Aspy Bay

Aspy Bay in Nova Scotia

Aspy Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean near the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Principal features along the bay's coast are the Wilkie Sugar Loaf hill and the Aspy Fault.

Communities along the bay include Smelt Brook, White Point, South Harbour, and Dingwall.

The name "Aspy" may be of Basque origin, after Aspe peak in the Pyrenees or the monastery of Santa Maria de Axpe near the Bay of Biscay, although other theories exist.[1]

History

There is a minority view that John Cabot landed in or near Aspy Bay in 1497,which would be the first documented European landing on what is now Canadian soil, after the Norse landings. In keeping with this view, Cabots Landing Provincial Park along the western shore of the bay has a National Historic Site cairn and bust to commemorate Cabot's landfall.

In 1761 the sailing ship Auguste sank in Aspy Bay, with the loss of 114 lives.

In 1856 the Nova Scotia terminus of the Transatlantic telegraph cable was made at the small community of Aspy Bay, northwest of Dingwall.

The view over Aspy Bay and the Aspy Fault from the Wilkie Sugar Loaf trail South Lookoff

References

  1. ↑ Hamilton, William (1996). Place Names of Atlantic Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 288

Coordinates: 46°57′11.76″N 60°24′00.00″W / 46.9532667°N 60.4000000°W / 46.9532667; -60.4000000

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