Whitehead - Whitehaven EarthCache

Whitehead - Whitehaven

Whitehead is a small community in the province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough in Guysborough County. Whitehead sits on the coast between Port Felix to the west and Little Dover and Canso town to the east, hugging the western shore of double-pronged Whitehaven (or Whitehead) Harbour. The harbour is exceptionally deep-watered and large enough to shelter a whole navy. The east side of the harbour is the now-abandoned site of the village of Yankee Cove.

Surf crashes on white granite headland marking the eastern extremity of Tor Bay. The French c.1699 called it Tete Blanche and the English continued calling it Whitehead. From 1655 until the 1770's, the harbour was called Martingo, its deep fog-bound indentations were well-suited to smuggling and piracy activities.

Lower Whitehead is more properly called Lower Whitehaven. The village here is mostly on a small island once reached by bridge, now by causeway and no longer recognizable as an island. The island's official name is Deming Island. It lies at the mouth of the harbour, along with Whitehead (or "Big") Island with its light house (erected 1854), Three-Top Island (incorrectly called Tree Top on some maps) with its small light, and Doliver's Island (known locally as Charlie's Island). The latter gave its name to Doliver's Cove, and around this lies the lower village sometimes known simply as "down in The Cove".

The Canal on Whitehead Peninsula

The canal was constructed in 1878 using horses and manual labour. Local fishermen wanted a shortcut between Port Felix and Whitehead thus saving four miles of sailing or rowing to go each way. The structure is twelve feet wide and one thousand feet in length. Originally it was deep enough to be used at half tide or above. A local group is actively trying to implement a restoration project with support from the municipality.

Geology

The peninsula and islands around it are mainly composed of muscovite biotite monzogranite from the Middle to Late Devonian period. Monzogranites are biotite granite rocks that are considered to be the final fractionation product of magma.

Fractionation is the process of magma changing from volcanic rock with low silica content to volcanic rock with a higher silica content via cooling. As the magma cools higher temperature minerals crystallize and what is left is a felsic magma. The felsic magma is lighter in colour and for the most part, contains minerals that are light in colour. Felsic rock is generally white, tan or pink in it’s groundmass colour.

Isthmus vs Peninsula

Isthmus and peninsula are two geography terms that refer to different types of landforms. They are similar, and these two landforms are often confused. An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that joins two larger bodies of land. Sometimes an isthmus is referred to as a "land bridge." Because an isthmus is often the easiest way to move from one "sea" or body of water to another between two larger land masses, it is often strategically and politically important. There are canals that have been built across many isthmuses so ships can move from one ocean to another.

A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmus. A land bridge is an isthmus connecting the Earth's major land masses. The term land bridge is usually used in biogeology to describe land connections that used to exist between continents at various times and were important for migration of people, and various species of animals and plants.

A peninsula is a land protrusion which is surrounded on three sides by water. So, like an isthmus, it is a narrow strip of land, but instead of joining two larger landforms, it is just attached to one larger landform and juts out into a body of water. It may or may not have an isthmus.  Most commonly, peninsulas are formed via rising water levels due to increased temperatures and typically where the land is at a low elevation. Gradual rise in the water level leads the land to be surrounded by water on three sides, and develop into a peninsula.

Whitehead is a protrusion out into the Atlantic with a barrier island at the end. On the west side is a small isthmus to another smaller peninsula. The peninsula protects the Whitehead harbour from the direct impact of storms and ocean surges.

Islands vs Peninsulas

Types of Islands

Islands are mainly of two types, continental, and oceanic. Continental islands are part of continental masses of land that are surrounded by water on all sides. Oceanic islands are almost always formed due to volcanic activity or due to coral formation. Continental islands are inhabited whereas oceanic islands are not.

Types of Peninsulas

Peninsulas are categorized into headland, cape, promontory, bill, point and split types. Headlands, cape and promontory are peninsulas that are high and steep, and often projecting out towards the water. These are hard rocky structures formed after erosion of the softer part of land by the sea or ocean. A point is a tapering piece of land extending into the ocean, and a spilt is a deposition landform and is often a type of beach.

Whitehead is a peninsula with water on three sides. Deming island is an inhabited island on the south end of the peninsula. The island is tied to the peninsula with a small tombolo that has been developed into a roadway.

To log this Earthcache visit the viewing location.  Please answer the following questions and send in a timely manner to my geocaching profile or email. Answers not received will result in deleted logs.

Note - needs to be done when little to no fog

Questions:

1. What man made structure is at Ref A?

2. How long is the Peninsula, use Ref A to Ground Zero?

3. Is Whitehead peninsula attached with an isthmus?

4. Explain why for your answer in question 3?

5. How long is the Island, use Ref B to Ground Zero x 2 (calculation needed)?

6. Is Deming island an example of a continental or oceanic island?

7. Explain why for your answer in question 6?

8. At Ref B, why are the rocks white, tan or light in colour (on and offshore)?

9. Post a picture in your log with a personal item or hand in picture to prove you were there.

[REQUIRED] In accordance with the updated guidelines from Geocaching Headquarters published in June 2019, photos are now an acceptable logging requirement and WILL BE REQUIRED TO LOG THIS CACHE. Please provide a photo of yourself or a personal item in the picture to prove you visited the site.