New Brunswick

• has the highest tides in the world at 16 metres
• largest of the Maritime provinces
• eighty-five percent of the province is forested
• Mount Carleton is the highest point in the Maritimes at 820 m
• no part of the province lies more than 200 km from the ocean
• provincial capital Fredericton
• provincial flower Purple Violet
• provincial tree Balsam Fir
• provincial bird Black-capped Chickadee
• in the Atlantic Time Zone

New Brunswick is situated on the eastern coast of Canada. It is bounded on the north by Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula and Chaleur Bay, and to the east by the island of Nova Scotia, which is connected to New Brunswick by a narrow isthmus. The south of the province is bounded by the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world, and the US state of Maine. Google Map

New Brunswick is roughly rectangular in shape, extending 322 km north to south and 242 km east to west. It has a landmass of 73,500 square kilometres, 85% of which is forest. The northern part of the province is quite mountainous. The interior consists mainly of a rolling plateau, flatter in the east and hillier in the southeast with elevations above 600 metres.

The southern landscape is characterized by hills sloping down to tidal marshes at the edge of the Bay of Fundy, whereas the eastern and central portions of the province consist of rolling hills cut by river valleys.

New Brunswick lies entirely within the Appalachian Mountain range. The northwestern part of the province is comprised of the remote and more rugged Miramichi Highlands, as well as the Chaleur Uplands and the Notre Dame Mountains with a maximum elevation of 820 metres.

Rivers - The main rivers are the Miramichi, Nepisiguit, Restigouche and the Saint John. The Saint John runs over 725 km and traces a natural boundary between the state of Maine and Canada.

Twice a day, with the rising tide of the Atlantic Ocean, 100 billion tonnes of water stream past a rocky headland in the Bay of Fundy into the St. Lawrence river. The current created is practically equal to the flow of all the world's rivers over a 24-hour period.

Climate - New Brunswick differs from the other Maritime provinces in that it's not surrounded by water. Although it has a significant seacoast, is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean proper and has a large interior which is removed from oceanic influences.

This province has a typically continental climate, rather than a maritime one. Continental climates have an earlier spring and shorter fall, wider fluctuations of temperature from day to day and from season to season, and more snowfall but less total precipitation.

Moist influxes of Atlantic air produce mild spells in winter and periods of cool weather in summer. Near the Bay of Fundy, continental air masses are modified by the ocean. Coastal locations such as Saint John experience moist Atlantic air most of the year, producing mild periods during the winter and cool weather the rest of the year.

Average summer temperature range from 22ºC (71ºF) on the Fundy coast to 25ºC (77ºF) and higher inland. Extremes have exceeded 38ºC (100ºF). Along the south-eastern shores, the January average temperature is around -7.5ºC (-18ºF). In the north-west extreme low temperatures of -30 to -35ºC (-22 to -31ºF) are reported every winter.

See also

Birding Atlantic Canada

National Parks in New Brunswick

Amphibians of the Maritimes 

Reptiles of the Maritimes