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Hard, igneous
bedrock underlies the Gaspé’s Notre Dame
Mountains and other higher, heavily forested parts of
this ecozone. The lowland coastal areas, on the other
hand, are composed of sedimentary rocks. These lowlands
are home to most of the Atlantic Maritime’s human
population of approximately two and a half million, about
half in cities and towns like Halifax and St. John, the
other half in rural districts. The more fertile soils
of this area allow for a diverse agricultural industry
– dairy and cattle farming, poultry production,
fruit and vegetable growing – and, of course, the
surrounding seas have supported fishing for centuries.
Forestry and tourism are also important industries throughout
this region, and mining occurs in some areas, notably
around Bathurst, New Brunswick, where a variety of base
metals and other minerals – copper, lead, zinc and
silver among them – are extracted.
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six National Parks in the Atlantic Maritime ecozone:
Fundy and Kouchibouguac (Mi’kmaq for “River
of the long tides”), in New Brunswick; Cape Breton
Highlands and Kejimkujik, in Nova Scotia; Forillon,
in Quebec; and Prince Edward Island National Park. |
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The Bay of Fundy tides
are among the highest in the world, changing twice a day,
every six hours and thirteen minutes. With each tide,
the bay flushes 100 cubic km of water, roughly equal to
the entire daily discharge of all the rivers in the world
combined. |
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Image © Parks Canada Ref.
#04.40.03.20(06)
Photograph by J. Pleau |
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