Minas Basin
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The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy located in Nova Scotia, Canada.
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[edit] Geography
The Minas Basin forms the eastern part of the Bay of Fundy which splits at Cape Chignecto and is delineated by the massive headland of Cape Split. Several important rivers in Nova Scotia drain into the Minas Basin: Shubenacadie River, Cornwallis River, Avon River, and the Salmon River. The easternmost portion of the Minas Basin is also called Cobequid Bay.
[edit] Tides
Burntcoat Head, located on the "Noel Shore" along the south side of the Minas Basin, is the location of the highest tidal range ever recorded on the planet (during a spring tide only) and has one of the highest average tidal ranges every day. The waters of Minas Bay exchange with the main part of the Bay of Fundy through the Minas Channel which flows between Cape Split and Cape Sharp, creating extremely strong tidal currents. The water in the Minas Basin is brown due to large amounts of suspended silt.
[edit] Communities
Several communities border the Minas Basin or the rivers that flow into it. They include Truro, Windsor, Parrsboro, and Wolfville. Historically, the last two of those communities, along with smaller Kingsport were connected by the MV Kipawo ferry [1], whose name was derived from the three communities.
[edit] Parks
Provincial parks ([2]) at Anthony (near Truro), Five Islands, and Cape Blomidon allow visitors to enjoy and explore the Minas Basin.
[edit] History
The Mi'kmaq were the first people to inhabit the area around the Minas Basin. Mi'kmaq tradition ties the god Glooscap in with significant geographical features such as Cape Blomidon and Five Islands.
After being discovered by the Europeans, the area was settled by the French and British. The French had a particularly significant impact of the area in that they reclaimed considerable farmland through the use of dykes and aboiteaux. Dyke systems are still used near Truro and Wolfville at Port Williams and Grand Pré. In 1755, the British forcibly expelled the over 12,000 Acadians from Grand Pré in what became known as the Grand Dérangement, or Great Expulsion.
The communities around the Minas Basin were sustained by fishing, logging, farming, mining, and boat building. The water provided a means of transporting commodities. Mining included gypsum (several locations), iron (Londonderry), barite (Walton), and manganese (several locations). Today, gypsum it still shipped from Hantsport.
[edit] Nature
Marine mammals include seals and porpoises. Fish include bass, and flounder. Lobster, crabs, mussels, and clams are common. Many types of seaweed, sponges, worms, seajellys and more are also found. Birds include sandpipers, terns (visitors only), eagles, falcons, seagulls, herons, and kingfishers.
Minerals include a variety zeolites at Cape Split, the area around Parrsboro and Five Islands. These include stilbite, heulandite, analcime, chabazite, and gmelinite. Gypsum is found at Blomidon, Clarke Head, and near Windsor in both the colorless variety (selenite) and the fibrous variety (satin spar), the latter sometimes being bright orange. Other minerals include pyrite, calcite, barite, manganite, and pyrolusite.
Fossils are found near Parrsboro, Blue Beach and other areas along the Avon River. Rarely, fossils have been found at Evangeline Beach, Burncoat Head, and other locations. These fossils include various shells (brachiopods, molluscs), sponges, trees, reptiles, and dinosaurs. Trace fossils include footprints, fish fin-tracks, and raindrop inprints. They range from the beginning of the Carboniferous to the Jurassic. They were deposited when the region was warm and tropical, later when it was covered by a shallow sea, and later still when it was a desert.
