NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



303 



Populiis bnlsamifera 

 Pinus strobus 

 Pinus resinosa 

 Picea alba 

 Picea nigra 

 Picea rubra 

 Abies balsamea 

 Tsugn canadensis 

 Larix americana 

 Thuja occidenialis 



"Sugar maples and beeches, which 

 grow on the ridges and more elevated 

 parts of the mainland of Nova Scotia and 

 New Brunswick are found throughout 

 Prince Edward Island on the general 

 level only a few feet above the sae. 

 Finer specimens of Abies balsainea, 

 Picea alba, P. nigra, P. rubra are found 

 here than on the mainland, while the 

 presence of Thuja occidenialis in isolated 

 patches at the north end of the island 

 is remarkable".' — From Harshberger, 

 Phytogeography of North America, p. 361. 



21. NOVA SCOTIA 

 By A. H. Mackay 



I. GENERAL CONDITIONS 



The Atlantic Provinces of Canada 

 are three — the peninsula of Nova 

 Scotia running out into the Atlantic 

 Ocean, Prince Edward Island, lying to 

 the rear in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 

 and New Brunswick, through which 

 Nova Scotia has land connection with 

 the State of Maine to the south and the 

 Province of Quebec to the west. Nova 

 Scotia has an area of 21,068 sq. mi. with 

 1000 mi. of sea coast. The population 

 is 533,000. 



Nova Scotia extends northeast and 

 southwest about 370 mi. with a breadth 

 of from GO to 100 ini.— the northeastern 

 quarter consisting of the island of Cape 

 Breton. It is the crest of a submerged 

 elevation lying sub-parallel to the 

 Atlantic American coast, and is con- 

 nected with the land system of the con- 

 tinent (New Brunrwick) by an isthmus 

 near its center about 20 mi. wide. The 



1 Macoun, John. "The forests of Canada;' Pro- 

 ceedims and Transactions Royal Society of Canada, 

 XII (1894): 7-8, 8ect. IV.— JS. L. B. 



nuiinland area is deeply cleft bj' the 

 Mines Basin and Cobctjuid Bay; and the 

 Island of Cape Breton is almost divided 

 into two by an inland salt water sea, 

 known as Bras d'()r Lakes. The high 

 lands of the island are in the northwest 

 part where the elevated axis rises to a 

 plateau about 1200 ft. in height widi 

 higher peaks towards Cape North. 



North of Minas Basin the Cobequid 

 range runs due east and west in the 

 mainland, and south of the Basin on each 

 side of the Cornwallis and Annapolis 

 Valleys, and St. Mary's Bay run the 

 interrupted Triassic North Mountains, 

 and the older South Mountains in the 

 axis of the peninsula. The Atlantic 

 slope has been deeply eroded by glacial 

 action, exposing Lower Cambrian. Fur- 

 ther back the Silurian, Devonian and 

 Carboniferous strata remain, with some 

 Triassic in the northwest along the 

 Bay of Fundy which at one time com- 

 municated with the Gulf of St. Lawrence 

 where the Triassic is highly developed 

 in Prince Edward Island. The Atlan- 

 tic slope has been heavily scored by 

 glacial action. Lakes and streams 

 a])ound, although there can be no great 

 rivers when no watershed is 100 mi. 

 from the sea; the majority averaging 

 50 mi. 



II. ORIGINAL BIOTA 



The vegetation of southern low lands 

 of Nova Scotia is deciduous forest 

 climax and that of the northern and 

 higher areas is largely coniferous. 



The fauna was originally very similar 

 to that of New Brunswick and Eastern 

 Quebec (pages 299 and 293). 



III. PRESENT BIOTA 



The forests have been too carelessly 

 exploited hitherto; and this condition 

 is now giving rise to serious thoughts of 

 forest conservation, and the jiresorva- 

 tion of game and of territory exhibiting 

 the natural conditions of the country 

 without modification by man. 



Of the 13,000.000 acres of land no more 

 than 100,000 remain luigranted by the 

 Government; and the ungrantod ter- 

 ritory is iirobably all practically barren 



