Facts:The Maritime, or Atlantic, Province of New Brunswick is washed on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean. Its coastline of 600 miles (966 kilometers) has helped earn it the nickname "Picture Province." Sand beaches, historic ports, and towering cliffs form the seacoast. Forests, broad rivers, and the low rolling hills of the interior make the province a favorite of artists, tourists, and sportsmen.New Brunswick lies on the southeastern edge of the Canadian mainland and is the bridge between the Maritimes and Quebec and the interior. A narrow isthmus connects it with Nova Scotia, the Confederation bridge link it with Prince Edward Island.

The mineral wealth of New Brunswick has become a key source of income and employment. Several coal mines have been in operation for more than 300 years. It was not until the mid-20th century, however, that extensive metal deposits--copper, lead, nickel, zinc, and silver--were discovered and developed.

Fishing has long been a traditional mainstay of the provincial economy. Camp Gagetown, the largest army-training center in Canada, was completed in 1957, providing a vital source of income for the people of central New Brunswick.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, while Europe was engaged in the Napoleonic wars, wood, water, and wind were the essential elements of New Brunswick's economy. Great Britain depended on the colony for masts, tar, and hemp. The timber trade supported more than three fourths of the colonial population. The interior was explored by men cruising the numerous rivers in search of new sources of lumber. Water brought the logs to the sawmills and powered the saws. In the half century prior to 1875, New Brunswick craftsmen built more than 6,000 ships, and the area flourished. The wind-driven ships of wood were replaced by steam-powered iron vessels. Timber--in the form of pulp and paper--continues to be a major source of income in the province.

Saint John, the largest city in the province and the oldest incorporated city in Canada, was built where French and, later, English forts once stood. Here the St. John River, which runs the length of the province, meets the Bay of Fundy at the "reversing falls." Seventy-five miles (121 kilometers) upriver at Fredericton, the capital city since 1785, the Fundy tides are still noticeable. In the lower river valleys and on the marshlands bordering the Bay of Fundy are hay and potato fields, dairy farms, apple orchards, cranberry bogs, and blueberry barrens.

The province is roughly square in shape. It covers 28,354 square miles (73,437 square kilometers), of which 519 square miles (1,344 square kilometers) are fresh water. It is bounded on the west by Maine, and on the north are Quebec and Chaleur Bay. To the east the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait separate it from Prince Edward Island. To the south are Chignecto Bay and the Bay of Fundy. An isthmus about 15 miles (24 kilometers) wide joins it to Nova Scotia on the southeast.
 

Province of One Natural Region

All of New Brunswick lies in the Appalachian Region . This is a part of the highlands region that extends from Newfoundland to Alabama . The New Brunswick Lowland occupies much of eastern and central New Brunswick. It slopes only slightly to sea level in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Plain along the east coast. The New Brunswick Highlands are made up of the Caledonia, St. Croix, and Miramichi highlands. The Caledonia and St. Croix highlands along the southern coast reach elevations of more than 1,000 feet (300 meters).

Northwestern New Brunswick--consisting of the Miramichi Highlands, the Chaleur Uplands, and the Notre Dame Mountains--is wild and rugged. Although the highest elevation, Mount Carleton, is only 2,690 feet (820 meters), there is little level land. Forests cover much of the area. In the far northwest the low Notre Dame Mountains thrust across New Brunswick from Maine to the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec.

There are few gaps through these mountains to the St. Lawrence River valley. Hence all the trade routes from earliest settlement pointed southward to New England and eastward to the other Atlantic provinces. New Brunswick was long isolated from the commercial and industrial heart of Canada by mountains, forests, and sea. Two railroads follow the all-Canadian route northward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A shorter and more direct railroad cuts westward across the state of Maine.

The Trans-Canada Highway, which passes through all ten Canadian provinces, crosses New Brunswick for nearly 400 miles (640 kilometers) from Quebec to Edmundston, southward to Fredericton, then eastward through Moncton. One branch leads northward to Cape Tormentine, where ferry service to Prince Edward Island is available; the other crosses the Nova Scotia border .
 

