Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador

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The Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador describes Newfoundland and Labrador's topography.

Relief of Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland is a large island lying off the east coast of North America between latitudes 46½°N and 52°N. It's capital is St. John, which is in the same latitude (47½°) as Quebec, Duluth, Seattle, Paris, and Sakhalin island in the Pacific. It is Canada's most easterly province, consisting of the island of Newfoundland and the mainland portion of Labrador. Newfoundland has a triangular shape, stretching 320 miles across, and covering 43,000 square miles. It can be described as the size of Pennsylvania, and larger than Ireland. It lies on the continental shelf of North America, as it is separated from Labrador by only 11 miles, and by Cape Breton by 70 miles.

Along the west coast lies an elongated block of the earth's crust (which is called a horst) that mostly rises to about 2,000 feet above sea level. This named Long Range on maps and can be bounded by crustal cracks or faults on both east and west sides. To the east is the Grand Lake and Deer lake. This is about 20 miles wide probably due to a blocking of the crust dropping down to form the Grand Lake graben (depression). The plateau in the Avalon Peninsula is on general level 1,200 feet, which is a large part of Newfoundland. It is an elevated peneplain, which has been elevated above sea level since relatively late geological time. Next, the plateau is joined by a fairly straight steep coastlines on the west, south, and south-east; in addition, these cracks are possibly caused along where the elevation has taken place. Many striking peaks or knobs are scattered over the plateau surfaces rising several hundred feet over general level. Best known is Maintopsail, close to the railway at its highest point.

It can be pointed out that on elevated surface such as the above, that is built of various ancient rocks, the likeness to produce good soils for agriculture in climate conditions is unlikely in Newfoundland. In fact most of the island consists of extremely ancient rocks, that are in the Avalon Peninsula, and in Long Range that are as ancient as the Canadian shield's. The middle part of the island includes large areas of Ordovician age as well. And in the graben south of white bay, the Humber river flows across much newer rocks of Carboniferous age. As well as in the far south-west at Codroy there is a smaller graben with much younger rocks. They give the rise to better soils than occur elsewhere. Furthermore, there are smaller patches of fair soil located among the three main rivers, the Humber, Exploits, and Gander. They naturally flow graben or corrugations noted here. And results in the conforming to the general direction of the crustal folds. The characteristic long promontories in or near Avalon, and in the north-west, are as well credited due to the same structural feature. Nearly the whole surface carries a veneer of glacial deposits, and large erratic blocks are natural on the inland plateau. It is home to pristine lakes and rivers.

[edit] History

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the oldest European settlements of North America. St. John's serves as a seaport town located on the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean. It is a place of wooden row houses imposing churches and trees, walking trails and lakes, with modern buildings and industries.

St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador specifically is the oldest European settlement in North America, when it was founded on the feast of St. John the Baptist on June 24, 1497. John Cabot, an Italian navigator sailed under English flag, becoming the first European since the Vikings to have been verifiably known as to have reached mainland America. The 500th anniversary to which Cabot named New Founded Landed was celebrated in 1997. St. Johns went on to become the oldest British colony in North America, as in August 5], 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of the region for England. Between France and England, the settlement changed hands several times, until it was permanently British in 1762 and served as a naval base in the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Many of St. John's first settlers derived from the southeast of Ireland, mainly Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny, which proves the similarity of accents in that part of Ireland and Newfoundland.

The most unfortunate disaster of St. John's occurred on July 8, 1892 and has developed the common name of The Great Fire of 1892. Following up this event, there was another major event that started in the same neighborhood on December 21, 1992. This one destroyed more than a dozens of businesses and ruined numerous houses.

The first Transatlantic message was recieved by Guglielmo Marconi at St. John's and it was made from there that the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919 was made by Alcock and Brown.

During World War 2, this harbor was used by the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships used for protecting convoys. It as well was the site of a large US Army base called "Fort Pepperell." And this base was established as part of the "Lend-lease" agreement of the United Kingdom and United States.

[edit] Regions

On the structure of the island, it can be subdivided into six regions. The main plateau in the south is called by Snelgrove the "Atlantic upland". This consists mainly of moss-barrens, where the three main rivers rise. Just as the rest of the surface is corrugated it is the result of the erosion of folded rocks. Exploits which is the longest river flows into Red Indian Lake and enters Notre Dame Bay. The Gander River is linked to the lake of the same name, and enters the eastern area of the Notre Dame bay. The Next division is the Long Range Plateau that extends to the south as the Lewis hills. In the latter is the highest point of the plateau which is 2,673 feet. Gros Morne, 100 miles to the north-east is nearly the same height. The Avalon Peninsula can be considered the third division. Though it is really part of the main plateau, it is separated by Placentia and Trinity bays. A remarkably long, high, and narrow isthmus (called the Rantem) bounds the two divisions. The latter three regions are the lowlands. Snelgrove names one "Notre Dame Basin" and includes one of the timber lands of the Exploits River, and the Buchans mining area. The fifth region is the White Bay graben, which includes its much younger rocks. It contains Grand Lake and Deer Lake with the large hydroelectric station at the east end of Deer Lake. The Humber River drains both these lakes and then turns west into a wide gorge (1,500 feet deep) and reaches the sea at Corner Brook. The small graben at Codroy in the extreme south-west is barely large enough to be constituted as a region; though it includes many of the agricultural land of the island.

