![McNabs Island](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/McNabs_Island.png)
![IMRAY(1884) p0749 HALIFAX](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/IMRAY%281884%29_p0749_HALIFAX.jpg)
Halifax Harbour is a large
natural harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
on the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
coast 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 ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, located in the
Halifax Regional Municipality
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbours in the world. Before Confederation it was one of the most important commercial ports on the Atlantic seaboard. In 1917, it was the site of the world's largest man-made accidental explosion, when the blew up in the
Halifax Explosion
On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...
of December 6.
The harbour was formed by a drowned glacial valley which succumbed to
sea level rise
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...
after
glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
. The
Sackville River
The Sackville River is a river in Hants County and Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It empties into Bedford Basin. The Little Sackville River is a tributary.
Tributaries
* Little Sackville River
*Tomahawk Run
*Peverill's Broo ...
now empties into the upper end of the harbour in
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
Geography
Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within th ...
. The harbour also includes the
Northwest Arm
The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.
Geography
Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 ...
and The Narrows, a constricted passage to Bedford Basin
Halifax Harbour has been polluted as a result of two centuries of direct raw sewage discharge into its waters. Health concerns in the 1990s caused the shut-down of all harbour beaches. The
Harbour Solutions project, initiated in the year 2000, was a CAD $400 million project which attempted to remediate the area, with limited success.
Harbour description
The
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...
First Nation, long the occupants of this territory, called the harbour ''Jipugtug'' in their language. It was transliterated in English as "Chebucto". It runs in a northwest-southeast direction.
Based on average vessel speeds, the harbour is strategically located approximately one hour's sailing time north of the
Great Circle Route
Great-circle navigation or orthodromic navigation (related to orthodromic course; from the Greek ''ορθóς'', right angle, and ''δρóμος'', path) is the practice of navigating a vessel (a ship or aircraft) along a great circle. Such rou ...
between the
Eastern Seaboard and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. As such, it is the first inbound and last outbound port of call in eastern
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
with transcontinental rail connections.
The harbour is largely formed by a drowned glacial valley which succumbed to
sea level rise
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...
since
glaciation
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
. The
Sackville River
The Sackville River is a river in Hants County and Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It empties into Bedford Basin. The Little Sackville River is a tributary.
Tributaries
* Little Sackville River
*Tomahawk Run
*Peverill's Broo ...
now empties into the upper end of the harbour in
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
Geography
Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within th ...
; however, its original river bed has been charted by the
Canadian Hydrographic Service
''Retired Canadian Hydrographic Service logo or crest''
The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) is part of the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and is Canada's authoritative hydrographic office. The CHS represents Canada in t ...
throughout the length of the harbour and beyond.
The harbour includes the following geographic areas:
*
Northwest Arm
The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.
Geography
Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 ...
: Another drowned river valley now used largely by pleasure boats.
*
The Narrows
__NOTOC__
The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...
: A constricted passage to Bedford Basin.
*
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
Geography
Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within th ...
: A sheltered bay and the largest part of the harbour.
Islands
The harbour is home to several small islands.
The harbour limit is formed by the northern end of its largest island -
McNabs Island
McNabs Island (formerly Cornwallis Island) is the largest island in Halifax Harbour located in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It played a major role in defending Halifax Harbour and is now a provincial park. The island was set ...
. The largest island entirely within the harbour limits is
Georges Island, a glacial
drumlin
A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...
similar to its dryland counterpart at
Citadel Hill. Several small islands are located in the
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
Geography
Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within th ...
near
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
and
Burnside.
In the Northwest Arm is a small peninsula known as
Deadman's Island, named for being the burial location of
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
prisoners of war. Just 200 m west of Deadman's Island is the equally small
Melville Island, which is connected to the mainland by road. Melville Island forms the eastern boundary of Melville Cove and is also the location of the
Armdale Yacht Club
The Armdale Yacht Club is a yacht club located on Melville Island, at the head of Halifax Harbour's Northwest Arm in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Club's property has a history dating to 1732.
Melville Island
Since the arrival of European settlers ...
. An
adjacent residential community named itself after the cove.
Although outside the defined harbour limits,
Lawlor Island and
Devils Island are also frequently included in descriptions of Halifax Harbour and the surrounding area.
Navigation
Halifax's official harbour limit for navigational purposes is delineated by a line running from
Herring Cove on the west side of the main channel, to the northern end of McNabs Island, then from McNabs Island across the Eastern Passage to the actual community of
Eastern Passage
Eastern Passage is an unincorporated suburban community in Halifax Regional Municipality Nova Scotia, Canada.