Bay of Fundy and Its Tides

The Bay of Fundy traditionally has played a leading part in the life of the province. This inlet of the Atlantic Ocean is about 94 miles (151 kilometers) long and 32 miles (51 kilometers) wide at its mouth. At the upper end are Chignecto Bay and Nova Scotia's Minas Channel and Basin.

The bays are remarkable for their tides, the highest in the world. In Passamaquoddy Bay they average 25 feet (7.6 meters), but at the upper end they often rise 60 feet (18.3 meters). As the tide rolls in from the open sea, it is confined by the funnel shape of the bay. The force of the water as it roars in and out of the many inlets and river mouths of the bay twice daily is an impressive sight.

The "reversing falls" at Saint John and the Moncton Bore are two phenomena of the Bay of Fundy. At the mouth of the St. John River the water drops about 20 feet (6.1 meters) through a gorge more than 300 feet (91 meters) wide, with walls some 100 feet (30 meters) high. At low tide the river forms whirlpools as it tumbles through the rapids. As the water rises, slack tide occurs. The rapids appear calm because they are covered when the sea and river levels are equal. Only during this short period is navigation possible. As the tide continues to rise, the higher ocean level forces the river to run upstream, and the churning waters fall in the opposite direction. Water depths in the gorge have been measured at between 150 and 175 feet (45 and 53 meters).

The Moncton Bore is a wall of water 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) high. It advances up the Petitcodiac River, appearing to leap over the top of the river.

The tides keep the harbors along the Bay of Fundy free of ice, and Saint John is one of Canada's chief winter seaports when inland ports become inaccessible. The silt-laden tides also create fertile lowlands on the shores of the bay. The rich alluvial soils of the Tantramar Marshes near Sackville cover 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares).

On the Maine border are the Fundy Isles. Many of the 365 islands in the group are only rocks reaching out of the sea. Grand Manan, with an area of 55 square miles (142 square kilometers), is the largest. Campobello and Deer islands are next in size. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, had a summer home on Campobello. The estate became an international park, maintained by Canada and the United States, in 1964. These islands are vacation retreats for many Canadians and United States residents.

Fundy National Park covers nearly 80 square miles (207 square kilometers) in the southeastern part of the province near Alma. It commands a fine view of Chignecto Bay.
 

Rivers

The St. John River was for centuries the chief highway into the interior. It rises in the forests of Maine and Quebec and crosses New Brunswick from northwest to southeast for 418 miles (673 kilometers) to empty into the Bay of Fundy. The St. John drains an area of about 21,000 square miles (54,000 square kilometers). On its banks are the city of Saint John and the capital city of Fredericton. At Grand Falls, 225 miles (362 kilometers) upstream, the river drops 75 feet (23 meters) in a magnificent waterfall. A great hydroelectric power plant was erected at the falls to provide power for distant pulp and paper mills. Farther downstream at Beechwood and Mactaquac are other hydroelectric plants. The power potential of the river is still not fully tapped.

Other streams include the Miramichi River, 135 miles (217 kilometers) long, which empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Restigouche River, 124 miles (200 kilometers) long, which empties into Chaleur Bay. The Petitcodiac River empties into Shepody Bay at the north end of the Bay of Fundy, and the St. Croix River forms part of the Maine-New Brunswick border before ending in Passamaquoddy Bay.
 

Climate

New Brunswick is in the northern climatic area. Prevailing west winds bring extreme temperatures. The record high is 103o F (39o C) at Nepisiguit Falls, Rexton, and Woodstock; the low, -53o F (-47o C) at Sisson Dam. Average annual precipitation ranges from 41.84 inches (106 centimeters) at Saint John to 29.69 inches (75 centimeters) at Grand Falls in the northwest. Snowfall ranges from 115 inches (292 centimeters) a year at Saint John to 131 inches (333 centimeters) at Chatham.

