Cape North Massif as seen from White Point

As mentioned on the previous page, the headland at White Point offers superb views of the Cape North Massif across Aspy Bay. The views from the White Point Road as one proceeds west towards South Harbour are no slouches either, witness that looking to the northwest in photo #1, showing Sams Mountain at the far left, Wilkie Sugar Loaf (the triangular shaped peak) at the left, and the Cape North Massif running from there out to Money Point¹ at the far right, all in a line along the far shore of Aspy Bay. This alignment is no fluke — it follows along the strike-slip fault which runs southwest from the Cabot Strait along the western side of the Cape North Massif, through the Aspy River Valley, and to the upper section of the Margaree River Valley; the flow of both the rivers is along this fault line. As discussed in this Wikipedia article, it likely dates back to the collision of two continental plates 480 million years ago, which pushed the seafloor upwards and created the Appalachian Mountains, of which the Cape Breton Highlands are a constituent. Glaciers and the erosion of succeeding years have carved the terrain into the distinctive form it has today.

The telephoto view in photo #2 looks out to the end of the massif; even though there are three distinct prominences here, none of them, so far as I am aware, have distinct names. If you look carefully at the left of the photo along the top of the massif, you will see the communications towers which have been erected there, one of them used by CBC Radio One for its Bay St Lawrence transmitter. There was once a lighthouse at Money Point, the end of a hiking trail which begins north of Bay St Lawrence, crosses the massif, then descends sharply to the cliffs above the shore, and follows them out to the point; it was apparently dismantled in 2010. The prominence just left of the centre of photo #2 will appear in another photo later in this essay.

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¹ Local usage takes Money Point as referring to the entire Cape North Massif, a prolongation of North Mountain, including its end in Money Point; I reserve the term Money Point for the northeastern point of the massif (the northwestern point is Cape North).↩

Photo #3 is a telephoto view of Wilkie Sugar Loaf, centred in the photo. Sams Mountain is at the far left of the photo; North Mountain is between and behind Sams Mountain and Wilkie Sugar Loaf. Wilkie Brook, which empties into Aspy Bay at the right end of Sams Mountain, has apparently carved the canyon seen between the two mountains.

At the foot of Wilkie Sugar Loaf, to the left, you can see a clearing at the level of the water; this is the site of Cabot Landing Picnic Park, with excellent views of White Point and Aspy Bay, a great place for a picnic and, in the summer, for a swim on a hot day. Its beach, part of a long sand bar that stretches from South Harbour to north of the park, is also well worth exploring, but, if you venture to the north along the cliffs, keep a watchful eye out for the tides, lest you get stranded below them as they rise (I speak from experience!).

At the far right of Wilkie Sugar Loaf, you can see the course of the Bay St Lawrence Road as it proceeds north and turns to the west at the right end of Wilkie Sugar Loaf, whence it heads into Bay Road Valley and then turns back north again to follow that valley into St Margaret Village and Bay St Lawrence. If you have not yet driven this road, I highly recommend you take this always beautiful drive.