This article is about the water body. See Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

Mahone Bay is a town located on the northwest shore of Mahone Bay along the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County.- History :...

 for the article about the municipality.

Mahone Bay is a bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

 located on the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 coast of Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 along the eastern end of Lunenburg County

Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg County is a county located on the South Shore of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, It ranges from Hubbards to the east and Vogler's Cove to the west.-History:...

.

Opening south directly onto the Atlantic, its eastern shore is formed by the Aspotogan Peninsula

Aspotogan Peninsula

The Aspotogan Peninsula is a peninsula in the eastern part of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, situated between St. Margarets Bay in the east from Mahone Bay in the west. The Peninsula was originally settled by second generation French immigrants on the eastside of the Aspotogan and second...

 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

St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia

St. Margarets Bay is a Canadian bay located on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia on the border of the Halifax Regional Municipality and Lunenburg County .-Description:...

, in that Mahone Bay shows a greater variety of soils and bedrock. Numerous glacial drumlin

Drumlin

A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín , first recorded in 1833, is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine.-Drumlin formation:...

s on the western shore near the towns of Mahone Bay

Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

Mahone Bay is a town located on the northwest shore of Mahone Bay along the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County.- History :...

 and Lunenburg have resulted in 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

Chester, Nova Scotia

Chester is an incorporated Canadian village located in and part of Nova Scotia's Chester Municipal District in the southeastern part of Lunenburg County.-History:...

 and Mahone Bay have become a destination for cruising

Cruising

Cruising may mean:*Cruising , driving around for social purposes, especially by teenagers*Cruise , in aviation*Cruising , leisurely travel by boat, yacht, or cruise ship...

 in pleasure yachts. A scenic provincial park at 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 Tancook Island and Little Tancook, located on Big Tancook Island

Big Tancook Island

Big Tancook Island is a Canadian island located off the coast of Nova Scotia. The island is one of the 365 islands dotting Mahone Bay. It measures approximately long and wide, forming roughly a "C" shape. The island is separated from nearby Little Tancook Island to the east by a wide strait...

 and Little Tancook Island

Little Tancook Island

Little Tancook Island is a Canadian island located off the coast of Nova Scotia. The island is one of the 365 islands dotting Mahone Bay. The island is long by wide and is roughly triangular in shape. It is separated from Big Tancook Island by the wide strait called "The Chops"...

 respectively. Other important fishing ports include Blandford

Blandford, Nova Scotia

Blandford is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Chester Municipal District on the Aspotogan Peninsula on the Lighthouse Route...

.

Mahone Bay was named after the French mahonne (English: Barge), which referred to a type of boat used by local privateers.

In popular culture

Frank Parker Day

Frank Parker Day

Frank Parker Day was a Canadian athlete, academic and author....

's novel Rockbound

Rockbound

Rockbound is a novel published in 1928 by Canadian writer Frank Parker Day.-Overview:The "Rockbound" mentioned in the title is an island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Surrounded by rich but dangerous fishing grounds, Rockbound is isolated by storms, fog and winter weather...

takes place on the fictional island of the same name, which was based on the Mahone Bay island of East Ironbound. Day visited the area and created Rockbound as a fictionalized, exaggerated account of life on the islands.

Mahone Bay contains Oak Island

Oak Island

Oak Island is a island in Lunenburg County on the south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. The tree-covered island is one of about 360 small islands in Mahone Bay and rises to a maximum of 35 feet above sea level...

, well known in connection with tales of buried treasure.

The 2006 independent movie 'A Stone's Throw' was filmed primarily at locations in and around Mahone Bay.

External links

• Mahone Islands Conservation Association
• Oak Island Treasure Discover the legend of lost treasure buried on Oak Island, Mahone Bay