View source for Chignecto Bay

{{Short description|Inlet of the Bay of Fundy in North America}}
{{Designation list
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Chignecto
| designation1_date = 16 October 1985
| designation1_number = 320<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chignecto|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/320|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}
[[Image:Wpdms shdrlfi020l bay of fundy.jpg|thumb|230px|right|Chignecto Bay is the north-east arm of the Bay of Fundy.]]
'''Chignecto Bay''' ({{langx|fr|Baie de Chignectou}}) is an [[inlet]] of the [[Bay of Fundy]] located between the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]]s of [[New Brunswick]] and [[Nova Scotia]] and separated from the waters of the [[Northumberland Strait]] by the [[Isthmus of Chignecto]]. It is a unit within the greater [[Gulf of Maine]] Watershed. Chignecto Bay forms the northeastern part of the Bay of Fundy which splits at [[Cape Chignecto]] and is delineated on the New Brunswick side by [[Martin Head, New Brunswick|Martin Head]]. Chignecto Bay is a [[Ramsar site]].

Chignecto bay was also the site of an [[Chignecto Ship Railway|unsuccessful railway and canal project]] of the 1880s and 1890s that would have intersected the landmass, thereby providing a transit passage between [[New England]] and [[Prince Edward Island]]. After several investigations into the feasibility of a new canal project, including most importantly by the Chignecto Canal Commission, the proposed Chignecto Canal was deemed commercially and economically unjustifiable and the project was abandoned.<ref>{{cite web|title=Report of the Chignecto Canal Commission|url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/bcp-pco/CP32-138-1939-eng.pdf|website=Government of Canada Publications|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=25 December 2017}}</ref> Some of the physical remnants of the 1880s project still continue to dot the landscape of Chignecto Bay today.

==Hydrography==
[[File:Chignecto Bay and Cape Chignecto on the Bay of Fundy at Joggins, NS - 08724.JPG|thumb|left|Chignecto Bay viewed from [[Joggins Fossil Cliffs]]. In the distance is Cape Maringouin with the coast of New Brunswick visible on the horizon.]]
At its head, Chignecto Bay itself subdivides into two basins, separated by Cape Maringouin:
*[[Cumberland Basin (Canada)|Cumberland Basin]] - the northeast arm of Chignecto Bay (and the Bay of Fundy) between the two provinces, terminating at the [[Tantramar Marshes]] and the [[estuary|estuaries]] of the [[Tantramar River]] and [[Maccan River (Nova Scotia)|Maccan River]].
*[[Shepody Bay]] - the north arm of Chignecto Bay and is wholly within New Brunswick. Its northern limit is formed at the estuaries of the [[Petitcodiac River|Petitcodiac]] and [[Memramcook River]]s.

Many small named bays line the Bay's coast including [[Salisbury Bay]] at the mouths of the [[Upper Salmon River (New Brunswick)|Upper Salmon River]] and [[Cleveland Brook (New Brunswick)|Cleveland Brook]], site of the [[Alma, New Brunswick|Village of Alma, NB]].

Chignecto Bay is a northern extension of a [[rift valley]] that forms much of the Bay of Fundy.

==Toponymy==

''Chignecto'' is derived from the [[Mi'kmaq language]], but its exact etymology is unclear. It may be from {{lang|mic|Sigunikt}} 'foot cloth', possibly alluding to a [[Mi'kmaq]] legend.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hamilton|first=William|title=The Macmillan Book of Canadian Place Names|publisher=Macmillan|year=1978|isbn=0-7715-9754-1|location=Toronto|pages=73}}</ref> Or it may be from {{lang|mic|Siknikt}}, 'drainage place';{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} the latter (as {{lang|mic|Siknikt}} or {{lang|mic|Signigt}}, in longer form {{lang|mic|Sikniktewa'kik}} or {{lang|mic|Signigtewa'gi}}) is today the name of the [[Mi'kma'ki|Mi'kma'ki district]] in which the bay is located.

==Shorebird wildlife areas==
The head of [[Cumberland Basin (Canada)|Cumberland Basin]] is an important migrating area for many [[shorebird]]s. A large portion of it is protected as a wildlife sanctuary known as the [[Chignecto National Wildlife Area]]. It includes the 10.2&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> [[John Lusby National Wildlife Area]], which is recognized as a [[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Wetland of International Importance since October 1985.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ramsar sites in Canada}}
{{Gulf of Maine drainage estuaries}}
{{Rivers of New Brunswick}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|45|40|N|64|40|W|region:CA_type:waterbody_scale:500000|display=title}}

[[Category:Bays of New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Bays of Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Landforms of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Landforms of Westmorland County, New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Landforms of Albert County, New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Canada]]
[[Category:Borders of New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Borders of Nova Scotia]]