[edit] Climate and Vegetation

The island has a marine climate very much modified by the cold Labrador Current, which sweeps down the east coast and then goes to the west along the south coast. It keeps the summer cool, and also lowers the winter temperatures. Thus the range of mean temperatures at St. John's is 36 degrees Fahrenheit, from 59° in July to 23° in January. At Corner Brook the range is 44 degrees, which is high for a marine station. Come January, the entire island, is below freezing point, and also in summers snow is found in places on the elevated plateau. For most of July, the island is about 57° or higher. The warmest region (61°F.), however is in the west in the vicinity of Corner Brook. Rain fall which is adequate, ranges from 30 inches in the north-west to 60 inches on the south coast. A very heavy snowfall that is over 120 inches is found in the north-east of the island, disouted only by that north of the city of Quebec. Fogs are very prevalent on the south-east coasts.

Newfoundland has few weather stations, though climate can be determined by natural vegetation. Nearly half of the area is forests, though much of the land of the south and west consists of "moss barrens". In accord with the temperature, ash and elm are confined to the warmer south-west valleys, white yellow birch and white pine that are common in the centre and west. Balsam fir and black spruce are found to be general nearly everywhere in the lower lands except in the north-east, in which aspen and paper birch stand the cold climate better.

[edit] St. John Climate

Of all the major Canadian cities, St. John is the foggiest(124 days, next to Halifax's 122), snowiest (359 cm, next to Quebec City's 343), wettest (1514 mm, next to Halifax's 1491), windiest (24.3 km/h average speed, next to Regina's 20.7), and cloudiest (1497 hours of sunshine, next to Charlottetown's 1818 hours. More than any other city, it has the most freezing rain days and wet weather. However, the people of St. John tend to appreciate the wet days. In one instance, they have boasted that their city happens to have one of the mildest winters in Canada (third mildest city next to Victoria and Vancouver).

[edit] Newfoundland's relation to the sea

It’s said the Newfoundlanders live on, by and from the sea. Since it is more than 100km from the ocean, it receives many influences in weather. Surface water temperatures on the Atlantic side range from summer highs of 11 to 13C inshore and 8 to 11C offshore to winter lows of -1 C inshore and +2C offshore. Sea temperatures on the Gulf side are warmer than Atlantic by a 1 to 3C. The sea keeps winter temperatures slightly higher and summer a little lower on the coast than at places inland. The marine climate makes generally more changeable weather, ample precipitation in a variety of forms, greater humidity, lower visibility, more clouds, less sunshine, and higher winds than a continental climate.

[edit] Storms

Ample amounts of heavy precipitation, low clouds, and strong winds are the cause of a number of storms over the pass years. Many storms, which cross North America during the year from east to west or develop and intensify off the East Coast of the United States, pass near the island while they move out to the North Atlantic. This results in the reputation of devastating storms in Newfoundland. The frequency and severity of storms is greatest between November and March, although they may occur at any time of the year.

Winter cyclones are quick-moving storms (up to 80 km/h) that bring abundant and varied precipitation. They serve as a threat to fishermen, commercial shipping, and offshore gas and oil exploitation activities. Winds frequently mount to gale (about 3 or 4 in the winter) and hurricane force.

Occasionally, throughout the year, the mature cyclones are stopped from moving throughout the region. The resulting cool, cloudy, and rainy water is associated with the system may persist for a week or more.

From the summer, to early fall, Newfoundland is mainly less stormy. However, in the fall, tropical storms swarmed the near equator and developed in the Caribbean may bring windy, wet weather while they pass by the island before dying or redeveloping in the North Atlantic. Over the past 35 years, an average of one tropical storm each year has passed within 300km of Newfoundland. "One of the most notorious of these was the "Independence Hurricane" that struck eastern Newfoundland on September 9, 1775. About 4000 sailors, mostly from the British Isles, were reported to have been drowned." "As well as on September 5, 1978, another violent storm, Hurricane Ella, passed south of Cape Race. Its winds outreached 220 km/h. At St. John's, 45 mm of rain fell and winds reached 115 km/h."

