St. Margarets Bay is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

located on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast 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 on the border of Halifax County (

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

) and Lunenburg County (

Municipality of the District of Chester The Municipality of the District of Chester is a Nova Scotia district municipality occupying the northeastern half of Lunenburg County, Canada. The district boundary was originally drawn for court sessional purposes, before the existence of ...

Description

Opening south directly onto the Atlantic, the bay's eastern shore is formed by the

Chebucto Peninsula The Chebucto Peninsula is a peninsula located in central Nova Scotia, Canada, entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality on the Atlantic coast. It is bordered by St. Margarets Bay in the west, the open Atlantic Ocean to the south, and ...

and its western shore by the

Aspotogan Peninsula The Aspotogan Peninsula () is a peninsula in the eastern part of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, separating St. Margarets Bay in the east from Mahone Bay in the west. The peninsula was originally settled by second generation French immigrants on ...

, while the head of the bay (the northern shore) is the main part of the

Nova Scotia peninsula The Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America. It is called ''Enmigtaqamu'g'' in the Mi'kmaw language. Location The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the ...

. The bay's shoreline is mostly rocky, although the head of the bay offers several sandy beaches at Queensland, Black Point and Cleveland; another sandy beach exists on the western shore of the bay at Bayswater and there is a small sandy beach along the eastern shore on Micou's Island. St. Margarets Bay is a cruising destination for sailing yachts as its picturesque shorelines offer protection in many natural harbours, as well as anchorages in coves and near small islands.

Communities

Eastern Shore

Along the

(from south to north): *

Peggys Cove Peggy's Cove is a small rural community located on the eastern shore of St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, St. Margarets Bay in the Halifax Regional Municipality, which is the site of Peggys Cove Lighthouse (established 1868). Geography Peggy's C ...

* Indian Harbour * Hackett's Cove * Glen Margaret * Seabright * French Village * Glen Haven * Tantallon * Whynacht's Point *

Upper Tantallon Upper Tantallon (pronounced 'tan-TAL-en') is a suburban community that extends from the Hammonds Plains Road ( Route 213) to the crossroads of Trunk 3 and Route 333 within the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia Canada, west from Downto ...

Northern Shore

Along the head of the bay (from east to west): * Allen Heights * Todd's Island * Head of St. Margarets Bay * Mason's Point * Boutilier's Point * Ingramport * Black Point *

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

* Hubbards

Western Shore

Along the

(from north to south): * Fox Point * Mill Cove * Birchy Head * The Lodge * Northwest Cove * Southwest Cove * Aspotogan *

Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...

Islands

St. Margarets Bay contains numerous islands, particularly along its eastern shore. These islands were historically used by the

Mi'kmaq Nation The Mi'kmaq Nation (formerly the Aroostook Band of Micmacs) is a US federally recognized tribe of Mi'kmaq people, based in Aroostook County, Maine. Their autonym is Ulustuk. Of the 28 bands of Mi'kmaq people, the Mi'kmaq Nation is the only one i ...

and some contain burial sites. The bay's larger islands are listed below: * Southwest Island * Horse Island * Shut-in Island * Croucher Island * Owls Head Island (connected to the mainland by a small bridge) * Moser's Island * Micou's Island

Swissair 111

The Swissair Flight 111 Memorial is located at The Whalesback, a promontory approximately 1 km northwest of Peggys Cove. It is one of two memorials built to commemorate the victims of the Swissair Flight 111 disaster, which crashed into St. Margarets Bay on 2 September 1998. The crash site is roughly equidistant between the Whalesback Memorial and another memorial at

Bayswater, Nova Scotia Bayswater is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula in Lunenburg County on the Lighthouse Route (Nova Scotia Route 329). The community is home to Bayswater Beac ...

, located on the

on the western shore of the bay, opposite Peggys Cove. The monument reads in English and French: "In memory of the 229 men, women and children aboard Swissair Flight 111 who perished off these shores September 2nd, 1998. They have been joined to the sea, and the sky. May they rest in peace." The site of the crash and the two monuments form a triangle. The three notches on the monument at Whalesback represent the numerals 111. The sight line from the three grooves in the stone points to the crash site, while the markings on the facing stone point to the memorial at Bayswater. The memorial wall at Bayswater lists the names of the passengers and crew. The facing stone points to the crash site.

War Plan Red

In the period between

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the US military drew up a series of Colour Coded War Plans based on likely global threats. War Plan Red denoted a planned attack against the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

and by extension War Plan Crimson which called for an invasion of Canada. The plan involved an attack on many fronts starting with a seaborne invasion of Halifax and Canada's Maritime provinces via St. Margarets Bay.

External links

Google Map-based guide to all of the islands in the Bay, including photos and ownership information.

Peggy's Cove Coastal Region
St. Margaret's Bay Regional Tourism Development Association

References

Nautical chart A nautical chart or hydrographic chart is a graphic representation of a sea region or water body and adjacent coasts or river bank, banks. Depending on the scale (map), scale of the chart, it may show depths of water (bathymetry) and heights of ...

#4386 ''St. Margarets Bay'', published by

Canadian Hydrographic Service ''Retired Canadian Hydrographic Service logo or crest'' The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) is part of the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and is Canada's authoritative hydrographic office. The CHS represents Canada in ...

, 2004 {{coord, 44, 35, N, 64, 00, W, name=St. Margarets Bay, display=title, type:waterbody_scale:250000_region:CA-NS Bays of Nova Scotia Landforms of Halifax, Nova Scotia Landforms of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia Landforms of Halifax County, Nova Scotia