In the northwest highlands summers are short, and frosts may occur in any month of the year. At Grand Falls the average January temperature is 10.6o F (-11.9o C), and the average July temperature is 65.0o F (18.3o C). Saint John has had extremes of 93o F (33.9o C) and -22o F (-30o C). Average temperatures there are 20.8o F (-6.2o C) in January and 62.2o F (16.8o C) in July.
 

Agriculture

About 7 percent of New Brunswick is agricultural land. The valleys of the St. John and Petitcodiac rivers are fertile farming areas. Behind the ridge that parallels the Bay of Fundy is another productive valley, with Sussex serving as its commercial center. At the head of the bay are the Tantramar Marshes. These lowlands are protected from flooding by a system of dikes, drains, and gates that permit the fresh water from the hills to flow out at low tide and prevent the saltwater tide from entering.

Potatoes are the principal cash crop, and New Brunswick seed potatoes have an international market. Oats, timothy, and clover are raised as specialty seed crops in some areas. Butter, cheese, condensed milk, and fruits--particularly apples and wild blueberries--are also sources of agricultural income. Among other farm products are poultry, eggs, pigs, maple-sugar products, honey, raspberries, and strawberries. In the mid-1980s the first crops of hydroponic lettuce were available on the domestic market.
 

Forests, Fisheries, and Minerals

A forested area of more than 24,000 square miles (62,000 square kilometers)--more than 90 percent of New Brunswick's land--makes lumbering a leading occupation. Logs are hauled over snowy roadways in the winter and floated down the rivers during the spring freshets to the mills on the banks. The forests are also home to deer and moose.

New Brunswick ranks fourth among the Canadian provinces in value of fish caught. Northumberland Strait off the east shore is one of the richest lobster breeding grounds in the world. The high tides of the Bay of Fundy carry enormous quantities of plankton on which herring flourish. Large, modern fishing fleets also go out to the nearby banks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where cod and many other species of fish are taken. Salmon, once a mainstay of the industry, were dramatically reduced in number by river pollution and insecticides. In the 1970s commercial salmon fishing was banned.

The most valuable base-metal resources of the province are located in the Bathurst-Newcastle area, where large deposits of lead, zinc, and copper, along with the precious metal silver, were discovered in 1952. Gold and antimony also contribute to the growing wealth derived from the mineral industry. Coal is mined in the Grand Lake area. Other products include petroleum, sulfur, peat, potash, and clays that are suitable for brick, tile, and pottery. In 1984 New Brunswick and Canada entered into a $22 million mineral-development agreement.
 

Manufacturing and Cities

The food-and-beverage industry is the province's most valuable, and pulp and paper are the second most valuable. There is a pulp pipeline from Edmundston to the United States. Transportation equipment, wood products, furniture, and textiles are also key manufactures. Irving Refining Limited began a new industry in the 1950s with a petroleum refinery.

Saint John, at the mouth of the St. John River on the Bay of Fundy, is the largest city . It has one of Canada's best-developed natural harbors. Across the river is the former city of Lancaster, now incorporated with Saint John. The area's economy revolves around the refinery, pulp and paper mills, brewery products, and a nuclear power plant.

Moncton, located on the Petitcodiac River, is the second largest city in size. It is a manufacturing, air, and railroad center. Nearby is Magnetic Hill, where an optical illusion makes automobiles appear to coast uphill.

Fredericton, the capital, is the third largest city . Here are the University of New Brunswick and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, a collection of British and Canadian paintings. The gallery and several buildings on the university campus are gifts of Lord Beaverbrook (William Maxwell Aitken), the Canadian-born founder of a British newspaper empire who grew up in Newcastle.

