Sandy Point, Newfoundland and Labrador

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Sandy Point is a former peninsula on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland which has been recently transformed into an island as a result of sea level rise and ocean storm-induced coastal erosion. Its former connecting isthmus was known to locals as "The Gap".

The point was also home to a now-abandoned community of the same name.

Sandy Point extends 2 km into St. George's Bay on the bay's southern shore and is located approximately 7 km west of the head of the bay at Stephenville Crossing, 12 km south of the town of Stephenville and 2 km north of the community of St. George's.

[edit] History

Thought to be long inhabited by aboriginals, namely a Dorset culture, and later the Beothuk and Mi'kmaq nations, the peninsula was seasonally inhabited by European fishing fleets during the summer months throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1783, the peninsula was included as part of the French Shore under the Treaty of Versailles, which included much of the west coast of Newfoundland.

In the ensuing decades, Sandy Point became host to a small population of multi-cultural and multi-lingual residents including Mi'kmaq, English, Jersey, and French residents. Sandy Point also became known for a genetic defect among its population which was termed Allderdice syndrome, also known to locals in the surrounding area as "Sandy Point Syndrome".

The outport community of Sandy Point continued until a period after Newfoundland entered Confederation in 1949 whereupon the provincial government began a program of voluntary and forced resettlement of coastal communities.

In the case of Sandy Point, the provincial government gave financial enticements for residents to leave the community and move to nearby St. George's which was located on the Newfoundland Railway main line and would thus be cheaper to provide services to a concentrated population.

Sandy Point, which had been an important sea port for the western coast of Newfoundland, declined to the point where its last two residents were forced to abandon the community during the 1970s.

Today, the recently-created island is completely uninhabited. Various levels of government are undertaking a process to create the territory as an historical site and conservation area for the numerous species of migratory birds which inhabit the island during the summer months; these include Piping Plovers, with the Sandy Point colony comprising between 15-30% of Newfoundland's overall plover population. The island hosts a diverse habitat ranging from tidal sandflats, beaches and sand dunes, saltmarshes, meadows, freshwater ponds, and some forested area, making for a unique landscape in the province. The island also has one of the most northerly and largest occurrences of Spartina salt marshes in eastern North America.