Bedford Basin
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Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. The basin's geologic history can be traced to the Wisconsin Glaciation when it, along with "The Narrows", formed part of the pre-historic Sackville River valley.
Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality and is oriented northwest-southeast, measuring approximately 8 kilometres long and 5 kilometres wide, surrounded by low hills measuring approximately 60 metres in height. Parts of the basin measure several dozen metres in depth and the good holding ground on the basin floor make it an ideal protected anchorage.
The former town of Bedford on the northwestern corner takes its name from the basin, while the former city of Dartmouth sits on its eastern shore and the former village of Rockingham occupies the majority of the western shore. The former village of Africville (now Seaview Park) is situated on the southern shore near the entrance into The Narrows.
The basin came to international prominence during the First and Second World Wars when the German navy began to use submarines as an offensive weapon against Allied shipping. Canada's prominent role in the First World War led to Halifax being chosen as the primary logistic port for resupplying Western Europe. The protected waters of Bedford Basin allowed the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy to assemble convoys consisting of hundreds of merchant ships in relative security while torpedo nets kept German submarines at bay.
The lands surrounding the basin are heavily developed with the only significant greenspace remaining being a significant blast buffer zone surrounding the Canadian Navy's (MARCOM) Atlantic Fleet (MARLANT) weapons magazine on the northeastern shore of the basin. The south shore of the basin at Fairview Cove hosts one of Halifax's two container terminals as well as a large CN railway yard. The east shore of the basin hosts Burnside Industrial Park, the largest industrial park in HRM, as well as a bulk gypsum terminal at Wright's Cove and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (which also derives its name from the basin) situated near the entrance to The Narrows. The entire western shore to the head of the basin is fronted by a mix of residential/commercial and institutional developments.
External link
- Image of Bedford Basin (http://www.mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/ocean/BedfordBasin/Maps/Map3.jpg)
