The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern

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 ...

off the

Atlantic Ocean 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

Part of

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...

, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 km in width and defines the western side of the

Halifax Peninsula The Halifax Peninsula is peninsula within the urban area of the Municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia. History The town of Halifax was founded by the British government under the direction of the Board of Trade and Plantations under the com ...

. The waterway is oriented along a bearing of 135° (southeast) and 315° (northwest). The Northwest Arm contains several small islands including Melville Island, home 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 ...

, and Deadman's Island, at the northwestern end near Armdale. There is a large breakwater, constructed from slate bedrock, located adjacent to South Street called the Fyfe Breakwater after the late local naturalist TLC Ratt-Fyfe. There is a public beach (the only one on the Arm) located at Sir Sanford Fleming Park which has only recently been deemed safe for swimming since the Harbor Solutions Project began operations in 2008.

History

The Mi'kmaq Nation called this water body "Waygwalteech" which translates to "salt water all the way up." Early English settlers called it the "Sandwich River" and also the "Hawkes River." The

Mi'kmaq people The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's ...

attacked the British blockhouse on the Northwest Arm numerous times during

Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Briti ...

. In 1751, there were two attacks on blockhouses surrounding Halifax. Mi'kmaq attacked the North Blockhouse (located at the north end of Joseph Howe Drive) and killed the men on guard. They also attacked near the South Blockhouse (located at the south end of Joseph Howe Drive), at a sawmill on a stream flowing out of Chocolate Lake into the Northwest Arm. They killed two men.
Map of Halifax Blockhouses
In 1753, when Lawrence became governor, the Mi'kmaq attacked again upon the sawmills near the South Blockhouse on the Northwest Arm, where they killed three British. The Mi'kmaq made three attempts to retrieve the bodies for their scalps.Thomas Atkins. History of Halifax City. Brook House Press. 2002 (reprinted 1895 edition). p 209 It was officially named the North West Arm on 1 March 1921 and it was changed to Northwest Arm on 4 April 1933.

Shoreline development

Much of the shoreline of the Northwest Arm, referred to locally as "the Arm," is fronted by private residences. The Northwest Arm is the location of several parks.

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 ( ...

at the southern entrance to the Arm on the Halifax Peninsula.

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 ...

on the western shoreline contains the Dingle Memorial Tower which, in 1908, commemorated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

in Nova Scotia, the first colony in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

to do so.

Deadman's Island Park Deadman's Island is a small peninsula containing a cemetery and park located in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia, Canada. The area was first used as a training grounds for the British military, and later became a burial ground ...

commemorates

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soldiers who died while imprisoned on the island during the

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 ...

. The

Atlantic School of Theology Atlantic School of Theology (AST) is a Canadian public ecumenical university that provides graduate level theological education and undertakes research to assist students to prepare for Christian ministries and other forms of public leadership. ...

also maintains its campus along the southern part of the arm. The Northwest Arm is the location of four marinas: *

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 ...

* Waegwoltic Club

References

{{coord, 44, 38, 13.65, N, 63, 36, 30.03, W, display=title Landforms of Halifax, Nova Scotia Landforms of Halifax County, Nova Scotia Inlets of Canada