Cabot Strait

Summary

Cabot Strait[1] (/ˈkæbət/; French: détroit de Cabot, French: [kabo]) is in Atlantic Canada between Cape Ray, Newfoundland, and Cape North, Cape Breton Island.[2] The strait, approximately 110 kilometres wide, is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso. It is named for the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto.[2]

Cabot Strait
A view of the Cabot Strait from White Point, Cape Breton Island. St. Paul Island is visible in the distance.
Cabot Strait from White Point, Cape Breton Island. St. Paul Island in the distance.
Cabot Strait is located in Canada
Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait
LocationCape Breton Island, Nova Scotia & Newfoundland
Coordinates47°15′00″N 59°45′00″W / 47.25000°N 59.75000°W / 47.25000; -59.75000
TypeChannel
Part ofGulf of Saint Lawrence
Ocean/sea sourcesAtlantic ocean
Basin countriesCanada
Max. length20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi)
Max. width70 nautical miles (130 km; 81 mi)
Max. depth550 metres (1,800 ft)
IslandsSt. Paul Island (Nova Scotia)
TrenchesLaurentian Channel
ReferencesGeographical Names of Canada - Cabot Strait
The Cabot Strait lies north of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The strait's bathymetry is varied, with the Laurentian Channel creating a deep trench through its centre, and comparatively shallow coastal waters closer to Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island. These bathymetric conditions have been known by mariners to cause rogue waves. The steep slope of the Laurentian Channel was the site of a disastrous submarine landslide at the southeastern end of the strait, triggered by the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake and leading to a tsunami that devastated communities along Newfoundland's south coast and parts of Cape Breton Island.[3]

A strategically important waterway throughout Canadian and Newfoundland history, the strait is also an important international shipping route, being the primary waterway linking the Atlantic with inland ports on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.

The strait is crossed daily by the Marine Atlantic ferry service linking Channel-Port aux Basques and North Sydney. Ferries have been operating across the strait since 1898, and a submarine telegraph cable was laid in 1856 as part of the transatlantic telegraph cable project.[3]

An infamous location in the strait for shipwrecks during the age of sail, St. Paul Island came to be referred to as the "Graveyard of the Gulf" (of St. Lawrence).

In October 1942, German U-boat U-69 torpedoed and sank the unlit Newfoundland ferry SS Caribou, killing 137 people.[4] Then on 25 November 1944 HMCS Shawinigan was torpedoed and sunk with all hands on board (91 crew) by German submarine U-1228.

In 1998, the Cypriot bulk carrier the MV Flare split in half in the Cabot Strait while sailing from Rotterdam to Quebec with the loss of 21 lives on board.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ "Geographical Names of Canada - Cabot Strait". Government of Canada. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b Aronovitch, Davida, ed. (2013). "The Cabot Strait". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Anthony Wilson-Smith - Historica Canada. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b Bentley, Molly (2009-05-03). "Ancient tsunami 'hit New York'". BBC. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  4. ^ "Caribou (Steam merchant) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  5. ^ "Ship owners sued for 1998 sinking". The Globe and Mail. 16 November 2000.
Notes