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First images black and white

Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada

November 28, 1995

Black and White Image

St. Paul Island off the tip of Cape Breton
Margaree River and Valley
Ingonish Area
Outbound Ship
Inbound Ship
Baddeck Bay
City of Sydney
Sydney Airport
Historic Fortress of Louisbourg

St. Paul Island off the tip of Cape Breton

Showing extent of wind-induced turbulence in seas on the lee side of the island due to strong winds from west descending over the top of the island.

Margaree River and Valley

Margaree River and valley region around north east Margaree. Farms, buildings and other land use are visible. Field patterns showing different crop types are also seen.

Ingonish Area

Ingonish Harbour and beach area surrounded by 1,300 foothills. Middle Head dramatically splits North and South Ingonish Bays. A sand barrier at the mouth of the bay is seen.

Outbound Ship

A medium sized ship, believed to be the CN car ferry that runs between Cape Breton and Newfoundland, and its wake are visible. The vee of the wake indicates that the ship is outbound towards the northeast. The displacement of the ship is due to the ships motion and is common in SAR imagery.

Inbound Ship

The Portland Carrier (length 86.44 m) is inbound, as evidenced by its wake and corroborated by records from the Sydney Harbour Master. The Portland Carrier was delayed by a storm in the area.

Baddeck Bay

The region of St. Patrick s Channel and Baddeck Bay show the calm regions in the water immediately below the 1000 foot surrounding hills to the north. The high hills are shielding the water immediately below from the wind while further out, wind turbulence increases, increasing the strength of reflected radar signals.

This area is of historical significance to Canadian aviation and aerospace histroy. It is here that Sir Alexander Graham Bell in partnership with J.A.D. McCurdy, F.W. Baldwin and a few other young engineers, such as Glen H. Curtis, made possible the flight of the Silver Dart in February 1909 - the first manned flight in Canada and the first aircraft to fly the British Commonwealth. They also used Baddeck Bay to test early hydrofoils, probably because of the calm water noted above.

City of Sydney

Details of Sydney, N.S. and surrounding area are visible, including three wharves extending into Sydney Harbour. Several wharves are seen on both sides of the harbour. Sydney is one of the deepest harbours in Canada.

Sydney Airport

Sydney Airport, located between Sydney and Glace Bay in a generally flat and low lying area.

Historic Fortress of Louisbourg

The Fortress of Louisbourg and Louisbourg harbour. Louisbourg was the first major fortress constructed in Canada. It was a major naval base to defend the mouth of the St. Lawrence river. At one time, it was the fourth largest settlement in North America, next to Philedelphia, New York and Boston.