Blonde Rock is a
shoal
In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...
off the south-eastern tip 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 ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It is located at position 43° 20′ 28″ N, 65° 59′ 10″ W, and roughly south-southeast of
Seal Island.
At a low
spring tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables ...
, only two feet of the rock are above water.
The shoal was named after British Royal Navy frigate , which was wrecked on the shoal on 21 January 1782.
The 60 American prisoners on board HMS ''Blonde'' made their way to
Seal Island, Nova Scotia. American privateer
Noah Stoddard in the Scammell rescued them and controversially allowed the British crew to return to Halifax in HMS ''Observer'', (which was involved in the
Naval battle off Halifax en route), leading to his later exile in Nova Scotia as a
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
.
[Thomas Head Raddall. "Adventures of H.M.S. ''Blonde'' in Nova Scotia, 1778–1782". ''Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society''. 1966.]
References
{{coord, 43, 20, 28, N, 65, 59, 10, W, type:isle_region:CA-NS, display=title
Landforms of Nova Scotia
Shoals of Canada