A brook is a small, natural stream of flowing water (typically smaller than a river or creek) that often serves as a tributary to larger waterways. It is usually shallow and narrow, with continuous water flow, and vital to a watershed.
In Pictou County, brooks are abundant and play an important role in shaping the hydrography, settlement, and ecology of the region.
Note: Not all Hydrographic Features have official place names, nor have all names included in the Canadian Geographic Names Database., if you know of some with local names that we have missed, then we encourage you to share that information with us so we can add the info to the atlas.
Hydrographic Feature Sub Categories: Banks / Bays / Brooks (Creeks) / Channels / Coves / Entrance (Passages) / Guts / Harbours / Lakes / Ponds / Pools (Stillwaters) / Rivers / Sluice / Water Falls / Other
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Six Mile Brook is a rural community located south of the community of Four Mile Brook. It is also the name of the brook that starts flowing near the base of Dalhousie Mountain, and flows west through the community of Six Mile Brook and into eventually into the West River.
Lowden Brook is a small fresh watercourse feeding into the East River, it originates in Trenton Park, and flows north west through the community of Hillside before reaching the East River.
Smelt Brook is a small fresh watercourse feeding into the East River system, part of the broader watershed that shapes the industrial and residential landscape of Trenton. The name also reflects the early settlement era, as the area was known by this brook rather than the later industrial name of Trenton. In 1882, Harvey Graham renamed the settlement, after Trenton, New Jersey, envisioning it as a manufacturing hub.
Huggans Brook is a small watercourse located in the Community of Merigomish. It originates near the base of Aulds Mountain, flows north through the Piedmont Valley and eventually empties into Huggans Gut.
Smalls Brook is a small fresh water tributary that originates in the Frasers Mountain area and flows east through the communities of Pine Tree and Woodburn, and then empties into Merigomish Harbour, north of Quarry Island. Historically, the name was originally known as “Small Brook”, but later standardized to Smalls Brook in 1976 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada
Cross Brook is a fresh water stream that originates in an area south of Sunny Brae (north east of Beaver Lake) and flows south into West River St. Mary’s near Caledonia (Guysborough County).
Beaver Brook is a common name, and there are two brooks in Pictou County with that name. One is located Barneys River Station and flows into Barneys River. The other originates in Beaver Lake and flows south into West River St. Marys,
East Branch Donny Brook is a small freshwater brook that originates in the area of Garvies lake in the community of Black Brook. It flows north crossing into Antigonish County and eventually empties into the Ohio River.