Aspy River

Aspy River

Beulach Ban waterfall on the Aspy River
Mouth Aspy Bay
Basin countries Canada
Length 40 km
Mouth elevation sea level

The Aspy River is a river on northeastern Cape Breton Island which rises in the Cape Breton Highlands and empties into Aspy Bay. The river valley follows the ancient Aspy Fault which extends for 40 km inland from the coast and extends along the upper section of the northeast Margaree River. This geological fault is thought to be a part of the Cabot Fault (Newfoundland)/ Great Glen Fault (Scotland) system of Avalonia.[1][2]

It is believed by some sources that John Cabot landed at Aspy Bay in 1497. In 1856, a submarine cable was laid across the Cabot Strait from Aspy Bay to Newfoundland establishing a telegraph link between St. John's, Newfoundland and New York City.

A dirt road in Cape Breton Highlands National Park leads to the Beulach Ban falls on the North Aspy River. "Beulach Ban" is Gaelic for "white gorge".

See also

External links

  1. Wilson, Tuzo (14 July 1962). "Cabot Fault, An Appalachian Equivalent of the San Andreas and Great Glen Faults and some Implications for Continental Displacement". Nature 195 (4837): 135–138. Bibcode:1962Natur.195..135W. doi:10.1038/195135a0.
  2. Dewey, John F.; Kennedy, Michael J.; Kidd, William S.F. (1983). "A geotraverse through the Appalachians of northern Newfoundland". In Nicholas Rast and Frances M. Delany. Profiles of Orogenic Belts. Geodynamics Series 10. American Geophysical Union.

Coordinates: 46°53′31.6″N 60°27′19.6″W / 46.892111°N 60.455444°W