Brier Island is an island in the
Bay of Fundy in
Digby County, Nova Scotia
Digby County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
History
It was named after the Township of Digby; this was named in honour of Rear Admiral Robert Digby, who dispatched HMS ''Atalanta'' to convey Loyalists from New York City in ...
.
Geography
The island is the westernmost part 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 the southern end of the
North Mountain ridge with
Long Island lying immediately northeast; both islands constitute part of the
Digby Neck
Digby Neck is a Canadian peninsula extending into the Bay of Fundy in Digby County, Nova Scotia.
Digby Neck is the western extension of the North Mountain range from the Annapolis Valley and is made of two thick lava flows. It is separated from ...
. Brier Island measures approximately long and wide and is made up of
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
.
The island's shoreline measures approximately in length. Brier Island is separated from Long Island by the Grand Passage. Westport is the only village on the island. The population, as of 2016 was 218. There were 98 private dwellings occupied year round.
The island is an important stopover point for
migrating sea birds.
The island's name is believed by some to come from the wild
brier roses found there, another possibility is that the original name of the Island was "Bryer's" after a sea captain from
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
who was one of the first settlers to spend any time on the island.
Economy
The local economy is driven by the year-round commercial
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
industry and the seasonal tourism industry, which is largely focused on
whale watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...
tours.
The island is home to R. E. Robicheau Ltd, a general store with a gas pump, gift shop, and café. On the eastern side of the island is the one hotel, the Brier Island Lodge. There are also several bed and breakfasts, a used book store and gift shops.
The island contains the fishing village of
Westport which is connected to
Freeport on Long Island by a ferry operated by the provincial government.
Brier Island is frequently inundated by
fog and has witnessed 57 recorded
shipwrecks. The island has "a lighthouse per mile" with the Northern and Western lighthouses on the island, as well as the
Peter Island lighthouse
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
in Grand Passage; all are automated and are operated by the
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...
. The wreck of the
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...
"Aurora" in 1908 provided the lumber for the Westport Community Hall.
The Canadian Coast Guard operates CCG Station Westport in the village. The rescue cutter
CCGC ''Westport'' provides 24-hour-per-day, 7 days per week response to search and rescue incidents within the eastern
Gulf of Maine
, image =
, alt =
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, image_bathymetry = GulfofMaine2.jpg
, alt_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry = Major features of the Gulf of Maine
, location = Northeast coast of the ...
and the southern and eastern
Bay of Fundy.
Public library
*Westport Branch Library;
Westport
Famous residents
Brier Island was the childhood home of sailor
Joshua Slocum who became the first person to circumnavigate the world alone. A monument to Slocum and the bootshop where he worked as a boy can be seen in Westport.
Ecology
The endangered
Eastern mountain avens is present on Brier Island.
See also
*
Volcanism of Eastern Canada
The volcanology of Eastern Canada includes the hundreds of volcanic areas and extensive lava formations in Eastern Canada. The region's different volcano and lava types originate from different tectonic settings and types of volcanic eruptions, ra ...
References
"Place Names of Nova Scotia" ''Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management'' website"Brier Island" ''The Davis Family'' online family history
{{Coord, 44, 15, 32, N, 66, 21, 44, W, display=title, type:isle_region:CA-NS
Islands of Nova Scotia
Landforms of Digby County, Nova Scotia
Volcanism of Nova Scotia