Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island (French: île du Cap-Breton, formerly île Royale; Scottish Gaelic: Ceap Breatainn or Eilean Cheap Bhreatainn; Miꞌkmaq: Unamaꞌki)[5] is a rugged and irregularly shaped island[6] on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.[7]
"Cape Breton" redirects here. For the municipality, see Cape Breton Regional Municipality. For other uses, see Cape Breton (disambiguation).
- Île du Cap-Breton (French)[1]
- Unama'ki (Mi'kmawi'simk)
- Eilean Cheap Bhreatainn (Scottish Gaelic)
- Île du Cap-Breton (French)[1]
- Unama'ki (Mi'kmawi'simk)
- Eilean Cheap Bhreatainn (Scottish Gaelic)
Nova Scotia, Canada
10,311 km2 (3,981 sq mi)
77th
535 m (1755 ft)
Cape Breton Regional Municipality (pop. 93,694[2])
Cape Bretoner[3]
132,019[4] (2021)
12.8/km2 (33.2/sq mi)
The 10,311 km2 (3,981 sq mi) island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although the island is physically separated from the Nova Scotia peninsula by the Strait of Canso, the 1,385 m (4,544 ft) long Canso Causeway connects it to mainland Nova Scotia. The island is east-northeast of the mainland with its northern and western coasts fronting on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with its western coast forming the eastern limits of the Northumberland Strait. The eastern and southern coasts front the Atlantic Ocean with its eastern coast also forming the western limits of the Cabot Strait. Its landmass slopes upward from south to north, culminating in the highlands of its northern cape. One of the world's larger saltwater lakes, Bras d'Or ("Golden Arm" in French), dominates the island's centre.
The total population at the 2016 census numbered 132,010 Cape Bretoners, which is approximately 15% of the provincial population.[4] Cape Breton Island has experienced a decline in population of approximately 2.9% since the 2011 census. Approximately 75% of the island's population is in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM), which includes all of Cape Breton County and is often referred to as Industrial Cape Breton.
Toponymy[edit]
Cape Breton Island takes its name from its easternmost point, Cape Breton.[8] This may have been named after the Gascon fishing port of Capbreton,[9] but more probably takes its name from the Bretons of northwestern France. A Portuguese mappa mundi of 1516–20 includes the label "terra q(ue) foy descuberta por Bertomes" in the vicinity of the Gulf of St Lawrence, which means "land discovered by Bretons".[10] The name "Cape Breton" first appears on a map of 1516, as C(abo) dos Bretoes,[10] and became the general name for both the island and the cape toward the end of the 16th century.[8] The Breton origin of the name is not universally accepted, however: William Francis Ganong argued that the Portuguese term Bertomes referred to Englishmen or Britons, and that the name should be interpreted as "Cape of the English".[10]
Government[edit]
Local government on the island is provided by the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, the Municipality of the County of Inverness, the Municipality of the County of Richmond, and the Municipality of the County of Victoria, along with the Town of Port Hawkesbury.
The island has five Miꞌkmaq Indian reserves: Eskasoni (the largest in population and land area), Membertou, Wagmatcook, Waycobah, and Potlotek.
Cabot's Landing, Victoria County, commemorating the "first land seen" by explorer John Cabot in 1497
A bulk carrier in the Strait of Canso docked at the Martin Marietta Materials quarry at Cape Porcupine
