South Mountain (French: ''Montagne du Sud''; Gaelic: ''Beinn a Deas'') is a Canadian range on the
mainland portion of Nova Scotia. A
granitic
A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quart ...
ridge stretching from the
Annapolis Basin
The Annapolis Basin is a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy, located on the bay's southeastern shores, along the northwestern shore of Nova Scotia and at the western end of the Annapolis Valley.
The basin takes its name from the Annapolis River, which ...
to
Mount Uniacke
Mount Uniacke is an unincorporated community in Hants County, Nova Scotia Canada. It lies about 40 km to the north of Halifax.
Uniacke Pizza, Uniacke District School, the Guardian Pharmacy, Eddies, Uniacke Library, Uniacke Pines Golf Cour ...
, it forms the southern edge of the
Annapolis Valley
The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. St ...
and shelters the valley from the climate effects of the
pelagic coast along 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 ...
. Together with
North Mountain, the two ranges form the Annapolis Highlands region.
In contrast to its northern counterpart,
North Mountain, South Mountain rises gradually over dozens of kilometres from the Atlantic coast and descends sharply at its northern edge where it meets the
Meguma strata to form the south wall of the valley. The South Mountain range is also known as the South Mountain
Batholith
A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, such ...
, the largest body of granitoid rocks in the entire
Appalachians
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
and comprises both granite barrens and granite uplands. It is estimated to have developed during the late
Devonian Age.
The highest point on the ridge is at an unnamed point in
Kings County, 26 kilometres southeast of
Berwick near
Lake George.
See also
*
List of highest points of Canadian provinces and territories
This is a list of the highest points of the Canadian provinces and territories, by height.
;Notes
*Fairweather Mountain is the officially gazetted name, but Mount Fairweather is the common usage. Mount Fairweather is on the boundary with Alaska, ...
*
Goler clan
The Golers are a clan of poor, rural families in Canada, on Nova Scotia's South Mountain, near Wolfville, known for inter-generational poverty and the conviction in the 1980s of many family members for sexual abuse and incest.
Background
The ...
External links
Atlas of Canada - Facts about mountains
Mountains of Nova Scotia
Landforms of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
Landforms of Digby County, Nova Scotia
Landforms of Hants County, Nova Scotia
Landforms of Kings County, Nova Scotia
Geology of Nova Scotia
Mountains of Canada under 1000 metres
{{AnnapolisNS-geo-stub