Editing Mahone Bay

{{About|the water body|the town|Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia}}
[[Image:Map highlighting Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.png|thumb|200px|Map highlighting '''Mahone Bay'''.]]

'''Mahone Bay''' is a bay on the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast of [[Nova Scotia]], Canada along the eastern end of [[Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia|Lunenburg County]]. The bay has many islands (potentially 365),<ref name = MICA>{{cite web |last1= Ernst|first1=Michael |last2=Lang |first2=Sidney |last3= MacDonald|first3=Margaret |last4= Rosbee|first4=Jim|last5=Wieser|first5=Linda| url = https://mahoneislands.ns.ca/island-history/island-names/ |date=2016-03-01 |publisher = Mahone Islands Conservation Association | website = mahoneislands.ns.ca | title = Are there 365 islands in Mahone Bay? | access-date = 2024-07-03 }}</ref> and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the [[Mahone Islands Conservation Association]] has been working to protect the natural environment of the bay. The bay and its islands contain a variety of habitats including forests, rocky shores, beaches, [[wetlands]], and [[mudflats]]. Wildlife in the area include [[black guillemot]]s, [[eagle]]s, [[osprey]], [[leach's storm petrel]]s, [[puffins]], [[razorbill]]s, and [[great blue herons]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mahoneislands.ns.ca/islands/|title=MICA: Mahone Islands Conservation Association - The Mahone Bay Islands Today|website=www.mahoneislands.ns.ca|access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Hogue1.jpg|thumb|right|[[HMS Hogue (1811)|HMS ''Hogue'']], which trapped the ''[[Young Teazer]]'']]

The area was first inhabited by the indigenous [[Mi'kmaq]]. The first Europeans in the area were the French, the early maps of whom labelled the bay as ''La Baye de Toutes Iles'' (The Bay of Many Islands). The current name derives from the French ''mahonne'',<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hamilton|first1=William|title=Place Names of Atlantic Canada|publisher=University of Toronto Press|page=355}}</ref> a type of barge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/mahonne/48644|title=Définitions : mahonne - Dictionnaire de français Larousse|last=Larousse|first=Éditions|website=www.larousse.fr|language=fr|access-date=2017-09-04}}</ref>
 
In 1754 the British brought German speakers from Europe to colonize the area, starting in [[Lunenburg, Nova Scotia|Lunenburg]]. German was the main language spoken in the area for many years, and today in the Bayview Cemetery, there are several gravestones dating from the late 1700s marked in German. Early settlers' names commemorated there include Zwicker, Eisenhauer, Heyson, and Kedy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=12008|title=HistoricPlaces.ca - HistoricPlaces.ca|website=www.historicplaces.ca|language=en|access-date=2017-09-04}}</ref>

The site was the scene of hostilities during the [[French and Indian War]]<ref>{{cite book
|last = Bell
|first = Wintrop Packard
|title = The "Foreign Protestants" and the Settlement of Nova Scotia: The History of a Piece of Arrested British Colonial Policy in the Eighteenth Century
|url = https://archive.org/details/foreignprotestan0000bell_o6k0
|url-access = registration
|publisher = [[University of Toronto Press]]
|year = 1961
|page = [https://archive.org/details/foreignprotestan0000bell_o6k0/page/511 511]}}</ref> and the [[War of 1812]].<ref>Archibald MecMechan. Sagas of the Sea.</ref>

Economic activity in the mid-1800s, which included forestry, shipbuilding, shipping, and farming, led to the construction of churches and schools. In 1903 a rail link was established to Halifax. In 1919 the town was incorporated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.townofmahonebay.ca/history.html|title=History - Town of Mahone Bay|website=www.townofmahonebay.ca|access-date=2017-09-04}}</ref>

Today the principal economic driver is tourism.

== Geography ==
[[File: The Churches of Mahone Bay, NS.jpg|alt=The Three Churches of Mahone Bay|thumb|A view of the Three Churches across Mahone Bay]]
Opening south directly onto the Atlantic, its eastern shore is formed by the [[Aspotogan Peninsula]] and its western shore is formed by the [[First Peninsula]] (of Lunenburg).  The Chester Peninsula juts several kilometres into Mahone Bay at roughly its midpoint.

The bay's geological history differs from its eastern neighbour, [[St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia|St. Margarets Bay]], in that Mahone Bay shows a greater variety of soils and bedrock. Numerous glacial [[drumlin]]s on the western shore near the towns of [[Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia|Mahone Bay]] and [[Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (town)|Lunenburg]] have produced soil conditions suitable for small-scale farming operations.

Mahone Bay also differs from St. Margarets Bay in that it is dotted with innumerable small and medium-sized islands throughout its waters. The shelter provided by these islands, along with the summer southwesterly flow, led to the scenery around Mahone Bay becoming a tourist attraction in itself. Today the towns of [[Chester, Nova Scotia|Chester]] and Mahone Bay have become a destination for [[cruising (maritime)|cruising]] in pleasure yachts. A scenic provincial park at [[Graves Island, Nova Scotia|Graves Island]] just east of Chester is a popular camping destination.

Mahone Bay is home to numerous picturesque working fishing communities, one of the most famous being the communities of [[Big Tancook, Nova Scotia|Big Tancook]] and [[Little Tancook, Nova Scotia|Little Tancook]], on [[Big Tancook Island]] and [[Little Tancook Island]] respectively. Other important fishing ports include [[Blandford, Nova Scotia|Blandford]].

==In popular culture==
[[Frank Parker Day]]'s novel ''[[Rockbound]]'' takes place on the fictional island of the same name, which was based on the nearby island of [[East Ironbound]] and includes references to many other Mahone Bay islands and towns. Day visited the area and created ''Rockbound'' as a fictionalized, exaggerated account of life on the islands.

Mahone Bay contains [[Oak Island]], well known in connection with tales of buried treasure.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mahone-bay/ "Mahone Bay"]. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''.

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{{Coord|44|30|N|64|13|W|region:CA_type:waterbody_scale:250000|display=title}}

[[Category:Bays of Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Landforms of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia]]