Mackenzie Head
Mackenzie Head is a small head (north east of Powells Head) extending on the shores of the Northumberland Strait in the community of Chance Harbour.
Pictou County Atlas
Terrain Features: Head
Heads or headlands are rugged coastal landforms that extend into a body of water. In Pictou County, these features (along with coves, beaches, and tidal flats) play a central role in shaping both the physical landscape and the cultural history of the region.
In mapping, heads are important because they mark the boundaries of bays and harbours, often appearing as named features on nautical charts and topographic maps.
Capes, heads, and points are all related coastal landforms, but they differ in scale, prominence, and how they’re used in mapping and navigation. Headlands are usually smaller than capes but share the same erosional origin: softer rock erodes away, leaving harder rock jutting out, and points tend to be a more general term for any small projection of land into water.
All three geographic terms describe land projecting into water, but heads typically form where resistant rock withstands erosion better than surrounding material, leaving a bold, cliffed projection into the water.
Note: Not all Terrain Features have official place names. Even there are many heads or headlands located throughout Pictou County, very few have 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.
Terrain Features Sub Categories: Beach, Cape, Head, Hill, Island (Islet), Mount (Mountain), Patch, Point, Reef (Rocks / Shoal), Spit, Valley, Vegetation
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Some official place names in the Pictou County Atlas related to Heads include:
Powells Head
Powells Head is a small head (south west of Mackenzie Head) extending on the shores of the Northumberland Strait in the community of Chance Harbour. It was formerly known as Powell Point until a name change in 1974.
Governor Head
Governor Head is a small but prominent coastal headland located in the community of Egerton. Formed from the region’s characteristic low, rocky shoreline, the point marks part of the outer harbour and has long functioned as a recognizable geographic landmark for small‑craft navigation and local marine activity. Its position offers clear sightlines across Merigomish Harbour toward the Northumberland Strait, contributing to its role as a traditional reference point within the coastal landscape.
Loch Broom Point
Loch Broom Point is a elongated piece of land that extends out into the mouth of the Middle River, located in the community of Loch Broom.
Savage Point
Savage Point is a low, sandy headland on the southern shore of Big Merigomish Island, extending into the sheltered waters of Merigomish Harbour. It is located across from Point Betty, and helps protect nearby Savage Cove.
Robinson Point
Robinson Point is a low, sandy headland on the southern shore of Big Merigomish Island, that projects out into the sheltered waters of Merigomish Harbour. Identified on both modern topographic sheets (NTS 011E09) and historical charts such as the 1842 Merigomish Harbour map , the point has long served as a recognizable landmark for navigation within the harbour.
The point also helps form the western boundary of French Channel, the narrow passage separating Big Island from the Pig Islands, and thus occupies a strategic position in the harbour’s intricate system of coves and channels.
Smashem Head
Smashem Head is a small but distinctive headland on the southern shore of Big Merigomish Island, where it projects into the sheltered waters of Merigomish Harbour.
The unusual name comes from Robert Stewart, an early Robertson Island (now Big Merigomish Island) settler who was known for his favorite expression “smashem” used to describe battle scenes.
Gully Head
Gully Head is located east of Waterside Beach Provincial Park, along the north side of Caribou Island, extending out into the Northumberland Strait.