Welcome to Cape Breton Island
Part Two

Place Names Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia Cape Breton Highlands National Park United States Bras d'Or Lakes England Portugal Spain France Atlantic Provinces Cape Breton County Richmond County Inverness County Victoria County

Land, Climate and Wildlife

Early settlers on Cape Breton Island soon learned that most of the soil on the island is not good for farming. It is rocky, with many bogs. Cleared land that is left alone is quickly taken over by evergreen trees, such as spruce and fir. Cape Breton Island is thickly covered with forests. Many parts of the island have trees such as balsam fir, red spruce, white spruce, birch, tamarack and pine. In some northern parts of the island, the reds, oranges and yellows of sugar maples and other hardwood trees make the scenery something people look forward to in the fall of the year.

The climate on Cape Breton Island is cool and humid. The island has four seasons. Most of the snow falls in January. Late July can be quite hot.