Iona is a small community in the Canadian

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...

 province of 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...

, located in Victoria County

Victoria County, Nova Scotia

Victoria County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.The shire town and largest municipality is the village of Baddeck.-History:Named after Queen Victoria, it was established by statute in 1851...

 on Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

. It is named after Iona

Iona

Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Perched above the Barra Strait

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

 between the Great Bras d'Or and Piper's Cove portions of Bras d'Or Lake

Bras d'Or Lake

Bras d'Or Lake is a large body of salt water dominating the centre of Cape Breton Island in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Bras d'Or Lake is sometimes referred to as the Bras d'Or Lakes or the Bras d'Or Lakes system, however its official geographic name is Bras d'Or Lake as it is a singular...

, Iona is the western terminus of the Barra Strait Bridge carrying Nova Scotia Route 223 across to Grand Narrows

Grand Narrows, Nova Scotia

Grand Narrows is a community in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is at 45°57′24″ N, 60°47′32″ W.-Origin of name:...

 village. Iona was settled by Gaelic speaking immigrants from the Isle of Barra in 1802. It is the home of Highland Village Museum (An Clachan Gàidhealach), a part of the provincial Nova Scotia Museum

Nova Scotia Museum

Nova Scotia Museum is the corporate name for the most decentralized museum in Canada - 27 museums across Nova Scotia, including over 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels, specialized museums and close to a million artifacts and specimens...

system featuring living history exhibits of the Gaelic settlement experience in Nova Scotia.