Bras d'Or Lake, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
On our way to Halifax from Sydney, we drove along the south shore of Bras d'Or Lake and saw it in its widest part. I was very intrigued by this lake which is proportionately much too large in relation to the size of Cape Breton Island. It is huge, a real inland sea!
Bras d'Or Lake water is brackish, a mixture of ocean water and fresh water from rain, groundwater and surface runoff. Its salinity is a little more than half the salinity of ocean water (22 parts per thousand compared to 35 ppt in the ocean); the lake sits at sea level and is influenced by tides. The lake supports a variety of aquatic species (oysters, crab, scallops, mackerel, flounder, cod) but is very sensitive to water pollution because circulation both within the lake and between the lake and the ocean is very slow due to lack of currents and the relatively small size of the main channel that connects it to the sea i.e. the Great Bras d'Or Channel (see picture posted earlier in this set).
This brings to an end this set on our 2004 trip across the province of Nova Scotia. Thank you all for your interest.
Bras d'Or Lake, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
On our way to Halifax from Sydney, we drove along the south shore of Bras d'Or Lake and saw it in its widest part. I was very intrigued by this lake which is proportionately much too large in relation to the size of Cape Breton Island. It is huge, a real inland sea!
Bras d'Or Lake water is brackish, a mixture of ocean water and fresh water from rain, groundwater and surface runoff. Its salinity is a little more than half the salinity of ocean water (22 parts per thousand compared to 35 ppt in the ocean); the lake sits at sea level and is influenced by tides. The lake supports a variety of aquatic species (oysters, crab, scallops, mackerel, flounder, cod) but is very sensitive to water pollution because circulation both within the lake and between the lake and the ocean is very slow due to lack of currents and the relatively small size of the main channel that connects it to the sea i.e. the Great Bras d'Or Channel (see picture posted earlier in this set).
This brings to an end this set on our 2004 trip across the province of Nova Scotia. Thank you all for your interest.