[edit] Winds

Newfoundland has the strongest winds of any of the provinces, with most stations reporting an average annual wind speeds more than 20km/h. Usually coastal stations have stronger winds than inland stations; valley's have lighter winds than elevated terrains, and winter is windier than the summer. Botanist on the East Coast is the windiest location, that has an average annual wind speed of 28 km/h, St. Albans, in the sheltered Bay despair on the south coast, is the least windy location, with an average yearly speed of 11.5 km/h.

Winds are dominated by the west year round, but variations are common both from location to another and from month to month. Prevailing wind directions are in winter and west-southwest in summer. Calm and variable weather conditions occur about 2 to 3% of the time along the coast. And 10% of the time at inland stations.

[edit] Ocean Air

Temperatures of Newfoundland tend to be neutral midway between those of Winnipeg and Vancouver. The temperature of Newfoundland (the difference between the average temperatures of the warmest and coldest months) is 20C. By comparison, Winnipeg's is 38.9 and Vancouver's is 14.8.

Winter temperatures of Newfoundland show day-to-day variability that is characteristic of a stormy maritime climate. What's more, incursions of moist, mild Atlantic air are frequent. There is also a notice. In the interior, winter temperatures average between 6C and -10C, where as on the southeast coast, where the moderating influence of the ocean is greatest, the winter average is between -2C and -4C. The lowest Newfoundland temperature was on record is -41.1C, and was set at Wooddale Bishop's fall on February 4, 1975.

Springs comes rather slowly, and is short. Until late May, night-time averages in the interior are below 4C, and in many valley locations there is a 90% likeliness of frost on any given night until the first week of June.

Summer is well is short and cool. The glacial Labrador Current holds July average temperatures in coastal areas near 14C, but inland averages can go over 16C. Sunny summer days in Newfoundland are amongst the best of anywhere in Canada. With afternoon’s highs in the low twenties, it is warm enough to be cool and comfortable and cool enough to permit vigorous activity. The summer of 1987 was especially pleasant across central Newfoundland. The record high sunshine, scanty rain, and seasonable temperatures satisfied most tourists and residents. The highest temperature ever recorded on Newfoundland is 36.7 occurring at Botwood, northeast of Grand Falls, on August 22, 1976.

The frost-free period changes vastly. Typical growing seasons lengths are about 150 days on the south coast 125 on the Avalon Peninsula, and under 100 days in the interior. In other locations, in which the landscape causes cold air to collect at night, frost-free durations may be only 70 days on average. The growing season in the interior of Newfoundland tends to start around June 8 and to end by September 15. Usually, frost is not a limiting variable for root vegetables growth (such as potatoes and turnips), which are the most significant of the few crops grown in Newfoundland.

[edit] Rain storms

Freezing rain storms are a chief hazard in various parts of Canada, though in Newfoundland they are more frequent. They are nicknamed known as Silver thaws. Some of these thaws can be very severe causing external damage, and bringing transportation and other essential activities to a stand still. One of the worst storms ever on the island was one that struck St. John's on the evening of April 11, 1984 and continued intermittently until the 14th. Huge collections of ice covered almost 15 cm thick formed on over- head wires. The interference of power supplies left 200 000 people in the Avalon Peninsula heatless and light for days, resulting in a run of kerosene heaters at retail stores

The land between St. John's and Gander is especially prone to prolonged periods of freezing precipitation that last for several hours or intermittently for 2 or more days, interrupting daily activities and destroying trees and property. Freezing drizzle or freezing rain occurs on average of 150 hours each winter, and March is its worst month.

[edit] Sunshine

Newfoundland is known for its sunshine. The total amount of hours for the bright sunshine is less than 1600 hours per year, which is lower than summer side’s average of 1959 hours, Calgary's 2314 hours, and the Canadian average of 1925 hours. The summer months are the sunniest, with an average of 187 hours a month, about 42% of the total possible. The lowest sunshine is seen in December when the average during daily reaches 2 hours.

The waters off the Avalon Peninsula and over the Grand Banks are among the foggiest in the world. The fogs also known as "sea smoke" develop as the result of warm air from the south strikes the cold, sometimes ice-infested, waters of the Labrador Current. These fogs can occur in all seasons, but on average, they are most often in the spring and early summer when the contrast between sea and air temperatures is greatest, in anywhere between 5C and 15C. Argentia has 206 days of fog, Belle Isle and Cape Race have over 160, and St. Lawrence on the Burin Peninsula 147.

The Fogs, surprisingly are frequently accompanied by strong winds. Usually winds can be expected to disperse fog. Though here the fog it too dense and widespread winds clearly are ineffective. The resulting conditions can be hazardous for shipping and for dripping especially when icebergs are present.

