Cape Breton Highlands

46.5 - 60.75Koordinaten: 46 ° 30 '0 "N, 60 ° 45 ' 0 " W

The Cape Breton Highlands are a plateau in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia in the north of Cape Breton Island.

The plateau is with the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Cabot Strait and in the North, the St. Lawrence Gulf in the west and the Bras d'Or Lake in the south of the water. The altitude ranges from 350 m at the edge of the plateau to 532 m at White Hill, which represents the highest elevation of Nova Scotia.

The landscape is criss-crossed by deep river valleys and steep-walled canyon hills. In the southwest the plateau merges into broad, fertile valleys formed by glaciers. The interior and the southern border are covered by a damp, cool deciduous forest. South-facing slopes above 300 m accommodate mainly balsam fir. The northern and western edges of the plateau, especially at higher altitudes, similar to arctic tundra.

The Highlands fall on the west coast into steep cliffs in the St. Lawrence Gulf, while they go on the east coast in the gently sloping coastal plains and headlands into the Atlantic.

1936 created the federal government in the northern third of the Highlands with the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and a 950 km ² protected area. The Cabot Trail runs along the coastal regions of the Highlands. On the coast there are some small towns, the interior of the Highlands is not accessible by public roads and sparsely populated.