Chaleur Bay
Encyclopedia
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...
located between Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
.
The name of the bay is attributed to explorer Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
(Baie des Chaleurs). It translates into English as "bay of warmth" or "bay of torrid weather".
Geography
The bay opens to the east with its southern shore formed by the north shore of New Brunswick. The northern shore is formed by the south shore of the Gaspé PeninsulaGaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
. Chaleur Bay measures approximately 50 km (27 nmi) in width at its widest point between Bathurst
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....
and New Carlisle
New Carlisle, Quebec
New Carlisle, Quebec is a small town in the Gaspé region of Quebec, best known as the boyhood home of René Lévesque; although he was born at Campbellton, New Brunswick. The population is approximately 1430, half English-speaking and half French-speaking...
. The western end of the bay transitions into the estuary of the Restigouche River
Restigouche River
The Restigouche River is a river that flows across the northwestern part of the province of New Brunswick and the southeastern part of Quebec....
.
The mouth of the bay is delineated by a line running from "Haut-fond Leander" near Grande-Rivière, Québec
Grande-Rivière, Quebec
Grande-Rivière is a city in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of the province of Québec in Canada....
in the north and the "Miscou Shoals" near Miscou Island, New Brunswick
Miscou Island
Miscou Island is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of Gloucester County, New Brunswick.It is separated from neighbouring Lamèque Island to the southwest by the Miscou Channel with both islands forming Miscou Harbour....
in the south.
Beaches
The shores of Chaleur Bay include numerous beaches, particularly on the southern shore. Many rivers also form barachoisBarachois
A barachois is a term used in Atlantic Canada and Saint Pierre and Miquelon to describe a coastal lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand or shingle bar...
or barrier beaches. Incorrectly claimed by locals as the world's second longest natural sand bar, the Eel River Bar, is a barrier beach located at the mouth of the Eel River immediately west of the village of Charlo, New Brunswick
Charlo, New Brunswick
Charlo is a Canadian village in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.Situated on the south shore of Chaleur Bay, the community was first settled by Acadians in 1799 and incorporated in 1966....
. This sand bar is unique not only because it 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.
Tourism in the region has been driven in the summer months by users of the bay's beaches. The warm ocean currents that enter the bay from the larger Gulf of St. Lawrence result in some of the warmest saltwater on the Atlantic coast north of the state of Virginia.
Rivers
The estuaries of various rivers emptying into the bay create a prominent smell of salt water, notably the estuary of the Restigouche River.The following major rivers flow into the bay:
Quebec:
- Rivière MatapédiaMatapédia RiverThe Matapédia River is a river on the Gaspé Peninsula in the province of Quebec, Canada. It runs 65 km from Lake Matapédia to the village of Matapédia where it flows into the Restigouche River on the interprovincial boundary with New Brunswick.Matapédia Lake becomes Matapédia River at Amqui ,...
(via the Restigouche) - Rivière CascapédiaCascapédia RiverThe Cascapédia River is a river in the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec which rises in the Chic-Choc Mountains and empties into Baie de la Cascapédia, a small bay on Baie des Chaleurs. The river is about 120 km in length.It is known for its Atlantic Salmon fishing...
- Rivière BonaventureBonaventure RiverThe Bonaventure River is a river in the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, Canada. It rises in the Chic-Choc Mountains and flows south to empty into Baie des Chaleurs near the town of Bonaventure, Quebec. The river is about long....
- Rivière du Grand Pabos
New Brunswick:
- Upsalquitch River (via the Restigouche)
- Nepisiguit RiverNepisiguit RiverThe Nepisiguit River is a major river in New Brunswick, Canada. The source of the river lies north of the Christmas Mountains, in the rugged terrain between Mount Carleton, and Big Bald Mountain . The river enters the sea at the city of Bathurst, New Brunswick, on the Bay of Chaleur...
- Tetagouche River
- Charlo River, one of two Maritmes' nesting area of Harlequin duckHarlequin DuckThe Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies...
s - Jacquet River
- Eel RiverEel River, New BrunswickThe Eel River Converter Station is a high-voltage direct current static inverter plant in Eel River Crossing, New Brunswick, Canada; it is the first operative HVDC station in the world equipped with thyristors....
