Cape Breton Highlands National Park: landscape and origins
Since 1936, Cape Breton Highlands has protected about 950 square kilometres (367 sq mi) on the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, roughly a fifth of northern Cape Breton, between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic.
The defining feature is the Highlands themselves: a forested plateau cut by steep cliffs and deep river canyons. A third of the Cabot Trail runs across this plateau and along both coasts; 106 of the nearly 300 kilometres lie in the park.
The cool maritime climate and rugged terrain allow a mix of Acadian, boreal and taiga habitats. According to the park authority, this combination of northern and southern species is found nowhere else in Canada.
Several dozen rare or endangered species live here, along with old-growth forests of international importance. Small populations of Arctic-alpine plants have survived since the last Ice Age.
The park represents the Maritime Acadian Highlands natural region, part of a mixed broadleaf and conifer forest that stretches from the Great Lakes through New England to Canada’s Maritime provinces.
With the Toqi'maliaptmu'k Arrangement, the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia and Parks Canada have a formal partnership for the joint management of protected areas.
Nature: establishment, area and habitats ↗
The park in numbers
- Established
- 1936
- Area
- 950 km² (367 sq mi), about 20 % of northern Cape Breton
- Location
- Northern tip of Cape Breton Island, between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic
- Cabot Trail in the park
- 106 of nearly 300 km
- Natural region
- Maritime Acadian Highlands
- Habitats
- Acadian, boreal and taiga; this mix exists nowhere else in Canada
- Hiking trails
- 26
- Campgrounds
- 8
- Partnership
- Toqi'maliaptmu'k Arrangement with the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia
