The St. Mary's River is a river in the Canadian province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. At approximately , it is one of Nova Scotia's longest rivers. It runs through

Guysborough County Guysborough County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The area was first inhabited by the indigenous Mi'kmaq, and was colonized by France in the 17th century. Following the defeat of France in North America, the area w ...

Antigonish County Antigonish County is a historical county and Census divisions of Canada, census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the Municipality of the County of Antigonish, the Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Antigonish, and b ...

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

Colchester County Colchester County ( Scottish-Gaelic: Siorramachd Colchester) is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 51,476 the county is the fourth largest in Nova Scotia. Colchester County is located in north central Nova Sc ...

and

Pictou County Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Further ...

and drains into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

at Sonora, Nova Scotia. The river drains an area of approximately and has four branches; the West, East, North and Main. It offers important

Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

habitat and the riverbanks are a habitat for the

wood turtle The wood turtle (''Glyptemys insculpta'') is a species of turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is native to northeastern North America. The genus '' Glyptemys'' contains only one other species of turtle: the bog turtle (''Glyptemys muhle ...

.Sean C. Mitchell
''St. Mary's River Hydrology''
, St. Mary's River Association Technical Report #001, 2009 There are an estimated 130 lakes in the St. Mary's watershed, ranging in size from less than to (Lochaber Lake). The largest lakes, all on the East and North branches, are the Lochaber, Lochiel, Eden and Archibald's Mills Lakes. Named Rivère Isle Verte by explorer

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

, C. Bruce Fergusson
"St. Mary's River"
''Place Names of Nova Scotia'', 1967 the current name is from Fort Saint Marie, a French-built fort which was later taken over and destroyed by the British. There was also a Fort Saint Charles on the river nearby; both were 17th century forts. Atlantic salmon, an endangered species, inhabit the river. There are efforts under way by the Nova Scotia Nature Trust to protect ecologically important lands along the river.

References

{{authority control Landforms of Guysborough County, Nova Scotia Landforms of Pictou County Rivers of Nova Scotia

See also

References