Newfoundland

Introduction

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador includes the large island of Newfoundland (405,720 sq. km). This chapter deals with the island of Newfoundland and the Labrador coast up to Cape Chidley. Much of the coastline is rocky, barren and subarctic in character.

Newfoundland

The island of Newfoundland partly blocks the eastern end of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is separated from Labrador to the north by the Strait of Belle Isle and from Cape Breton Island to the southwest by the wider Cabot Strait. It consists of Appalachian structures, with Palaeozoic rock formations, folded and faulted mainly along SW–NE alignments, in contrast with the Laurentian Shield structure of Labrador. The interior consists of a broad plateau with low hills and a higher ridge (Long Range Mountains) runs NNE along the western peninsula. The rugged island coastline is about 16,000 km long, with peninsulas and bays following the SW–NE trend, and much of the coast is backed by hills or low...