Eastern Passage has historically been tied to the fishing industry. Its waterfront has several small wharves and piers. The constru ...
on the east side of the island. The harbour is marked by an extensive network of
buoys
A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
Types
Navigational buoys
* Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...
and
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
s, starting with
Sambro Island Lighthouse
Sambro Island Lighthouse is a landfall lighthouse located at the entrance to Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, on an island near the community of Sambro in the Halifax Regional Municipality. It is the oldest surviving lighthouse in North America an ...
at the harbour approaches, the oldest operating lighthouse in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.
Deep draught vessels must use the main channel into the harbour, which runs on the west side of McNabs Island. The west entrance point marking the beginning of the inner approach using this channel is located near Chebucto Head, approximately south of the limit.
Shallow draught vessels (less than ) may use the Eastern Passage, which runs on the east side of McNabs Island; however, continuous silting makes charted depths unreliable.
Large vessels have compulsory pilotage, with harbour
pilots
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
boarding at the
pilot station
Pilot Station ( esu, Tuutalgaq) is a city in Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 568 at the 2010 census, up from 550 in 2000.
Geography
Pilot Station is located at (61.936050, -162.883403), on the northern bank of t ...
off Chebucto Head. Vessels wishing to transit The Narrows between the outer harbour and Bedford Basin must travel one at a time; this rule was established after the disastrous
Halifax Explosion
On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...
of December 6, 1917 when a collision between the French munitions ship and the Norwegian ship destroyed part of Halifax and
Dartmouth.
The
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, 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 s ...
maintains a large base housing
Maritime Forces Atlantic
In the Canadian Forces, Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. It was once referred to as Canadian Atlantic Station.
...
along the western side of The Narrows, as well as an ammunition depot on the northeastern shore of Bedford Basin, CFAD Bedford. There are strict security regulations relating to vessels navigating near Navy facilities and anchorages.
There are two large suspension bridges crossing The Narrows:
* the
Angus L. Macdonald Bridge
The Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada; it opened on April 2, 1955.
The bridge is one of two suspension bridges linking the Halifax Peninsula to Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Mu ...
, opened in 1955
* the
A. Murray MacKay Bridge, opened in 1970
Port facilities
![Halifax from the air](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Halifax_from_the_air.jpg)
After Confederation in 1867, boosters of Halifax expected federal help to make the city's natural harbour Canada's official winter port and a gateway for trade with Europe. Halifax's advantages included its location just off the Great Circle route made it the closest to Europe of any mainland North American port. But the new
Intercolonial Railway
The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...
(ICR) took an indirect, southerly route for military and political reasons, and the national government made little effort to promote Halifax as Canada's winter port. Ignoring appeals to nationalism and the ICR's own attempts to promote traffic to Halifax, most Canadian exporters sent their wares by train though Boston or Portland. Harbour promoters fought an uphill battle to finance the large-scale port facilities Halifax lacked, succeeding just before the First World War with the start of construction of the large docking facilities at Ocean Terminals in Halifax's
South End. The war at last boosted Halifax's harbour into prominence on the North Atlantic.
The
Halifax Port Authority
The Port of Halifax comprises various port facilities in Halifax Harbour in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It covers of land, and looks after of water.
Strategically located as North America's first inbound and last outbound gateway, the port o ...
is a federally appointed agency which administers and operates various port properties on the harbour. Previously run by the National Harbours Board, the HPA is now a locally run organization.
HPA facilities include:
* South End Container Terminal - Piers 36-42 (currently operated by Halterm Limited, with several
gantry
A gantry is an overhead bridge-like structure supporting equipment such as a crane, signals, or cameras.
Devices and structures
*Gantry (medical), cylindrical scanner assembly used for medical 3D-imaging or treatment
*Gantry (transport), an over ...
and post-
Panamax
Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships travelling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...
cranes)
* Halifax Grain Elevator
* Ocean Terminals - Piers 23-34
* Piers 20 -22: Pier 20, Halifax Seaport Farmers Market, The Cruise Ship Pavilion and Pier 21 Museum
* Richmond Terminals - Piers 9 and 9A
* Richmond Offshore Terminals - Piers 9B-9D (multi-user supply base for offshore oil and gas exploration/production)
* Fairview Cove Container Terminal - (currently operated by Cerescorp)
* National Gypsum Wharf - (currently operated by National Gypsum to serve Wrights Cove gypsum terminal)
* Woodside Atlantic Wharf - (vessel lay-up and repair,
oil platform
An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...
servicing)
* Imperial Oil Wharves - (currently operated by
Imperial Oil
Imperial Oil Limited (French: ''Compagnie Pétrolière Impériale Ltée'') is a Canadian petroleum company. It is Canada's second-biggest integrated oil company. It is majority owned by American oil company ExxonMobil with around 69.6 percent ...
to serve Dartmouth
refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.
