Area Map Quick Facts Location and Land

History and People Economy Government

New Brunswick: Location and Land

Location

New Brunswick is the largest of Canada's four Maritime Provinces. New Brunswick borders on Nova Scotia to the east, Quebec to the west and the U.S. state of Maine is south. No part of New Brunswick lies more than 200 km from the ocean,

Landmass

New Brunswick is roughly rectangular in shape, extending 322 km north to south and 242 km east to west. New Brunswick has a landmass of 73 500 km2, 85 percent of which is forest. The northern part of the province is quite mountainous. The interior consists mainly of a rolling plateau, flatter in the east and hillier in the southeast with elevations above 600 metres.

The Land

The southern landscape is characterized by hills sloping down to tidal marshes at the edge of the Bay of Fundy, whereas the eastern and central portions of the province consist of rolling hills cut by river valleys. The highlands in the northwest are an extension of the Appalachian mountain chain. Mount Carleton, the highest point in the Maritimes, is found here. At 820 m above sea level, however, its elevation is still 240 metres lower than Calgary's.

Rivers

The main rivers are the Miramichi, Nepisiguit, Restigouche and the Saint John. The Saint John runs over 725 km and traces a natural boundary between the state of Maine and Canada. Twice a day, with the rising tide of the Atlantic Ocean, 100 billion tonnes of water stream past a rocky headland in the Bay of Fundy into the St. Lawrence river. The current created is practically equal to the flow of all the world's rivers over a 24-hour period. The eastern end of the Bay has tides of nearly 15 m, the highest in the world.