Nova Scotia is one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada and is located in Eastern Canada.
It is one of the four provinces that form Atlantic Canada.
Nova Scotia borders New Brunswick and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.
As of March 2019, the population of Nova Scotia was estimated to be almost 1 million people. It is the 7th most populous province in Canada.
Nova Scotia is the 12th largest province in Canada in terms of total area with 52,942 square kilometers (20,441 square miles).
Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia. It is is a major economic center in Atlantic Canada with a large concentration of government services and private sector companies.
Roughly 580 kilometers (360 miles) long but not more than about 130 kilometers (80 miles) wide at any point, the province comprises the peninsula of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island (separated from the mainland to the southwest by the narrow Strait of Canso), and a number of small adjacent islands.
The hills and low mountains ranges of Nova Scotia are all located within the Appalachian Mountains, a chain of eroded mountains that extend about 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) in length, from central Alabama in the US, through Canada’s maritime provinces.
White Hill is the province’s highest point at 532 meters (1,745 feet) above sea level.
Mainland Nova Scotia is dotted with hundreds of small, freshwater lakes; the largest of which is Lake Rossignol.
The Margaree and Mira are the largest rivers on the island, and countless smaller rivers and streams drain into Atlantic Ocean.
Nova Scotia has 2 national parks and more than 100 provincial parks.
The highest peaks in Nova Scotia are in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, which covers more than 950 square kilometers (370 square miles) at the northern tip of Cape Breton Island. Both the coastline of beaches and cliffs and the inland forests and rivers tempt hikers, campers, and families to explore the park.
Cabot Trail is a 300-kilometer (186-mile) scenic drive rings the northwest coast of Cape Breton Island and Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It is a coastal route, where the highest mountains in Nova Scotia dramatically meet the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Cliffs, beaches, viewpoints, and a twisting road give countless photo opportunities, and this is a very popular motorcycle tour route.
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the US state of Maine. The Bay of Fundy is home to the world’s highest tides at some times of the year the difference between high and low tide in this Bay is 16.3 meters (53.5 feet) , taller than a three-story building.
Overlooking downtown Halifax, this hilltop fortress is the remnant of a British garrison that was first established in the 18th-century. Halifax Citadel National Historic Site which itself was built in 1856, never saw a battle. Today, the warren-like tunnels, powder magazine, and barracks have been preserved, and living-history guides give tours. There are reenactments and fortress guards with interpreters dressed in British reds, complete with musket salutes and the sound of bagpipes.
The Halifax Public Gardens are Victorian era public gardens formally established in 1867, the year of Canadian Confederation. The gardens are located in the Halifax Peninsula near the popular shopping district of Spring Garden Road and opposite Victoria Park. The gardens were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1984.
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a maritime museum located in downtown Halifax. The museum is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of over 30,000 artifacts including 70 small craft and a steamship: the CSS Acadia, a 180-foot steam-powered hydrographic survey ship launched in 1913.
Native Mi’kmaq lived and fished in Nova Scotia’s rich waters for at least 5,000 years before John Cabot became the first documented European to sail along Nova Scotia’s coast in 1497. However, it was the French who established the first permanent European settlement, Port Royal, in 1605.
In 1621 King James I of England named the same territory Nova Scotia, and granted the land to the Scottish colonizer Sir William Alexander.
“Nova Scotia” means “New Scotland” in Latin and is the recognized English-language name for the province.
Nova Scotia started to regain its prosperity during WWII and is in the middle of another boom period. Tourism has become one of Nova Scotia’s most important industries alongside fishing and shipbuilding.
Nova Scotia has long been a center for artistic and cultural excellence.
The cuisine of Nova Scotia is typically Canadian with an emphasis on local seafood.
Nova Scotia has many ancient fossil-bearing rock formations.