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Five Islands is a
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...
community in
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 ...
,
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 with a population of 316 located on the north shore of
Minas Basin The Minas Basin () is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides. Geography The Minas Basin forms the eastern part of the Bay of Fundy which splits ...
, home of the highest
tides 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 ...
in the world. It is named after five small islands – Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg, and Pinnacle – located just off the coast. The islands are an exposed part of the North Mountain Basalt. Moose Island is in Colchester County. The remaining islands are in Cumberland County. Beyond Pinnacle Island is a seastack called Pinnacle Rock. The Five Islands Provincial Park includes Moose and Diamond Islands. Five Islands had a
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...
in operation from 1914 to 1999. It was moved several times due to erosion. The lighthouse has since been preserved by a community group. Native
Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...
legend has it that the Five Islands were created when their god
Glooscap Glooscap (variant forms and spellings ''Gluskabe'', ''Glooskap'', ''Gluskabi'', ''Kluscap'', ''Kloskomba'', or ''Gluskab'') is a legendary figure of the Wabanaki peoples, native peoples located in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Atlantic Ca ...
threw the mud, sticks and stones at the giant beaver who dammed his medicine garden in
Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...
. The mud, sticks and stones that formed the islands are said to have trapped the beaver in one of the islands and turned it into gold.


Economy

The main sources of income in Five Islands are from natural resources including blueberries, fishing, and clam harvesting and processing. Tourism is also important, with several restaurants and campgrounds in the area. In the late 1800s there was a large
barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...
mine, (called "barytes" at the time by the locals) on the Bass River called the Duncan/Eureka Mine. The barite was used in the Henderson & Potts (later Brandram-Henderson) Paint Factory, located in Lower Five Islands. Later, barite was shipped to Halifax and the United States for its use in paint manufacturing.


Moose Island

Seniors living in the community recall youthful memories of Moose Island deriving its name from stories of the island having supported a
moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
herd until shortly after settlers inhabited the surrounding areas. There are other legends relating to this island as well but this seems to be the most laudable to many who have lived there many years ago. Moose Island was the only one of the five ever to be inhabited and carries with it the most tangible tale of intrigue. Early in the 1800s, John Ruff, a Scotsman, settled this outpost with his family. He cleared much of the forest and established a modest mixed farm, supplying the coastal village with produce, wood and charcoal. He was reputed to be a hard, cruel person, and rumors circulated that he abused his wife and children. When he died a violent death, suspicions arose that he had been murdered by his son. A controversial trial led to acquittal, and afterwards the family moved to the mainland, carrying the unresolved mystery with them. Legend has John Ruff's spirit stalking the long overgrown fields during misty, moonless nights in search of vengeance. On a dark night on the beach, some people have said that they could see a light that walks the shore of the island.


Diamond Island


Long Island

In 2003 Long Island was purchased by Dick Lemon, who wanted to build on its top, above the sea bed, a retreat for artists, writers, musicians and academics. The cliffs prohibited access except by a rope assisted scramble up a muddy draw. The sea, being in the
Bay of Fundy The Bay of 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 tidal range is the highest in the world. The bay was ...
's tide reach, is deep at high tide and empty at low tide, so boat access to the island is limited each day to a four-hour window, namely the high tide during daylight. When the tide is low, people on Long Island can walk or run on the sea bed for miles. Taking advantage of the extreme tides, Lemon in 2007 began a charity event called Not Since Moses, a 5K and 10K run from Long and Moose Islands through the sea bed to shore. Meanwhile, beginning in 2004, local workers began creating a retreat on Long Island. A helicopter carried heavy equipment including a tent for workers to live in during the construction (since they could not practically travel daily to and from the island). Then, to begin, locals hung from the cliffs and pounded in supports for 194 steps rising from the sea to the island's top. A lift was designed by Dennis Ross, the project manager, who had retired as a corrections officer at the nearby prison in Springhill. The locally built lift ultimately hauled 25 tons of gravel, about of lumber, and another 20 tons of furniture and furnishings and all else needed for a three bedroom two bath main house plus four sleeping cabins. These include a miniature lighthouse, a cabin built in the shape of a river boat edged over a cliff, a perch cabin on a promontory and a caretakers cabin. Ross oversaw the construction, the drilling with a specialty rig of two wells and the installation of a solar and generator power system for the main house which enjoys all the comforts of a modern home including full kitchen. The retreat is used May through October by users such as the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design, Ships Company Theatre, St. Mary's University and various groups which have included private tourists. During the night of 19 October 2015, the hole that had been in Long Island collapsed.


Egg Island


Pinnacle Island

Pinnacle Island is home to a colony of gulls.


Geology

The islands and the park are composed of basalt resting on top of Triassic age sandstone. The boundary between the two formations runs through the islands. Moose and Pinnacle show both sandstone and basalt, Diamond and Long are all basalt, and Egg is all sandstone. The basalts contain minerals that are interesting to rockhounds including
agate Agate ( ) is a banded variety of chalcedony. Agate stones are characterized by alternating bands of different colored chalcedony and sometimes include macroscopic quartz. They are common in nature and can be found globally in a large number of d ...
,
zeolites Zeolites are a group of several Microporous material, microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorption, adsorbents and Catalysis, catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the ge ...
such as
stilbite Stilbite is the name of a series of tectosilicate minerals of the zeolite group. Prior to 1997, stilbite was recognized as a mineral species, but a reclassification in 1997 by the International Mineralogical Association changed it to a series nam ...
and
gmelinite Gmelinite is a series of rare zeolite minerals. The most common member is gmelinite-Na; others are gmelinite-Ca and gmelinite-K. It is closely related to the very similar mineral chabazite. Gmelinite was named as a single species in 1825 after C ...
, and
calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
. On the mainland, slightly inland from the community, the land rises quickly. This is the
Cobequid Fault The Cobequid Fault is a fault that is the extension of the Chedabucto Fault. This fault runs from Truro to Cape Chignecto south of the Cobequid Hills. Both the Cobequid fault and the Chedabucto Fault form the Minas Fault zone splitting Nova Sco ...
. Barite and calcite are found in some of the ravines.


Lighthouse

Five Islands is home to one lighthouse at Five Islands Lighthouse Park. The existing tower was originally built in 1914, and later moved in 1952 and 1957. Having deteriorated over the years, the tower was saved from being demolished by the Five Islands Lighthouse Preservation Society and moved to the Sand Point campground as a tourist attraction in 1996. In 2008, the Five Islands Lighthouse was moved to a nearby municipal park, becoming the focal point of said park.


Notable people

Purdy Crawford (born Five Islands 1931, died Toronto 2014), lawyer, business executive, philanthropist.


References


External links


Lighthouse Depot online with a photograph and information on Five Islands lighthouseGeology and Virtual Field Trip of Five Islands Provincial Park
{{coord, 45, 24, 43, N, 64, 02, 13, W, region:CA-NS_type:city, display=title Communities in Colchester County Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia