Brier Island is an island in the Bay of Fundy in

Digby County, Nova Scotia Digby County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. History It was named after the Township of Digby; this was named in honour of Rear Admiral Robert Digby, who dispatched HMS ''Atalanta'' to convey Loyalists from New York City in ...

Geography

The island is the westernmost part of

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 ...

and the southern end of the North Mountain ridge with Long Island lying immediately northeast; both islands constitute part of the

Digby Neck Digby Neck is a Canadian peninsula extending into the Bay of Fundy in Digby County, Nova Scotia. Digby Neck is the western extension of the North Mountain range from the Annapolis Valley and is made of two thick lava flows. It is separated from ...

. Brier Island measures approximately long and wide and is made up of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

The island's shoreline measures approximately in length. Brier Island is separated from Long Island by the Grand Passage. Westport is the only village on the island. The population, as of 2016 was 218. There were 98 private dwellings occupied year round. The island is an important stopover point for migrating sea birds. The island's name is believed by some to come from the wild brier roses found there, another possibility is that the original name of the Island was "Bryer's" after a sea captain from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

who was one of the first settlers to spend any time on the island.

Economy

The local economy is driven by the year-round commercial

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

industry and the seasonal tourism industry, which is largely focused on

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

tours. The island is home to R. E. Robicheau Ltd, a general store with a gas pump, gift shop, and café. On the eastern side of the island is the one hotel, the Brier Island Lodge. There are also several bed and breakfasts, a used book store and gift shops. The island contains the fishing village of Westport which is connected to Freeport on Long Island by a ferry operated by the provincial government. Brier Island Lighthouse (1)

Brier Island is frequently inundated by fog and has witnessed 57 recorded shipwrecks. The island has "a lighthouse per mile" with the Northern and Western lighthouses on the island, as well as the

Peter Island lighthouse Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

in Grand Passage; all are automated and are operated by the

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; french: links=no, Garde côtière canadienne, GCC) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues ...

. The wreck of the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

"Aurora" in 1908 provided the lumber for the Westport Community Hall. The Canadian Coast Guard operates CCG Station Westport in the village. The rescue cutter CCGC ''Westport'' provides 24-hour-per-day, 7 days per week response to search and rescue incidents within the eastern

Gulf of Maine , image = , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = GulfofMaine2.jpg , alt_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = Major features of the Gulf of Maine , location = Northeast coast of the ...

and the southern and eastern Bay of Fundy.

Public library

*Westport Branch Library; Westport

Famous residents

Brier Island was the childhood home of sailor Joshua Slocum who became the first person to circumnavigate the world alone. A monument to Slocum and the bootshop where he worked as a boy can be seen in Westport.

Ecology

The endangered Eastern mountain avens is present on Brier Island.

References