Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. In geography, a bay or gulf is a collection of water that is surrounded by land on three sides. ... Halifax Harbour, October 13, 2006. ... “Atlantic” redirects here. ...

The basin's geologic history can be traced to the Wisconsin Glaciation when it, along with "The Narrows", formed part of the pre-historic Sackville River valley. Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... The Wisconsin (in North America), Devensian (in the British Isles), Midlandian (in Ireland), Würm (in the Alps), and Weichsel (in northern central Europe) glaciations are the most recent glaciations of the Pleistocene epoch, which ended around 10,000 BCE. The general glacial advance began about 70,000 BCE, and...

Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality and is oriented northwest-southeast, measuring approximately 8 kilometres long and 5 kilometres wide, surrounded by low hills measuring up to 160 metres (525 feet) in elevation, although most elevations range up to 30-60 m (100-200 ft). The basin is quite deep with some areas measuring several dozen metres in depth; the good holding ground (mud) on the basin floor make it an ideal protected anchorage. Motto: E Mari Merces(Latin) From the Sea, Wealth Coordinates: Country Canada Province Nova Scotia Established April 1, 1996  - Mayor Peter Kelly  - Governing body Halifax Regional Council  - MPs Alexa McDonough, Geoff Regan, Michael Savage, Peter Stoffer, (Bill Casey), (Gerald Keddy), (Peter MacKay)  - MLAs Barry Barnet, Keith Colwell, Kevin Deveaux, Darrell...

The basin contains the following sub-basins:

• Bedford Bay, in the extreme northwest.
• Birch Cove, on the western shore.
• Fairview Cove, in the extreme southwest.
• Wrights Cove, on the eastern shore.

Bedford on the northwestern corner takes its name from the basin, while Dartmouth sits on its eastern shore and Rockingham occupies the majority of the western shore. Africville (now Seaview Park) is situated on the southern shore near the entrance into The Narrows. Bedford (2001 pop. ... Flag of the former City of Dartmouth Dartmouth neighbourhoods and former city boundaries in relation to the Halifax Regional Municipality This article is about the present community of and the former City of Dartmouth (1750-1996); for more information about the wider region, see Halifax Regional Municipality. ... Rockingham is a former community located in Nova Scotias Halifax Regional Municipality. ... Africville was a small unincorporated community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin, in the former city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ...

The basin came to international prominence during the First and Second World Wars when the German navy began to use submarines as an offensive weapon against Allied shipping. Canada's prominent role in the First World War led to Halifax being chosen as the primary logistic port for resupplying Western Europe. The protected waters of Bedford Basin allowed the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy to assemble convoys consisting of hundreds of merchant ships in relative security while torpedo nets kept German submarines at bay. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Günther Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter Typhoon class nuclear ballistic missile submarine USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine is a watercraft that can operate underwater... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the navy of Canada from 1911 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces. ... A convoy is a group of vehicles traveling together for mutual support. ...

The lands surrounding the basin are heavily developed with the only significant greenspace remaining being a significant blast buffer zone surrounding the Canadian Navy's (MARCOM) Atlantic Fleet (MARLANT) weapons magazine on the northeastern shore of the basin. The south shore of the basin at Fairview Cove hosts one of Halifax's two container terminals as well as a large CN railway yard. The east shore of the basin hosts Burnside Industrial Park, the largest industrial park in HRM, as well as a bulk gypsum terminal at Wright's Cove and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (which also derives its name from the basin) situated near the entrance to The Narrows. The entire western shore to the head of the basin is fronted by a mix of residential/commercial and institutional developments. HMCS Bastion, flagship of the Canadian Navy. ... The Canadian National Railway (CN; AAR reporting marks CN, CNA, CNIS), known as Canadian National Railways (CNR) between 1918 and 1960, and Canadian National/Canadien National (CN) from 1960 to present, is a Canadian Class I railway operated by Canadian National Railway Company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ... Burnside Business Park, also known as Burnside Industrial Park or simply Burnside Park, is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. ... Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. // Heating gypsum to between 100°C and 150°C (302°F) partially dehydrates the mineral by driving off exactly 75% of the water contained in its chemical structure. ... The Bedford Institute of Oceanography is Canadas largest centre for ocean research. ...

External links

• Satellite image of Bedford Basin from Google Maps
• Image of Bedford Basin

Coordinates: 44°42′N, 63°38′W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...