Boularderie Island facts for kids

Boularderie Island (say "bull-la-dree") is an island in Nova Scotia, Canada. It sits right between the Cabot Strait and a big lake called Bras d'Or Lake. You can find it off the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island. The island got its name from a French person named Louis-Simon le Poupet de la Boularderie. He was given this land by the King of France a long time ago.

Exploring Boularderie Island's Geography

Boularderie Island is pretty big! It's about 40 kilometers (25 miles) long. It's also between 3 to 10 kilometers (2 to 6 miles) wide. This makes it the second largest island in Nova Scotia. Only Cape Breton Island is bigger.

Two waterways from Bras d'Or Lake flow past the island to the Atlantic Ocean:

• The Great Bras d'Or channel runs along the island's northwest side.
• St. Andrews Channel and the Little Bras d'Or channel run along its southeast side.

The very northeast tip of the island is called Point Aconi. It faces the Cabot Strait. The very southwest tip is called Kempt Head. It faces the northern part of Bras d'Or Lake.

Most of the island is covered in thick forests. But you can also find some farms along the southern and eastern shores.

In the northern part of the island, near Point Aconi, there used to be several coal mines. The last one, called the Prince Colliery, closed in 2001. There is also a power plant there, the Point Aconi Generating Station.

The island is split between two of Nova Scotia's counties. About two-thirds of the island is in Victoria County. The rest, which is more populated, is in Cape Breton County.

Communities on Boularderie Island

Many small towns and communities are located on Boularderie Island.

Roads and Travel on the Island

Local roads go all around the island. But there are only two main highways:

• Highway 105 is also part of the Trans-Canada Highway. It crosses the island from the Seal Island Bridge at Boularderie East in the west. It goes to the Little Bras d'Or Bridge at Bras d'Or in the east. This highway was built in the early 1960s.
• Highway 162 is also called Prince Mine Road. It runs from Highway 105 at Bras d'Or to the Point Aconi Generating Station at Point Aconi. It was built in the 1970s to serve the coal mine there.