Halifax Harbour
| Port of Halifax | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Location | Halifax Regional Municipality |
| Details | |
| Opened | Eighteenth century |
| Size of harbor | 12.3 square miles (32 km2) |
| President and CEO | Karen Oldfield |
| Statistics | |
| Vessel arrivals | 1,500 |
| Annual cargo tonnage | 8.6 million metric revenue tons (FY2013) |
| Annual container volume | 442,173 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) (FY2013) |
| Passenger traffic | 252,121 (FY 2013) |
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Website www |
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Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglicized as Chebucto. It runs in a northwest-southeast direction.
Based on average vessel speeds, the harbour is strategically located approximately one hour's sailing time north of the Great Circle Route between the Eastern Seaboard and Europe. As such, it is the first inbound and last outbound port of call in eastern North America with transcontinental rail connections.
The harbour is largely formed by a drowned glacial valley which succumbed to sea level rise since glaciation. The Sackville River now empties into the upper end of the harbour in Bedford Basin, however its original river bed has been charted by the Canadian Hydrographic Service throughout the length of the harbour and beyond.
The harbour includes the following geographic areas:
The harbour is home to several small islands. The harbour limit is actually formed by the northern end of its largest island - McNabs Island. The largest island entirely within the harbour limits is Georges Island, a glacial drumlin similar to its dryland counterpart at Citadel Hill. Several small islands are located in the Bedford Basin near Bedford and Burnside.
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