Types of refineries
Different types of refineries ...
)
* Ultramar Oil Wharves - (currently operated by
Ultramar
Ultramar is an Eastern Canadian gas and home fuel retailer, with its head office located in Montreal, Quebec. Ultramar operates gas stations and home fuel delivery in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.
History
British oil company Ultramar ...
to serve the petroleum storage facility)
* Eastern Passage Autoport - (currently operated by
CN)
All HPA facilities are serviced by CN. It provides on-dock daily train service to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. The railway also operates the Halifax Intermodal Terminal (HIT) adjacent to the Richmond Terminals.
In addition to HPA facilities, the following users have port facilities:
* The
Halifax Shipyard
The Halifax Shipyard Limited is a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Founded in 1889, it is today a wholly owned subsidiary of Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and is that company's largest ship construction and repair facili ...
, operated by
Irving Shipbuilding
Irving Shipbuilding Inc. is a Canadian shipbuilder and in-service support provider.
The company owns industrial fabricators Woodside Industries in Dartmouth, Marine Fabricators in Dartmouth, Halifax Shipyard as the largest facility
and company h ...
, a medium-sized vessel construction and repair yard operates on the north end of the Halifax side of the harbour. The yard contains a
graving dock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
and various shore-based operations.
* Until 2003 a
marine railway
The patent slip or marine railway is an inclined plane extending from shoreline into water, featuring a "cradle" onto which a ship is first floated, and a mechanism to haul the ship, attached to the cradle, out of the water onto a slip. The m ...
called the
Dartmouth Marine Slips The Dartmouth Marine Slips was an historic shipyard and marine railway which operated in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia between 1859 and 2003. It was noted for important wartime work during the American Civil War as well as during the Battle of the Atlantic ...
operated in Dartmouth Cove until replaced by high rise residential development.
* MARLANT operates the HMC Dockyard, Dockyard Annex, CFAD Bedford, and York Redoubt through
CFB Halifax
Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Halifax is Canada's east coast naval base and home port to the Royal Canadian Navy Atlantic fleet, known as Canadian Fleet Atlantic (CANFLTLANT), that forms part of the formation Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT).
It ...
. There are also military docking facilities located adjacent to the
Shearwater Heliport
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater , commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater and formerly named HMCS ''Shearwater'', is a Canadian Forces facility located east southeast of Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Hal ...
.
*
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 in ...
operated CCG Base Dartmouth, housing part of the Atlantic and Arctic fleets as well as pollution response and navigation aids maintenance facilities, until it was closed by 2012. All operations and vessels were shifted to BIO further North in the Harbour. The old base was transferred to the Provincial Government and is now operated as the COVE.
*
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
The Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) is a major Government of Canada ocean research facility located in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. BIO is the largest ocean research station in Canada. Established in 1962 as Canada's first, and currently la ...
maintains docking facilities for various government scientific vessels. Shannon Hill, above the BIO campus is also home to CCG's "Halifax Marine Communications and Traffic Services" which operates Halifax Coast Guard Radio and the Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) centre ("Halifax Traffic"), providing continuous radar coverage of all harbour activity.
* There are several marinas on the harbour:
**
Armdale Yacht Club
The Armdale Yacht Club is a yacht club located on Melville Island, at the head of Halifax Harbour's Northwest Arm in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Club's property has a history dating to 1732.
Melville Island
Since the arrival of European settlers ...
(
Northwest Arm
The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.
Geography
Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 ...
)
** Bedford Basin Yacht Club (Bedford)
**
Dartmouth Yacht Club (
Wrights Cove)-
Burnside
**
Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron
The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron (RNSYS) is a yacht club, the oldest in the Americas, and is located on the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
History
Originally established as the Halifax Yacht Club in 1837, the c ...
(
Northwest Arm
The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.
Geography
Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 ...
)
*
Shearwater Yacht Club(
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae
The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwa ...
)
** St. Mary's Boat Club (
Northwest Arm
The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.
Geography
Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 ...
)
**
Waegwoltic Club (
Northwest Arm
The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.
Geography
Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 ...