- Benjamin RiverBenjamin RiverThe Benjamin River is a tidal river in Hancock County, Maine.From its source , the river runs about 3 miles southwest to Eggemoggin Reach.The river forms part of the border between Sedgwick and Brooklin.-References:**...
, one of two Maritmes' nesting area of Harlequin duckHarlequin DuckThe Harlequin Duck is a small sea duck. It takes its name from Arlecchino, Harlequin in French, a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. The species name comes from the Latin word "histrio", "actor". In North America it is also known as Lords and ladies...
s
Between Quebec and New Brunswick:
- Restigouche RiverRestigouche RiverThe Restigouche River is a river that flows across the northwestern part of the province of New Brunswick and the southeastern part of Quebec....
-
- 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.
- Patapédia RiverPatapédia RiverThe Patapédia River is a tributary of the Restigouche River in northwest New Brunswick and southeast Quebec, Canada....
(via the Restigouche)
- Patapédia 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.
Islands
Chaleur Bay has several islands.Although not entirely located within the bay, the northern shores of Miscou Island
Miscou Island
Miscou Island is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of Gloucester County, New Brunswick.It is separated from neighbouring Lamèque Island to the southwest by the Miscou Channel with both islands forming Miscou Harbour....
and Lameque Island
Lamèque Island
Lamèque Island is a Canadian island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the northeastern tip of Gloucester County, New Brunswick.The island has an area measuring approximately 150 km². It is separated from mainland North America on the south by the Shippagan Gut with the island forming Lameque Bay,...
form part of the southern shore of the bay.
Heron Island
Heron Island (New Brunswick)
Heron Island is a previously inhabited 3.5 km long island in the Baie des Chaleurs, located approximately 4 km from New Mills, New Brunswick and across from Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec. It is accessible only at high tide from a wharf on the south side of the island. Today the island has been...
lies near Dalhousie, New Brunswick
Dalhousie, New Brunswick
Dalhousie is a Canadian town located in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.- History :Dalhousie is the shire town of Restigouche County and dates European settlement to 1800. The Town of Dalhousie has been through some very distinct periods between its founding in 1825 and today...
and is located south of Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec
Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec
Carleton-sur-Mer is the fifth largest town of the Gaspésie's south shore, in southeastern Quebec, located on route 132, along Baie des Chaleurs.- Culture :* attracts over 20,000 spectators to see local and international artists...
.
Weather
The bay's shape and the steep cliffs along its northern shore sometimes create particularly windy conditions especially off Nepisiguit Bay. Under the right wind direction and speed, sea conditions on large areas of the bay can become quite treacherous. Tidal currents are generally weak, except at the mouths of some rivers and certain channels.Fisheries
Chaleur Bay is home to a variety of marine life including numerous species of ground fish and shellfishShellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
such as lobster and scallops.
Additionally, many of the bay's pristine rivers support some of the largest wild Atlantic Salmon
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....
remaining in the north Atlantic Ocean, creating a haven for sport angling
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
.
Notable facts
- Chaleur Bay is a member of the prestigious Most Beautiful Bays of the World ClubClub of the Most Beautiful Bays of the WorldThe Club of the Most Beautiful Bays of the World is an international association , founded in Berlin on 10 March 1997, consisting of structures, each representing a community with a frontage marine bay exceptional locked world.It is chaired by Jérôme Bignon, French specialist member of the...
.
- Chaleur Bay is host to an unusual visual phenomenon, the Fireship of Chaleur Bay, an apparition of sorts resembling a ship on fire which has reportedly appeared at several locations in the bay. It is possibly linked to similar sightings several hundred kilometres to the south where the Fireship of Northumberland Strait has been seen in the Northumberland StraitNorthumberland StraitThe Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada...
.
- Bryce's "The Geology Of Arran" 1855 notes: "Many years ago, a large population, the largest then collected in any one spot in [th island of] Arran, inhabited [Sannox] glen, and gained a scanty subsistence by fishing and by cultivating fertile plots on the sunny hill-sides. In 1832, the whole of the families amounting to 500 persons, were obliged [in the clearences]to leave the island, but were furnished with the means of reaching New Brunswick. They formed a settlement at Chaleur Bay, which became very prosperous".