Cape Breton Highlands National
Park, the first national park in the Maritimes,
situated in the northern section of Nova Scotia's
Cape Breton Island, preserves 950 square kilometres
of wilderness. Almost half of the Cabot
Trail, completed just four years before the
opening of the park, encompasses it on three sides.
On the western edge, the rugged coastline is exposed
to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while the eastern
shores that slope more gently to the Atlantic
Ocean curve to form more hospitable little coves
and bays. The landscape
abounds with diverse plant
life and wildlife:
229 categories of birds, several rare animal species
and marine mammals that can be seen from shore.
Once the sole domain of the Micmac people,
the island shows many influences of the Acadian,
Scottish and French settlers and pioneers whose
descendants still constitute a large proportion
of the population.