“Diamond Brook” and its valley

Photo #1, a moderately wide-angled view, shows a brook descending precipitous terrain from a col at the edge of the Cape Breton Highlands Plateau above and entering in the Gulf; the topographical map neither names nor even shows this brook. For convenience, I have named the brook “Diamond Brook” because, in Google Earth, the walls of its valley appear to have a diamond shape (◊). In this very dry summer, it still has more than a trickle of water flowing through it; I suspect that it is more like a torrent than a trickle during the spring run-off. The southern end of “Delaneys Mountain” is at the upper left and the southern flanks of “Delaneys Hill” are at the lower left. The mountains hemming in the south side of the valley are, like “Delaneys Point Ridge”, a long slope extending from the plateau to the coast, albeit with a triangular shaped peak part way down the slope (not visible here, but shown below).

Photo #2 is a telephoto view of “Diamond Brook” as it splish-splashes prettily down the ravine at the end of its course, creating a pretty waterfall. A very small gravel beach lined with stones sits between the waterfall and the Gulf; I’d guess the mouth is at the far right between the rocks as it does not appear to cross the beach. Even under the cloudy skies that prevailed when this photo was taken, the reds in the cliffs at the left stand out vividly.

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Photo #3 is a wide-angled view of the coast at and south of the mouth of “Diamond Brook”. The point at the far left is the southern end of “Delaneys Hill”; the waterfall and mouth of “Diamond Brook” are behind that point. The coastal plain continues on the south side of “Diamond Brook”, where it spans most of the photo. Even in the subdued light of the darkened skies, the reddish-hued rocks, most of which appear to be extrusions, are noticeable across the full width of the photo. The peak of “Diamond Mountain” rises well inland above the coastal cliffs.

Photo #4 shows much of the same coast as photo #3, but from a vantage point further south. The coastal plain appears more lush here than it was on “Delaneys Hill”, though perhaps this is because there are fewer rocks strewn about. A narrow band of gravel/dirt right of centre marks a run-off path that has caused the erosion seen at the far right of the photo. Like “Delaneys Point Ridge”, “Diamond Mountain Ridge” also ends in protruding rock fingers, some of which are seen here at the right, where again the reddish-hued rocks are noticeable even in the attenuated light.

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Photo #5 is a telephoto view of the summit of “Diamond Mountain”. At the far left, the col and a bit of “Diamond Mountain Ridge” leading up to the Cape Breton Highlands Plateau can be seen. The summit is forested with full-sized trees crowning the peak; some gravel/dirt/rubble bands are to be seen, particularly at the right.

Photo #6 shows “Diamond Mountain Ridge” at the left, “Diamond Mountain” right of centre, and the continuation of the ridge at the far right. In the foreground is “Delaneys Hill” with its protruding rock fingers below.