Isle Haute is an island in the upper regions of Bay of Fundy in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, near the entrance to the Minas Basin. It is 16 kilometers from Harbourville and eight kilometers south-southwest of Cape Chignecto. The island is three kilometres (1.9 mi) long and 400 metres (1,300 ft) wide.
History The steep basalt cliffs of the island are the result from volcanic eruptions in the Jurassic period and may have been connected to the North Mountain volcanic ridge on the mainland 200 million years ago, before the Bay of Fundy was formed.
The Mi'kmaq used the island to make stone tools before Europeans arrived and called the island "Maskusetik", meaning place of wild beans, hidden oats.Mi'kmaq Place Names In 1604, Samuel de Champlain gave the present name to the island, which means "High Island" in French, when he observed the towering bluffs, timber and fresh-water springs.
In 1878, a lighthouse was built and was staffed until 1956, when fire collapsed the lighthouse and home of the lighthouse keeper. The lighthouse was replaced by a steel tower and is unstaffed. Federally owned, the island was transferred from the Canadian Coast Guard to the Canadian Wildlife Service to protect its unique ecosystem, and became a National Wildlife Area in 2025. The island is also protected under Nova Scotia's Special Places Act to protect early Mi'kmaq archaeological sites.David J. Christianson and David Keenlyside, "A First Look: The Archaeology of Isle Haute", The Nova Scotian Museum Isle Haute Expedition July 1997 Curatorial Report No. 90, Nova Scotia Museum, p. 17
See also Basalt Headlands Volcanology of Canada Volcanology of Eastern Canada
References
Sara Keddy, "Isle Haute captures scientists' imaginations", Berwick Register, July 23, 1997 Anne Ottow "The-mysteries-of-Isle-Haute", Annapolis County Spectator, October 9, 2007 "Isle Haute Lighthouse", Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society website Isle Haute, Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, video Dan Conlin, "Industrial History of Isle Haute", Industrial Heritage of Nova Scotia