The
Isthmus of Chignecto is an
isthmus bordering the
Maritime provinces of
New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia which connects the
Nova Scotia peninsula with
North America.
The isthmus separates the waters of
Chignecto Bay, a sub-basin of the
Bay of Fundy, from those of Baie Verte, a sub-basin of the
Northumberland Strait which is an arm of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. The isthmus stretches from its northerly point at an area in the
Petitcodiac River valley near the city of
Dieppe, New Brunswick to its southerly point at an area near the town of
Amherst, Nova Scotia. At its narrowest point between
Amherst and
Tidnish, the isthmus measures 24 kilometres wide. Because of its strategic position, it has been important to competing forces through much of its history of occupation.
Geography
The majority of the lands comprising the isthmus have low elevation above sea level; a large portion comprises the
Tantramar Marshes, as well as tidal rivers, mud flats, inland freshwater marshes, coastal saltwater marshes, and mixed forest. Several prominent ridges rise above the surrounding low land and marshes along the Bay of Fundy shore, namely the Fort Lawrence Ridge (in Nova Scotia), the Aulac Ridge, the Sackville Ridge, and the Memramcook Ridge (in New Brunswick).
In contrast to the Bay of Fundy shoreline in the west, the Northumberland Strait shoreline in the east is largely forested with serpentine tidal
estuaries such as the
Tidnish River penetrating inland. The narrowest point on the...
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