Baie des Chaleurs

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For the bay in Newfoundland and Labrador, see Chaleur Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Satellite image of Chaleur Bay (NASA). Chaleur Bay is the large bay opening to the east; the Gaspé Peninsula appears to the north and the Gulf of St. Lawrence is seen to the east

Baie des Chaleurs, often called "Chaleur Bay" or "Bay of Chaleur" is an arm of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence separating Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula from New Brunswick's North Shore. It bathes 120 km of the northeastern shore of New Brunswick and most of the Gaspésie's south shore. It is nearly 50 km wide between Bathurst and New Carlisle and is over twenty-five kilometres wide for most of its length. At the bottom of the bay is the estuary of the Restigouche River. The name, meaning "bay of warmth" or "bay of torrid weather" was reportedly given by explorer Jacques Cartier.

The northern entrance to Baie des Chaleurs is at the "Haut-fond Leander" near Grande-Rivière and at its southern side, the Miscou shoals. The bay's V shape and the steep cliffs on its North side sometimes create particularly windy conditions especially off Nepisiguit Bay. Under the right wind, sea conditions on large areas of the bay can become quite treacherous. Tidal currents generally don't reach one knot, except at the mouths of some rivers and some channe.^[1]

The warmer currents that enter the bay can make the water here the warmest north of the state of Virginia. The bay has many fine beaches, set in pristine natural settings, and the sand can get very warm on the sunny summer days. As it is a salt water body of water, the smell of salt water is quite prominent where it meets other shallow bodies of water, notably the Restigouche River. It's a quality spawning area for many species of fish and is well known for its succulent lobster and scallops.

The baie des Chaleurs is a member of the prestigious "Most Beautiful Bays of the World Club"^[2]. It is also home to the world's second longest natural sand bar, the Eel River Bar. This sand bar is unique not only because is has fresh water on one side and salt water on the next, but because it is home to many endangered birds, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, harlequin ducks, and piping plovers.

Heron Island lies near Dalhousie, and across from Carleton-sur-Mer

The bay is host to an unusual visual phenomenon, the Fireship of Baie des Chaleurs, an apparition of sorts resembling a ship on fire which appears all over the Bay.

The following major rivers flow into the bay:

Quebec:

Rivière Matapédia (via the Restigouche)
Rivière Cascapédia
Rivière Bonaventure
Rivière du Grand Pabos

New Brunswick:

Upsalquitch River (via the Restigouche)
Nepisiguit River
Tetagouche River
Charlo River, one of two Maritmes' nesting area of Harlequin ducks
Jacquet River
Eel River
Benjamin River, one of two Maritmes' nesting area of Harlequin ducks

Between Quebec and New Brunswick:

Restigouche River

The Restigouche Estuary was designated (June, 2000) an Important Bird Area of International Significance (the first in New Brunswick) because it is the largest staging area in eastern North America for Black scoter.