Shubenacadie Valley

The Shubenacadie Valley is a Canadian rural region in central

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 ...

. The picturesque

Shubenacadie River The Shubenacadie River is a river in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has a meander length of approximately 72 km from its source at Shubenacadie Grand Lake to its mouth at the historic seaport village of Maitland on Cobequid Bay, site of the building ...

flows through the valley, which is framed by low hills from its source at

Shubenacadie Grand Lake Shubenacadie Grand Lake is a large Canadian lake straddling the Halifax Regional Municipality and Hants county on mainland Nova Scotia. It drains into the Shubenacadie River at its northeastern outlet. The lake is the seventh and largest lake i ...

in north-central Halifax County, then through a rolling landscape of rich soils left by glacial deposits through the border area of eastern

Hants County Hants County is an historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the West Hants Regional Municipality, and the Municipality of the District of East Hants. History Formation The county of Hants ...

and southwestern Colchester County. The valley is a historic transportation corridor in the province, having once been a

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

route for the

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

Nation and European settlers. The Shubenacadie River was incorporated into the ill-fated

Shubenacadie Canal The Shubenacadie Canal is a canal in central Nova Scotia, Canada. It links Halifax Harbour with the Bay of Fundy by way of the Shubenacadie River and Shubenacadie Grand Lake. Begun in 1826, it was not completed until 1861 and was closed in 1871. ...

system which linked the Atlantic coast to the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is the hi ...

until it was made redundant shortly after completion by the

Nova Scotia Railway The Nova Scotia Railway is a historic Canadian railway. It was composed of two lines, one connecting Richmond (immediately north of Halifax) with Windsor, the other connecting Richmond with Pictou Landing via Truro. The railway was incorpo ...

which was built through the valley; this railway was merged into the

Intercolonial Railway The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...

and today is owned and operated by

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

. During the 1970s, the

Highway 102 Route 102 or Highway 102 can refer to multiple roads: China * China National Highway 102 Canada * New Brunswick Route 102 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 102 * Nova Scotia Highway 102 * Ontario Highway 102 * Prince Edward Island Rou ...

expressway was constructed between Halifax and

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

to relieve traffic pressure on the historic Trunk 2. Resulting from its location astride the Halifax-Truro transportation corridor, the communities in the Shubenacadie Valley are experiencing a high rate of residential growth as they become a

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

/ exurban area of Halifax. The valley includes the following communities from the river's source to its outlet: *

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

* Elmsdale * Lantz * Dutch Settlement *

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

* Indian Brook Reserve * Shubenacadie *

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

{{Coord, 45, 5, 10.9, N, 63, 24, 28.9, W, scale:500000, display=title Valleys of Nova Scotia Landforms of Colchester County Landforms of Halifax, Nova Scotia Landforms of Hants County, Nova Scotia Landforms of Halifax County, Nova Scotia