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Nova Scotia: Location and Land

Location

Nova Scotia's 580-km-long peninsula is surrounded by four bodies of water - the Atlantic Ocean, with Newfoundland to the north and east, the Bay of Fundy, with New Brunswick across the bay to the east, the Northumberland Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Prince Edward Island to the north and the Gulf of Maine and the United States to the south and west.

Landmass

With an area of 55 491 km2, Nova Scotia is larger than Denmark, although somewhat smaller than Scotland, after which it is named. Its average width of 128 km means that no part of the province is far from the sea. Nova Scotia is a montage of craggy headlands, quiet harbours and beautiful ocean beaches. Its indented shoreline stretches 10 424 km, while inland is a myriad of lakes and streams, the largest being, Bras D'Or lake in the Cape Breton area.

The Land

Nova Scotia is framed by the rocky Atlantic Uplands, the Cape Breton Highlands and the wooded Cobequid Hills. The agricultural areas of Nova Scotia are predominantly lowlands. When the glacial ice withdrew from coastal Nova Scotia 15 000 to 18 000 years ago, the ocean flooded ancient river valleys and carved out hundreds of small protected harbours which later became fishing ports.