The Cornwallis River is a river in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

It has a meander length of approximately 48 km from its source on the North Mountain

North Mountain (Nova Scotia)

North Mountain is a narrow southwest-northeast trending volcanic mountain range on the mainland portion of southwestern Nova Scotia, stretching from Brier Island to Cape Split...

 near Berwick

Berwick, Nova Scotia

Berwick is a Canadian town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. The town is located in the eastern part of the Annapolis Valley on the Cornwallis River. The town site stretches south from the river and Exit 15 of Highway 101 to Highway 1...

 to its mouth near Wolfville on the Minas Basin

Minas Basin

The Minas Basin is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides.- Geography :- Boundary :...

. The lower portion of the river is tidal and there are extensive tidal marsh

Tidal marsh

A tidal marsh is a type of marsh that is found along coasts and estuaries of which the flooding characteristics are determined by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean . According to the salinity of the flooding water, freshwater, brackish and saline tidal marshes are...

es in the lower reaches. While the river is no longer used for navigation, Port Williams

Port Williams, Nova Scotia

Port Williams is a Canadian village in Kings County, Nova Scotia.It is located on the north bank of the Cornwallis River, opposite Greenwich and Wolfville.As of 2006, the population was 1,079...

 was once an important destination for coastal shipping. The Cornwallis Valley Railway

Cornwallis Valley Railway

The Cornwallis Valley Railway was a historic Canadian railway in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. It was built in 1889 and ran from Kentville to Kingsport serving the Cornwallis Township area of Kings County...

, a branchline of the Dominion Atlantic Railway

Dominion Atlantic Railway

The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic Canadian railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley....

, was named after the river in 1889 when it was built crossing the river at Kentville

Kentville, Nova Scotia

Kentville is a town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is one of the main towns in the Annapolis Valley, and it is the county seat of Kings County. As of 2006, the town of Kentville had a population of 5,815 people....

.

Called the Grand Habitant river by its original settlers, the Acadians, it was renamed following the Expulsion to honour the memory of Edward Cornwallis

Edward Cornwallis

Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis was a British military officer who founded Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2500 settlers and later served as the Governor of Gibraltar.-Early life:...

, the founder of Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

 and governor of Nova Scotia from 1749 to 1752. The river flows through central Kings County

Kings County, Nova Scotia

Kings County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.Kings County is located in central Nova Scotia on the shore of the Bay of Fundy with its northeastern part also forming the western shore of the Minas Basin....

. It is unusual in that the valley it lies within is named for a different river. The Annapolis Valley

Annapolis Valley

The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy.-Geography:...

 is named for the larger Annapolis River

Annapolis River

The Annapolis River is a Canadian river located in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.-Geography:Measuring 120 kilometres in length, the river flows southwest through the western part of the valley from its source in Caribou Bog near the villages of Aylesford and Berwick in western Kings County, to...

 which flows westwards from the same headwaters.

The Annapolis Valley is an important agricultural district in Nova Scotia and depends on the river of irrigation and drainage. However heavy agricultural runoffs as well as municipal sewage have created severe pollution problems in the river. It was designated as one of Canada ten most endangered rivers in 2002 and labelled as "little more than a farm sewer". A number of initiatives are currently underway to improve farm use of the river and upgrade municipal sewage systems along the river. The communities of Wolfville, Port Williams, Kentville and Berwick all have sewage treatment facilities that discharge effluent into the river.

Communities

• Kentville
• Port Williams
  Port Williams, Nova Scotia
  Port Williams is a Canadian village in Kings County, Nova Scotia.It is located on the north bank of the Cornwallis River, opposite Greenwich and Wolfville.As of 2006, the population was 1,079...
  
  
• Berwick
  Berwick, Nova Scotia
  Berwick is a Canadian town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. The town is located in the eastern part of the Annapolis Valley on the Cornwallis River. The town site stretches south from the river and Exit 15 of Highway 101 to Highway 1...
  
  
• Grand Pre
• Wolfville
• Cornwallis Square
  Cornwallis Square, Nova Scotia
  Cornwallis Square is a Canadian village in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is located on the Cornwallis River.The village commission was originally established in 1947 as the WCG Commission and was responsible for fire protection, recreation and sidewalks in Waterville, Cambridge, and Grafton...
  
  

External links

• Natural History of Nova Scotia
• Christian Perry-Giraud, Thirty Year Assessment of the Cornwallis Estuary Evolution, Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership, 2005.