Little Caribou Entrance
Little Caribou Entrance is a natural coastal water feature located on the south side of Caribou–Munroes Island along the shores of the Northumberland Strait
Pictou County Atlas
Hydrographic Features: Passage
A passage is a navigable waterway (often narrow and tidal) that connects the strait to the sheltered waters of a harbour. It can be natural (formed by coastal landforms) or modified with aids to navigation (buoys, ranges, dredging).
A passage differs from a harbour entrance in that it is often longer and more complex, weaving through islands or shoals rather than being a single opening.
In Pictou County, passages such as the Eastern Passage at Cape John and Inside Passage near Caribou are key hydrographic features that shape navigation, settlement, and coastal ecology.
Note: Not all Hydrographic Features have official place names included in the Canadian Geographic Names Database., if you know of some Passages 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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Some official place names in the Pictou County Atlas related to Passages include:
Big Caribou Entrance
Big Caribou Entrance is a natural coastal water feature on the Northumberland Strait, forming part of the intricate channels, reefs, and island passages around Caribou Island, and the Caribou–Munroes Island areas. The Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island ferry route travels through the Big Caribou Entrance while exiting Caribou Harbour enroute to PEI.
Eastern Passage
Eastern Passage in Amet Sound is a narrow tidal channel that separates the mainland near Cape John from the low-lying islands and shoals that fringe the entrance of the sound. Situated on the north shore of Nova Scotia, this passage forms part of the intricate coastal geography of Pictou County, where Amet Sound opens into the Northumberland Strait. The channel has long been recognized on nautical charts as a useful but sometimes challenging route, as shifting sands and reefs define its margins.
Main Channel
Like Inside Channel, Main Channel is a waterway that flows between Munroes Island and the mainland, however the Main Channel is south of the Inside Channel.