Isle Haute

Isle Haute in Nova Scotia

Isle Haute is a remote island in the middle of upper Bay of Fundy near the entrance to the Minas Basin, 16 kilometers from the coast of Harbourville and 8 kilometers south-southwest of Cape Chignecto, Nova Scotia. The island is part of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia and is 3 km long and 0.4 km wide. The Mi'kmaq used the island to make stone tools before Europeans arrived and called the island "Maskusetik", meaning place of wild potatoes.[1] Samuel de Champlain gave the present name to the island, meaning in French "High Island", in 1604 when he observed the towering bluffs, timber and fresh-water springs. The steep 100 m (328 ft) basalt cliffs of the island are the result from volcanic eruptions in the Jurassic period and may have been connected to the North Mountain volcanic ridge on the mainland 200 million years ago, before the Bay of Fundy was formed.

Image taken at low tide at Harbourville, Nova Scotia

In 1878, a lighthouse was built and was manned until 1956, when fire collapsed the lighthouse and home of the lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse was replaced by a steel tower and is unmanned. Federally owned, the island is being transferred from the Canadian Coast Guard to the Canadian Wildlife Service to protect its unique ecosystem. The island is also protected under Nova Scotia's Special Places Act to protect early Mi'kmaw archaeological sites. Digging without an archaeological permit or removal of artifacts is prohibited.[2]

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Coordinates: 45°15′5.92″N 65°0′20.41″W / 45.2516444°N 65.0056694°W / 45.2516444; -65.0056694


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