Pictou County Atlas

Terrain Features: Mountain

Mountains are elevated landforms that rise prominently above surroundings and dominate landscapes through their height, relief, and prominence. While Pictou County, does not contain true elevated mountains by global standards, its uplands and high hills (rising to over 300 m) function as mountain-like terrain features in local geography and mapping.

These terrain features are a big influence on climate, hydrology, vegetation, and human settlement. In mapping, they are represented through contour lines, spot elevations, and shaded relief, which allow cartographers to depict their height and shape.

In Pictou County, the landscape is characterized more by rolling uplands and ridges than by towering peaks, but these features still reach elevations of over 350 m in places such as Mount Thom and the uplands near the East River valley. Locally, these high points are mapped with precision, influence hydrology and settlement, and connect the county’s landscape to the broader Appalachian system of Atlantic Canada.

Note: Not all Terrain Features have official place names. Even there are many Mountains 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

Click here to return to the Pictou County Place Names Atlas

Some official place names in the Pictou County Atlas related to Mountains include:

The Keppoch

in Hill, Mount, Mountain, Terrain Feature

Tthe Keppoch is a large upland mountainous geography located in both Pictou and Antigonish Counties. The area is well known for as a highland recreation area serving northeastern Nova Scotia with year‑round activities including hiking, biking, skiing fishing and hunting. The range is part of Nova Scotia’s mixed metamorphic and sedimentary uplands shaped by glacial action; soils and bedrock produce rolling ridges, wetlands and small headwater streams typical of the Northumberland Shore hinterland. It is a mixed Acadian forest containing both coniferous and deciduous stands with wetland pockets and managed woodlots in surrounding private and conserved lands.

Barneys River Nature Reserve

in Nature Reserve, Conservation Area, Mountain

Barneys River Nature Reserve is a protected old‑growth hardwood area covering about 567 hectares (1,401 acres); it protects intact forest, important freshwater habitat for brook trout and Atlantic salmon, and provides refuge for mainland moose while offering informal trails off Highway 104 for walking and cross‑country skiing. It helps to protect mature sugar maple, yellow birch, and other hardwood species that are increasingly rare in the region; these stands support complex forest structure and high biodiversity.

Dalhousie Mountain Nature Reserve

in Nature Reserve, Conservation Area, Mountain

Dalhousie Mountain Nature Reserve, located in the community of Mount Thom, was designated as a Conservation Area by the Province of Nova Scotia in 2015. It is a 46‑hectare protected area that preserves rich mixed‑wood forest and several rare plant species, including round‑leaved hepatica, a woodland herb found in only a handful of Nova Scotia locations.

Aulds Mountain

in Mountain, Mount, Terrain Feature

Aulds Mountain is located north of the Trans Canada Highway with a spatial extent spread across the communities of Avondale, Piedmont, Kenzieville, and Broadway. Several wind turbines are located here in what is referred to as the Aulds Mountain Wind Farm.

Sutherlands Mountain

in Mountain, Mount, Terrain Feature

Sutherlands Mountain located in the community of Blue Mountain , is one of highest prominent uplands in Pictou County, rising to about 272 m, forming part of the upland ridge south of Blue Mountain.

McLellans Mountain

in Mountain, Mount, Terrain Feature

McLellans Mountain rises up about 246 metres and spans across parts of the communities of McLellans Mountain, McLellans Brook, Greenwood, and Kirkmount.

McGregor Mountain

in Mountain, Mount, Terrain Feature

McGregor Mountain is located in the communities of Plymouth and Mountville. It is part of the rolling upland terrain that defines central Pictou County. Its modest elevation of 177 metres (580 feet) provides local relief and contributes to the rural landscape around Mountville.

Irish Mountain

in Mountain, Mount

Irish Mountain is located in the communities of Brookville and Churchville. It was named on account of one of its first settlers, Patrick Finner who was Irish.