11 WATER ST |
Newfoundland Tourism Region : Western
Bonne Bay is located at the base of the peninsula known as the Great Northern Peninsula, which extends from Bonne Bay northward to the tip at Cape Bauld, and then around the bend southward as far as the head of the inlet of White's Bay.
An area frequented by Basque fishermen was given the name baya ederra or "beautiful bay" in the 1500s. In the 1600s it appeared in French as Belle Bay, also translated to mean "beautiful bay".
It is recorded, for the first time, as Bonne Bay, the name it is known by today in the charts of Cook and Lane, mentioned previously, in published in 1775. Bonne Bay has a number of towns that serve the needs of local residents. The following description of Bonne Bay comes from the ENL:
Bonne Bay, a relatively small bay deeply indented by branching fiords, is located about midway up the west coast of the Island of Newfoundland approximately 50 km (31 mi) north of Corner Brook.
The Bay, which has very deep waters and is relatively ice-free, is entered between Lobster Cove Head and Western Head 6 km (3.7 mi) to the southwest. About 9.5 km (6 mi) within the Bay it separates into two arms, the South (western) Arm and the East Arm.
The shores of these arms are
spectacularly steep and thickly wooded, particularly the shores of the East Arm where, to the north, rise the Long Range Mountains.
Near the tip of the Eastern Arm stands Gros Morne, 806 m (2,644 ft) high, which gives its name to the National Park which takes up approximately 1900 km2 (734 mi2) of land around Bonne Bay.
The Southern (Western) Arm of Bonne Bay is dominated by the Tableland which rises to an elevation of 700 m (2,300 ft).
According to information presented in Wikipedia the two inner arms and the bay itself were formed by glacial activity that occurred approximately 10,000 years ago when there were two large glaciers, one in each one of the arms.
As they moved towards the ocean, they eventually came together in the middle part of the Bay and continued to push in an outwardly manner, thereby creating the main part of the bay.
Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill
Address of this page: http://nl.ruralroutes.com/BonneBay