The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de 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 extremely high tidal range is the hi ...

, located on the bay's southeastern shores, along the northwestern shore of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and at the western end of the

Annapolis Valley The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. Stat ...

. The basin takes its name from the

Annapolis River The Annapolis River (french: Rivière Annapolis) is a Canadian river located in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. Geography Measuring 120 kilometres in length, the river flows southwest through the western part of the valley from its source in Carib ...

, which drains into its eastern end at the town of

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...

. The basin measures approximately northeast-southwest and at its widest from northwest to southeast. It is a sheltered and mostly shallow water body, framed by the ridges of the North Mountain and South Mountain ranges of the Annapolis Valley; the basin is geologically a continuation of the valley floor. A break in the North Mountain range at the northwestern edge of the basin, called

Digby Gut The Digby Gut is a narrow channel connecting the Bay of Fundy with the Annapolis Basin. The town of Digby, Nova Scotia is located on the inner portion of the western side of the Gut. The eastern entrance is marked by the Point Prim Lighthouse. St ...

, provides an outlet to the Bay of Fundy. The

Bay Ferries Limited Bay Ferries Limited, or simply, Bay Ferries, is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and is headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is a subsidiary of Northumberland Ferries Limited and a sister company to the defu ...

ferry service operating across the Bay of Fundy between Digby and Saint John maintains a terminal on the western shore of the basin near the Digby Gut.

Rivers

Rivers which drain into the basin include: *

* Bear River * Moose River

Islands

Two major islands are located in the basin: * Bear Island * Goat Island

Communities

The basin hosts several historic seaports, including: * Towns of

and Digby * Village of Bear River * Communities of

Granville Ferry Granville Ferry is a village in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County. Granville Ferry is located directly across the Annapolis River from Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. It was the northern terminus for ferries runnin ...

, Port Royal,

Port Wade Port Wade is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Annapolis County. It is situated at the foot of North Mountain on the shore of the Annapolis Basin. An earlier French name was Pree Bourgeois and it was later known ...

, Victoria Beach, Clementsport, Deep Brook, and Smiths Cove A former

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

base and decommissioned Canadian Forces Base is located between Deep Brook and Clementsport on the southeast shore of the basin - see

CFB Cornwallis Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis (also CFB Cornwallis) is a former Canadian Forces Base located in Deep Brook, Nova Scotia. It is situated in the western part of Annapolis County on the southern shore of the Annapolis Basin. Today most of the b ...

. {{Authority control Bays of Nova Scotia Landforms of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia Landforms of Digby County, Nova Scotia