)
* There are 2 Automated
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...
s within the harbour
**
McNabs Island
McNabs Island (formerly Cornwallis Island) is the largest island in Halifax Harbour located in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It played a major role in defending Halifax Harbour and is now a provincial park. The island was set ...
**
Weather buoy
Weather buoys are instruments which collect weather and ocean data within the world's oceans, as well as aid during emergency response to chemical spills, legal proceedings, and engineering design. Moored buoys have been in use since 1951, while ...
Station 44258
Pollution
![Fog&sunHFX2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Fog%26sunHFX2011.jpg)
Halifax Harbour has long been polluted as a result of two centuries of direct raw sewage discharge into its waters. The harbour's deep water, tidal dispersal of surface wastes and a relatively small population of the
city of Halifax
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
resulted in the harbour's presenting few health concerns until the late 20th century when sewage build-up caused the shut-down of all harbour beaches.
The
Harbour Solutions project, initiated in the year 2000, was the culmination of three decades of discussion and planning regarding how the urban area would solve the expensive problem of sewage treatment and disposal. The $400 million project was expected to be completed in late 2008 when the final of three new treatment plants was opened.
Testing of harbour waters in July 2008, with two of the three sewage treatment plants on-line, indicated that they are safe for swimming. Municipal public beaches at Black Rock Beach in
Point Pleasant Park
Point Pleasant Park is a large, mainly forested municipal park at the southern tip of the Halifax peninsula. It once hosted several artillery batteries, and still contains the Prince of Wales Tower - the oldest Martello tower in North America ( ...
and at the Dingle Beach in
Sir Sandford Fleming Park
Sir Sandford Fleming Park is a Canadian urban park located in the community of Jollimore in Halifax Regional Municipality. It is also known as Dingle Park, named after the town of Dingle in southwestern Ireland. The park was donated to the peo ...
were officially re-opened on Saturday, August 2, 2008 (Natal Day weekend) after a 30-year closure due to sewage contamination in the water. Lifeguards are now providing supervision during regular hours through to Labour Day weekend. However repeated breakdowns in the new system have resulted in swimming bans being regularly re-imposed and periodic resumption of raw sewage discharge. From early 2009 on swimming was no longer allowed in the harbour because the plant flooded and stopped working.
On the weekend of July 4, 2010 some beaches (like Black Rock Beach) reopened.
Shipwrecks
![Halifax Explosion blast cloud](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Halifax_Explosion_blast_cloud.jpg)
Halifax Harbour is noted for many
shipwrecks
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
both in the inner and outer harbour. A few ships were sunk at the edge of the harbour approaches during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s but the vast majority were claimed by harbour accidents. Mapping of the harbour revealed about 45 shipwrecks in the harbour. Near the mouth of the harbour, over 50 magnetic anomalies have been discovered, most of which also represent shipwrecks with many others buried underneath the muddy sediments. All historic shipwrecks in Halifax Harbour are protected by Nova Scotia's Special Places Act which makes it illegal to remove artifacts without a permit. Noteworthy wrecks are listed chronologically (with sinking dates):
* SS ''Havana'', April 26, 1906: Rammed by the steamer ''Strathcona'', at night while anchored.
* ''Deliverance'', June 15, 1917
* blown up in the
Halifax Explosion
On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...
of December 6, 1917, the world's largest man-made accidental explosion. Fragments remain.
* ''Good Hope'', March 16, 1929
* ''Kaaparen'', June 14, 1942: Collision while forming a convoy.
* , July 6, 1943: shipyard tug sunk by collision in
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford.
Geography
Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within th ...
, 19 lives lost.
* , December 22, 1944 by fire
* HMCS ''Clayoquot'', December 24, 1944
* Barge in Bedford Basin as the result of the
Bedford Magazine Explosion
The Bedford Magazine explosion was a conflagration resulting in a series of explosions from July 18 to 19, 1945, in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada. During World War II, the adjacent cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, provided heavy support for Can ...
of July 18, 1945.
* ''Athelviking'', torpedoed by the German
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
on January 14, 1945.
* SS ''British Freedom'', sunk the same day as ''Athelviking'' by ''U-1232''.
* ''Gertrude de Costa'', March 18, 1950
References
External links
Halifax Port Authority - official websiteHalifax-Dartmouth Bridge Commission documentary
Station 44258 - Halifax HarbourHome: Halifax HarbourFrom Natural Resources Canada
{{Authority control
Geography of Halifax, Nova Scotia
Ports and harbours of Nova Scotia
Tourist attractions in Halifax County, Nova Scotia
de:Hafen Halifax