Bell Island (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Aerial view of Bell Island
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 Bell Island
Location of Bell Island in Newfoundland
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Conception Bay, Newfoundland |
| Coordinates | 47°37′58″N 52°57′57″W / 47.63278°N 52.96583°WCoordinates: 47°37′58″N 52°57′57″W / 47.63278°N 52.96583°W |
| Area | 34 km2 (13 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 120 m (390 ft) |
| Highest point | Round Juniper Marsh |
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Canada
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| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Location | Bell Island Conception Bay Newfoundland |
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| Coordinates | 47°39′18.1″N 52°54′58.9″W / 47.655028°N 52.916361°W |
| Year first constructed | 1966 |
| Construction | wooden tower |
| Tower shape | square prism tower atop a 1-storey fog signal building |
| Markings / pattern | white tower, grey metallin lantern |
| Height | 9 metres (30 ft) |
| Focal height | 53 metres (174 ft) |
| Range | 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 6s. |
| Admiralty number | H0470 |
| CHS number | CCG 493 |
| NGA number | 1836 |
| ARLHS number | CAN-673 |
| Managing agent | Canadian Coast Guard |
Bell Island is an island located off the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in Conception Bay. Measuring 9.7 kilometres (6.0 mi) in length and 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) in width, it has an area of 34 square kilometres (8,400 acres). The subsurface is composed of Ordovician sandstone and shale with red hematite. It was once the site of large iron ore mines.
It is home to three communities, the largest of which is the incorporated town of Wabana. The provincial government operates a ferry service from Portugal Cove to Bell island daily. It is primarily used by commuters who work in the St. John's metropolitan area.
Probably settled by Maritime Archaic and/or Dorset people, Bell Island, as with the rest of the island of Newfoundland, was probably inhabited by the Beothuk Nation at the time of European discovery.
The first European inhabitants settled during the 18th century and attempted to farm and fish, with the island having a subsistence economy throughout much of the 19th century. The first recorded settler was an Englishman, Gregory Normore, in 1740.
The economy expanded tremendously during the 1890s when iron ore mining began near the community of Wabana.
Wabana grew to become the island's largest community and the mine became one of the largest producers of iron ore in northeastern North America. The mine's workings extended beneath the seabed of Conception Bay, creating one of the most extensive submarine iron mines in the world.
Most of Bell Island's ore was shipped from loading facilities to Sydney, Nova Scotia where it was smelted in a steel mill. The steel mill at Sydney and the iron mine at Bell Island were owned by the Dominion Steel and Coal Company (DOSCO), which at one point was one of the largest private employers in Canada.
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Wikipedia