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Gaspereau is a 
Gaspereau is primarily an agricultural community, hosting dairy farms and apple orchards. In recent years many grape
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
community located in Kings County, 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.
It is located about 3 km south of the town of Wolfville
Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School.
The town is a tourist destination du ...
on the Gaspereau River
The Gaspereau River is a river in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
It has a length of approximately 24 km from its source at Gaspereau Lake on the South Mountain south of Kentville to its mouth at Hortonville on the Minas Basin. The lowe ...
. The name "Gaspereau" is often used to refer to all of the communities along the 15 km Gaspereau Valley which include Gaspereau, Wallbrook, Melanson, Benjamin Bridge and White Rock.
The name is derived from the Gaspereau fish
The alewife (''Alosa pseudoharengus'') is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenus ''Pomolobus'' of the genus ''Alosa''. As an adult it is a marin ...
, ''Alosa pseudoharengus'',
which migrates up the river every spring. The fishing of Gaspereau has
been important to human settlement of the Gaspereau Valley for thousands
of years.
When the Acadians
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...
came here around 1680, they named the
fish and the area "Gasparot". There is still a commercial fishery
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
for
Gaspereau in the river.
The term "Rivière des Gasparots" is mentioned in a 1701 census of Acadia.
Gaspereau is primarily an agricultural community, hosting dairy farms and apple orchards. In recent years many grape vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
s have been established and there is more than one winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...
in the village. Gaspereau Vineyards
Gaspereau Vineyards is a small winery located in the Gaspereau River Valley of Nova Scotia run by Gina Haverstock. The vineyard encompasses and is 3 kilometres from downtown Wolfville. It is one of several Nova Scotia wine, wineries in Nova Sco ...
, opened in 2004, and L'Acadie Vineyards, opened in 2008, are both popular destinations in the village of Gaspereau.
The Gaspereau River is also known for tubing. During the hot summer months residents and visitors float on inner-tubes down through lush, tranquil river scenery when the river is high. Visitors can often rent tubes from nearby houses, but they should also be aware that the river is part of nature, not a theme-park: depending on the activity of the hydro dam that controls water levels and flow in the river there can be areas of powerful flow, overhanging obstacles or protruding rocks. Non-swimmers should wear life jackets and be in the company of competent swimmers.
Gaspereau is also home to a canal (referred to as "The Canal" or "The Gaspereau Canal" or "White Rock Canal"). The 1.5 km long canal brings water from the White Rock reservoir to the hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...
generating station.
{{coord, 45, 3, 57.51, N, 64, 21, 9.01, W, display=title
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