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Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador

Channel-Port aux Basques
Town
The Channel-Port aux Basques waterfront in October 2005.
The Channel-Port aux Basques waterfront in October 2005.
Channel-Port aux Basques is located in Newfoundland
Channel-Port aux Basques
Channel-Port aux Basques
Location of Channel-Port aux Basques in Newfoundland
Coordinates: 47°34′10″N 59°08′10″W / 47.56944°N 59.13611°W / 47.56944; -59.13611Coordinates: 47°34′10″N 59°08′10″W / 47.56944°N 59.13611°W / 47.56944; -59.13611
Country  Canada
Province  Newfoundland and Labrador
Incorporated 1945
Government
 • Type Channel-Port aux Basques Town Council
 • Mayor Ralph Pontillas
Area
 • Total 38.77 km2 (14.97 sq mi)
Elevation 23 m (75 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 4,170
 • Density 111.4/km2 (289/sq mi)
Time zone Newfoundland Time (UTC-3:30)
 • Summer (DST) Newfoundland Daylight (UTC-2:30)
Postal code span A0M
Area code(s) 709
Highways Route 470
Route 1
Website www.portauxbasques.ca
Channel Head Lighthouse
Channel PortAuxBasques Light.JPG
Channel Head Lighthouse
Location Channel Head
Channel-Port aux Basques
Newfoundland
Canada
Coordinates 47°33′57.3″N 59°07′24.8″W / 47.565917°N 59.123556°W / 47.565917; -59.123556
Year first constructed 1875 (first)
Year first lit 1895 (current)
Construction wooden tower (first)
cast iron tower (current)
Tower shape square prism tower with balcony and lantern (first)
cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern (current)
Height 9 metres (30 ft) (first)
17 metres (56 ft) (current)
Focal height 27.5 metres (90 ft) (first)
29 metres (95 ft) (current)
Range 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi)
Characteristic Fl W 10s.
Fog signal 1 blast every 60s.
Admiralty number H0222
CHS number CCG 160
NGA number 2468
ARLHS number CAN-654
Managing agent Canadian Coast Guard

Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland fronting on the western end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway in the province. The town was incorporated in 1945 and its population in the 2011 census was 4,170.

Port aux Basques is the oldest of the collection of towns that make up the present-day town, which consists of Port aux Basques, Channel, Grand Bay, and Mouse Island. Amalgamation took place in the 1970s.

Channel refers to the narrow channel of water that leads into the local harbour. Port aux Basques refers to the harbour that was a favoured sheltering and watering place for Basque whalers who hailed from the Basque region of the Pyrenees of France and Spain during the early 16th century. After leaving the harbour the whalers either proceeded to the main whaling grounds off southern Labrador, or headed home to the Basque country. They almost certainly took on fresh water from Dead Man's Brook, which flows into Port aux Basques harbour, during their stopovers.

Port aux Basques is first seen on a 1687 Johannes van Keulen map of the area. Permanent settlement came from French fishermen who overwintered on this, the "French shore", using rights given under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht which saw France cede its claims in Newfoundland to Great Britain in exchange for right of use of coastal lands for the fishery. With the fishery being the economic mainstay for both French and British settlers in the area, Channel-Port aux Basques [6] appeared destined to remain a collection of small fishing villages.

The town is called "Siinalk" in the Mi'kmaq language.

In 1856, an underwater telegraph cable [7] was successfully laid between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island, making landfall nearby. This was the first step in the race to complete a trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. A telegraph station was opened in Port aux Basques in 1857.


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