to the south-east. Spanish Bay also marks the northern end of the Little Bras d'Or, one of three outlets for the Bras d'Or Lake system.

The bay's shores are mostly bold & rocky with numerous prominent headlands including Point Aconi, High Cape, Alder Point, Merritt Point, Bonar Head, Oxford Point, Black Point, Cranberry Point, McGillivray Point and Petries Point, although there is a 0.75 kilometres (0.47 mi) sandy beach at Florence Beach (Big Pond Beach) and a popular swimming beach at Polar Bear, just to the north of South Bar.

Communities

Communities along the shoreline of Spanish Bay include (from northwest to south to northeast):

Cape Breton County

• Point Aconi
• Alder Point
• Little Pond
• Florence
• Sydney Mines
• North Sydney
• Upper North Sydney
• North West Arm
• Leitches Creek Station
• Leitches Creek
• Balls Creek
• Point Edward
• Edwardsville
• Westmount
• Sydney River
• Sydney
• Whitney Pier
• South Bar
• Victoria Mines
• New Victoria

See also

• List of communities in Nova Scotia

References

1. "Geographical Names of Canada - Spanish Bay". Retrieved May 9, 2012.
2. "Nova Scotia Geographical Names Database entry for "Spanish Bay, County of Cape Breton" (includes map)". Government of Nova Scotia. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
3. "A new map of Nova Scotia and Cape Britain, with the adjacent parts of New England and Canada, composed from a great number of actual surveys, and other materials regulated by many new astronomical observations of the longitude as well as latitude - David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (includes map)". Thomas Jefferys, London, 1755. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
4. "A new & accurate map of the islands of Newfoundland, Cape Briton, St. John and Anticosta; together with the neighbouring countries of Nova Scotia, Canada &c. Drawn from the most approved modern maps and charts, and regulated by astronl. observatns. - David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (includes map)". William Innys [et al.], London, 1747. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
5. "Carte du Canada ou de la Nouvelle France et des decouvertes que y ont ete faites. Dressee sur plusieurs observations et sur un grand nombre de relations imprimees ou manuscrites. Par Guillaume Del'Isle, Geographe de l'Academie Royale des Sciences. A Paris - David Rumsey Historical Map Collection (includes map)". Guillaume DeLisle, Quai de l'Horloge a l'Aigle d'Or, Paris, 1708. Retrieved April 8, 2012.

Notes

• Nautical chart #4266 SYDNEY HARBOUR, published by Canadian Hydrographic Service, 2003
• Nautical chart #4367 FLINT ISLAND TO / À CAPE SMOKEY, published by Canadian Hydrographic Service, 2003

Coordinates: 46°16′01″N 60°11′56″W / 46.267°N 60.199°W