The Bonavista Peninsula is a large peninsula on the east coast of the island of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. It consists of 50 incorporated towns/unincorporated communities which have a population of 12,176 as of the 2016 Canadian Census. Bonavista is the largest population centre on the peninsula. The peninsula runs 85 km northeast from a 19 km wide

isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus ...

and measures between 15–40 km in width. It separates

Bonavista Bay Bonavista Bay (BB) is a large bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. It opens directly onto the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is demarcated by Cape Freels to the nor ...

in the north from Trinity Bay to the south.

Geography

Starting at the Trinity Bay side it commences at the northeastern part of the bay at Shoal Harbour, immediately north of

Clarenville Clarenville is a town on the east coast of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Clarenville was incorporated in 1951. It is located in the Shoal Harbour valley, fronting an arm of the Atlantic Ocean called Random S ...

. Continuing east the peninsula's south shore includes the communities of

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

and Catalina, with

Port Rexton Port Rexton is a small town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the East Coast of the island of Newfoundland at the north end of Robinhood Bay, about 10 minutes east of Trinity and 3 hours north of St. John's ...

Robinhood Bay Robinhood Bay is a natural bay off the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It cuts into the southern shore of Bonavista Peninsula The Bonavista Peninsula is a large peninsula on the east coast of the ...

between them, ending at its easternmost tip at

Cape Bonavista Cape Bonavista is a headland located on the east coast of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located at the northeastern tip of the Bonavista Peninsula, which separates Trinity Bay to the south ...

. The north shore of the peninsula includes the communities of Bonavista, Summerville and

Musgravetown Musgravetown (pop: 561 in 2021) an incorporated municipality in the sheltered southwest corner of Bonavista Bay on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Demographics In th ...

Port Blandford Port Blandford is a town in eastern Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division No. 7 on Clode Sound. The population in 1940 was 539, and increased to 631 by 1956. Climate Port Blandford has a humid continental climate ...

. The highways servicing the Bonavista Peninsula are Route 230 - Discovery Trail & Route 235 - Cabot Highway. Local roads include Route 232, Route 233, Route 234, Route 236, Route 237, Route 238 & Route 239. The

Newfoundland Railway The Newfoundland Railway operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow-gauge railway system in North America. Early construction ] In 1880, a committee of the Newfoundland Leg ...

also had a branch built from Clarenville to Bonavista, later called the Bonavista Subdivision by Canadian National Railway, CN Rail's

Terra Transport Terra Transport (TT) was the name for the ''Newfoundland Transportation Division'', a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian National Railway (CN), created in 1979 as a means to organize the company's operations on Newfoundland. Background Canadia ...

division. It was abandoned in 1984, four years before the railway's mainline was abandoned across the island.

History

This peninsula contains some of the oldest settlements on the island of

, particularly the towns of Bonavista and Trinity.

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

explorer

John Cabot John Cabot ( it, Giovanni Caboto ; 1450 – 1500) was an Italian navigator and explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England is the earliest-known European exploration of coastal Nor ...

is reported to have landed at Cape Bonavista in 1497 claiming this part of the New World for the King of England.Whiffen, Bruce, ''Prime Berth: An Account of Bonavista's Early Years''. Harry Cuff Publications Limited, St John's, A1C 2H2. 1993. . page 4: "There are no contemporary documents to directly support this story."

Economy

The communities and towns on the Bonavista Peninsula are in a slow decline as the importance of the fishing industry decreases. Geographically isolated from major population centres, the provincial government has been attempting to diversify the local economy; most notably in tourism where the region is blessed with spectacular landscapes adjacent to the ocean.

Incorporated Towns

The following is a list of the 9 incorporated towns on the Bonavista Peninsula by population in the 2021 Canadian Census. * Bonavista - 3,190 *

Trinity Bay North Trinity Bay North is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located at the northern tip of Trinity Bay. The town had a population of 1,649 in the Canada 2021 Census. History Trinity Bay North was incorporated in 20 ...

- 1,649 *George's Brook-Milton - 719 *

- 561 *

- 361 * Elliston - 315 *

- 76 *

King's Cove King's Cove is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The post office was established in 1851. Its founder was James Aylward from Keels, who was born in Ireland in county Cork in 1690. His direct descendants still live in ...

- 75 * Keels - 46

Communities

The following is a list of the 41 unincorporated communities on the Bonavista Peninsula by population in the 2021 Canadian Census. *Bloomfield - 431 *Bunyan's Cove - 330 *Canning's Cove - 157 *Dunfield - 120 *Burgoynes Cove - 114 *Newman's Cove - 111 *Spillars Cove - 80 *Trinity East - 79 *Upper Amherst Cove - 58 *Duntara - 36 *Birchy Cove - 25 *Middle Amherst Cove *Lower Amherst Cove *Hodderville *Knight's Cove *Stock Cove *Open Hall *Red Cliffe *Tickle Cove *Plate Cove East *Plate Cove West *Summerville *Princeton *Southern Bay *Charleston *Sweet Bay *English Harbour *Champney's *Champney's West *Trouty *Old Bonaventure *New Bonaventure *Lethbridge *Portland *Jamestown *Winter Brook *Brooklyn *Morleys Siding *Harcourt *Monroe *Waterville

References