Oromocto, on the St. John, is the trading center for Camp Gagetown, the largest permanent army-training base in Canada. In the northern part of the province are Bathurst, noted as a fishing port and paper-mill center; Edmundston, a manufacturing town in a hunting and fishing area; and Campbellton, a seaport and vacation center. In the southeast is Fort Beausejour National Historic Park on the site of the French fort established in the mid-1700s. Farther north near Port Elgin is a national historic site marking the old French Fort Gaspereau.
 

People

New Brunswick's population at the 1981 census was 696,403. More than half the people are of English, Irish, and Scottish descent. About one third are descendants of the original French settlers. The population is about half rural.

Among the famous people of New Brunswick are Andrew Bonar Law, a prime minister of Great Britain; Richard B. Bennett, a prime minister of Canada; and the poets Bliss Carman, Sir Charles G.D. Roberts, and Francis Joseph Sherman. The city of Fredericton has been designated "Poets' Corner of Canada." The literary magazine The Fiddlehead and the historical Acadiensis are published in Fredericton. The Atlantic Advocate is published in Saint John.
 

 Education and Government

The school system provides education through high school for every child in the province. The New Brunswick Schools Act of 1967 called for a reorganization of rural schools into larger units. Pupils of grade seven through high school travel by public school buses to junior-senior district high schools. Instruction is available in both French and English at all levels.

The College of New Brunswick, incorporated in 1800 in Fredericton, became the University of New Brunswick in 1859. In 1964 the Saint John campus opened. In federation with the University of New Brunswick is St. Thomas University in Fredericton. Mount Allison University in Sackville was founded in 1858 and has as an associate the Nova Scotia Technical College in Halifax. The Universite de Moncton in Moncton has campuses in Edmundston and Shippegan. New Brunswick Community College in Fredericton has campuses in Bathurst, Campbellton, Grand Falls, St. Andrews, Saint John, and Woodstock.

The government of New Brunswick is headed by the premier. A lieutenant-governor is appointed by the governor-general-in-council of Canada. The Legislative Assembly has 58 members, elected for five-year terms. In the federal Parliament the province is represented by ten members in the Senate and ten in the House of Commons. New Brunswick was the first province to proclaim itself officially bilingual.
 

History of the Picture Province

The first people of New Brunswick were Indians of the Algonquian group. There were two tribes--the Micmac of the east shore and the Etchemin, or Malecite, of the south shore and the St. John River valley. Many Indian place-names--Miramichi, Skoodawabskooksis, Nepisiguit, and Restigouche--were adopted by both the French and English settlers.

Jacques Cartier landed on the shores of New Brunswick in the summer of 1534. On June 24, 1604, Samuel de Champlain and Pierre du Guast, sieur de Monts, discovered the St. John River. They named it in honor of John the Baptist. The region was settled by the French. Together with Nova Scotia it was known as Acadia. In 1755 there were 10,000 French residents. In that year most of the people were exiled by the British, who had obtained possession of Acadia in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht; many returned after the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

After the French were expelled, the British settled in New Brunswick. The arrival of the United Empire Loyalists helped develop the region. These former American colonists remained loyal to Britain during the Revolutionary War. In 1783 their property was confiscated by the United States, and approximately 14,000 emigrated to Canada. In 1784 New Brunswick was made a separate colony. It was named for the House of Brunswick, of which England's King George III was a member. At Ste-Anne's Point, Frederick Town (Fredericton) was settled by Loyalists in 1783. In 1785 it became the capital.

The boundary with Maine was long in dispute. Troops were marshaled, but no fighting took place. This so-called Aroostook War was settled by Daniel Webster and Britain's Baron Ashburton in 1842. Self-government was granted by Britain in 1848. On July 1, 1867, New Brunswick became one of the four original provinces of the dominion.

With the development of communications in the 19th century, the population increased with immigration from Europe. In the second half of the 20th century, New Brunswick entered an era of industrial advancement. The discovery of rich mineral deposits in the northeastern part of the province and the opening of the Irving petroleum refinery, the Beechwood and Mactaquac hydroelectric plants, and the Trans-Canada Highway enhanced the economy.