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12-513: The community is named to describe the wide strait or "Grand Narrows" of Bras d'Or Lake , known as the Barra Strait , between it and Iona. Hector McNeil was one of the first to settle here about 1804, followed soon after by others originally from Barra in Scotland . Archibald McDougall was the teacher at the narrows by 1830, and a good school had been provided by 1839. A Postal Way Office

24-481: A connection to the open sea, and is tidal. It also has inflows of fresh water from rivers, making the brackish water a very productive natural habitat. It was designated the Bras d'Or Lake Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2011. Pronounced ( / b r ə ˈ d ɔːr / brə- DOR or / b r æ ˈ d ɔːr / brad- OR ), maps before 1872 name it Le Lac de Labrador (or more simply Labrador ). Labrador

36-522: A surface area of 1099 square kilometers. Three arms stretch out to the north east. At the top, the Great Bras d'Or Channel connects to the ocean via a navigable channel. The maximum depth is 287 m (942 ft) in St. Andrews Channel. It sits in a 3,500 square kilometre drainage basin . The western side is generally shallow, and is part of an extensive drumlin field. Steep hills rise abruptly on

48-484: Is the fire (or capital district) of their country, Mi'kma'ki , part of the greater Wabanaki Confederacy of the Dawnland region. The Mi'kmaq call the lake Pitupaq , meaning long salt water . A French trading post was built in 1650. Alexander Graham Bell built an estate Beinn Bhreagh where he established a research laboratory, and used the lake to test man-carrying kites , airplanes and hydrofoil boats. Most of

60-469: The blackspotted stickleback , white hake , blueback herring , Greenland cod , and introduced rainbow trout . These feed double-crested cormorants , bald eagles , and great blue herons . In southwestern Nova Scotia, there is archaeological evidence that traces traditional land use and resources to at least 4,000 years. Mi'kmaq peoples occupied lands around Bras d'Or Lake when European explorers first arrived. Named Unama'ki in their language , it

72-660: The Great and Little Bras d'Or Channels which pass on either side of Boularderie Island . The southern tip of the lake is connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Peters Canal , built for shipping traffic in the 1860s. The restricted channels to the ocean cause a reduction in tidal range . Seaweed populations resemble those found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence . The warm waters are suitable for eastern oyster . Fish species include

84-560: The northwestern side, to the Cape Breton Highlands . The Denys, Middle , Baddeck , and Georges Rivers all empty into the lake. The lake water has lower salinity than the surrounding ocean, and varies from about 20 parts per thousand near river mouths to 29 parts per thousand in deeper areas. Ice cover has been declining in recent years. The lake is connected to the North Atlantic by two natural channels;

96-563: The shore is undeveloped, but settlements include Baddeck , Eskasoni , Little Bras d'Or , St. Peter's , and Whycocomagh . Shoreline is under the jurisdiction of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and the county municipalities of Inverness , Victoria , and Richmond . Sailboat racing is a long tradition in the Bras d'Or, with events hosted by the Bras d'Or Yacht Club Today most economic activity around

108-516: The shoreline for approximately 3 kilometers. Most of the residences in the tiny community are summer homes for families who are based in industrial Cape Breton. This Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bras d%27Or Lake Bras d'Or Lake ( Mi'kmawi'simk : Pitupaq ) is an irregular estuary in the centre of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia , Canada. It has

120-534: Was constructed and became a popular resting spot, Canada's first prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald was among its guests. A passenger and vehicle ferry service was operated by the provincial government across the Barra Strait to Iona until the Barra Strait highway bridge was opened in October 1993. There is but one route of travel through Grand Narrows; a gravel road called "Derby Point" which runs along

132-690: Was established in 1851. The community came to prominence during the 1880s after the Intercolonial Railway built its line from the Strait of Canso to Sydney , crossing the Barra Strait between Iona and Grand Narrows with the Grand Narrows Bridge , still in use, which is the longest railway bridge in Nova Scotia. Grand Narrows became a major transshipment point between rail and waterborne passengers and cargo. A hotel

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144-514: Was the name given by the Portuguese to much of eastern Canada. It meant farmer , and is cognate with labourer . An error of folk etymology , the name is spelt to resemble the French language Arm of Gold , a homonym . It is also called locally The Bras d'Or Lakes . In Mi'kmawi'simk , the lake's name, Pitupaq , refers to the brackish waters, meaning "the long salt water." The lake has

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