[edit] Floes and Wintry Ghosts

In the first half of each year the waters off Newfoundland can become choked by ice floes and icebergs. The severity of ice varies relatively, depending on the strength and the vector of direction of the wind and the coldness from the air. In a common year, ice enters the Strait of Belle Isle by the start of January. The ice edge usually reaches Notre Dame Bay by the end of the month and Cape Freels in the middle of February. By the west side, Labrador ice goes into the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the Strait of Belle Isle; yet the vast majority of the ice is made in the Gulf itself and the estuary. The ice edge is at its maximum southern extent by March, and fills the several bays and coves.

By April, the rate of melting overtakes the southward ice drift and the pack slowly returns. Usually by mid-month, navigation via the Strait of Belle Isle is possible. In mid-June the median ice edge returns to the mid-Labrador coast. In extreme year’s ice, can linger south of Belle Isle following Canada Day.

Every year, an average of 250 icebergs drifts along in the cold waters of the Labrador Current on the Grand Banks. Icebergs have been accumulated and tracked since the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Although 250 is an average number, the yearly extremes have ranged from none in 1966 to 2202 in 1984, an eighteen year difference.

[edit] Time zones

Newfoundland is located in a unique time zone in North America. It is a half an hour later than Atlantic Time, one and a half hours later than Central Canada and 4 ½ hours later than the west coast of the country. It is also the only place in Canada with split variations of l hour between time zones.

[edit] Industry and Economy

This island's main industries are timber, fish, and minerals. In 1944 the relative values of these three industries were 44, 18, and 8 million dollars. Agriculture serves as a smaller sector. The principal farming areas are on the Avalon Peninsula, near Bishop's Falls, along the Codroy valley, and to the northwest of Deer Lake. Mining has been carried on in numerous parts of the island, but in two large fields; Buchanan and Waban are in operation present.

Cod fishing which accounts for ¾ of all fishing made is carried on the inshore fishery, which is based on various villages scattered around the coasts and the Newfoundland banks. The banks are larger areas on sea floor (equaling the area of Newfoundland today) which lie to the south-east of the island beneath a shallow cover of ocean water. They are washed by the Labrador Current, and carry large supplies of halibut, haddock, and herring, including as well cod. Herring are taken mainly in the bays, often near Corner Brook. Salmon are captured during the summer off the east coast, whilst lobsters are numerous in the shallow water close to the north-west coast.

The timber and paper industry, that accounts for approximately one half of the island's exports, in value, is carried on by two large companies whom hold extensive limits along the coasts and river valleys.

[edit] Communication=Population

The pattern of the settlement up until 1896 as the railway was completed was unique for such a huge island. Each village lied on the rugged coast, where there is very few or no area communication exempt to the Avalon. Despite that, numerous harbors were available, which meant all communication was done by sea. It is still a case with the majority of the settlements; which make a continuous fringe of little villages around the coast.

[edit] Additional Information

[edit] other facts

Location

Eastern Canada.

Time

Newfoundland: GMT - 3.5 (GMT - 2.5 in summer). Labrador: GMT - 4 (GMT - 3 in summer).

Summer officially lasts from the first Sunday in April to the Saturday before the last Sunday in October.

Area 405,720 sq km (156,648 sq miles).

Area of Newfoundland

111,390 km2 (69,215 mi2)

Area of Labrador

294,330 km2 (182,888 mi2)

Water Area

34,030 km2 (21,145 mi2)

Coastline

17,542 km (10,900 mi2

Population

516,000 (as of 2005 estimate).

Population Density

1.27 per sq km.

Capital

St John’s. Population: 180,631 (2005).

Social Conventions

New found land shows dominant influence in northern European pacifically English and Irish, as well as French (settlers in dialects of dance and folk music). Aboriginal peoples with diverse cultures and customs include the Milkman] on Newfoundland and the Inuit, Innu and Métis in Labrador. Geographical distinction has nurtured an independent spirit in the province; which had joined the Canadian union in 1949.

[edit] Trivia

The majority of the population in St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador derives from both Ireland and England.
St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador is the center of business, education and government for the island.
St. John's is the east terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. (Victoria, British Columbia is the western terminus.)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Further Reading

"A Meteorological Moment Early Monday morning on February 15, 1982, the giant drilling rig Ocean Ranger capsized and sank on the Grand Banks, 300 km east of St. John's. The entire 84- man crew perished in the violent winter seas, marking the worst Canadian marine disaster in decades. It was the world's second worst catastrophe in offshore drilling history, next to the North Sea tragedy on March 22, 1980, when 123 died.

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Category: Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador