Miscou Island (french: Île Miscou) is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of Gloucester County, New Brunswick. It is separated from neighbouring Lamèque Island to the southwest by the Miscou Channel with both islands forming

Miscou Harbour Miscou Island (french: Île Miscou) is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of Gloucester County, New Brunswick. It is separated from neighbouring Lamèque Island to the southwest by the Miscou Channel with both ...

. Lamèque Island and Miscou Island separate

Chaleur Bay frame, Satellite image of Chaleur Bay (NASA). Chaleur Bay is the large bay in the centre of the image; the Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and the Gulf of St. Lawrence is seen to the east.">Gulf_of_St._Lawrence.html" ;"title="Gaspé Peninsula ...

from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Miscou Island is from the Mi'kmaq 'Susqu,' meaning "low land" or "boggy marsh". "It forms an admirable descriptive name, for the most striking fact about the physical geography of Miscou is the prevalence of open bogs..." (Ganong) The Miscou Channel is bridged between the community of Little Shippegan on Lamèque Island to the community of

on Miscou Island by the Miscou Island Bridge which opened in 1996, replacing a cable ferry and physically connecting Route 113. The island has formed its own

local service district A local service district is a type of designated place in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a local service district is a defined area led by an elected committee responsible for the deliv ...

since 1980.

History

The Miscou Island area was one of the first areas explored by

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French-Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of th ...

in 1534 and was a fishing base for Basque fishermen in the same period. A Jesuit mission was established at Miscou Harbour in 1634. It was an important, although seasonal, port of commerce in its early years of European exploration of Canada. Natives were allegedly frightened to go to the island due to the legendary GouGou monster which inhabited Miscou and which they feared greatly. Despite this native hunters annually overcame their fear of the monster to set up seasonal camps on the island. The first permanent settler was John Campbell who emigrated from Scotland and moved there around 1817. Soon after came Robert Harper, John Marks, Thomas Cowan and Andrew Wilson, the first 3 of which married Campbell's daughters. They were followed by fishermen from the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey who processed codfish at the Northern tip of the island to ship back to Europe and Acadians who settled on more arable lands in the interior. On April 28, 1939, Vladimir Kokkinaki, flying a Russian monoplane made an emergency crash landing on the island, while attempting a non-stop flight from Moscow to New York, later known as the "Moscow-Miscou" flight.

Community

Miscou had a population of 585 full-time residents in 2011 and a population of 530 in 2016, reflecting the falling population numbers of Northern NB. The majority speak French as a first language Francophones, about 20 percent of the population list English as their first language. A tourism information centre is located at Miscou Harbour and open during the summer months. There are campgrounds and restaurants open seasonally, as well as cottage rentals. The major industry is fishing, primarily

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

and

herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...

. Unlike neighbouring areas the peat moss on the island has not been harvested and is left in its natural state. There are several boardwalks and information areas located on the peat moss and other interesting natural habitats on the island. The island is also known for the

Miscou Island Lighthouse Miscou Island Lighthouse is an -tall landfall lighthouse located on the North-Eastern tip of Miscou Island, at the entrance of the Chaleur Bay. It was built in 1856 and currently in use by the Canadian Coast Guard who owns the lighthouse, the lan ...

, which was built in 1856 and is located at the northeastern tip of the island. In the summer it is open for guided tours, there is also a cafe and gift shop. The lighthouse was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1974. Miscou Island won a 2010 Phoenix Award honouring conservation efforts in the North American tourism industry. It was described as "one of the single most beautiful spots in the world."2010 Phoenix Award winners
Society of American Travel Writers. The island's sand dunes and lagoons host a variety of migratory birds, including the rare piping plover, Charadrius melodus melodus, making the island a favourite location for

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

and naturalists. Miscou is a favourite spot for kitesurfing, kayaking, and for sport-fishing of striped-bass.

References

External links

Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival
{{coord, 47, 57, N, 64, 32, W, region:CA_type:isle, display=title Coastal islands of New Brunswick Landforms of Gloucester County, New Brunswick Local service districts of Gloucester County, New Brunswick

History

Community

See also

References

External links