The coast just south of Polletts Cove

Photo #1, a wide-angled view from northwest of the mouth of the Polletts Cove and Blair Rivers, looks at the “ramp”, the grassy southern coastal plain, as it ascends up out of Polletts Cove and at the coast to the south, the subject of this web page. Polletts Cove Beach extends from the far left out to the middle of the photo, where the western edge of the “ramp” begins.

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Photo #2, a relatively wide-angled view from closer in, shows the area below the “ramp” in sharper detail. The large shoal just right of the centre of the photo is shown on the topographical map; those at the far right are not marked. The isolated rock structure which stands right of centre is very visible from this perspective; it is, as will be seen shortly, not so visible when seen from further south.

Photo #3 is a telephoto view of that isolated rock structure, still attached at the bottom to the mountain of which it is a part. This structure is primarily reddish-hued rock, though in this view the sun isn’t sufficient to bring out the reddish colour; however, a huge chunk of grey rock is visible somewhat below the top of the structure.

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Photo #4, another telephoto view, looks at the end of the “ramp” at Polletts Cove Beach at the far left and includes nearly all of the northern face of the cliff at the northwest end of the “ramp”: to the far right of the photo and just outside its scope, the end of the cliff is reached and it turns towards the south, as seen in photo #2. While good-sized rocks are embedded in the cliff, it appears to be mostly sand and gravel. It also rises pretty smartly uphill.

Photo #5, a moderately wide-angled view, looks at the northwest point of the “ramp”; at the left is the northern cliff face seen in photo #4; right of centre is the western cliff face that continues on towards the south. Many more rocks are visible at the inflection point (crowned by bushy, mostly stunted evergreens) and to the south than were seen on the northern cliff face. The interesting vaulted cave just right of centre appears to have been carved by the action of waves hitting the point. The shoal here is seen to sit to the north of the inflection point, as shown on the topographical map, whereas photo #2 seems to place it well south of that point. Isn’t it amazing how things move around as the vantage point changes?

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The remaining photos on this page, all moderately wide-angled views, form a connected panorama showing the coast below the “ramp” and, after it ends, the coast below the mountain of which the “ramp” is a part.

Photo #6 shows the very northern end of the coast; from this vantage point, the shoal has again moved to the south, now appearing right of the centre of the photo. This view also shows clearly the depredations made by run-off spilling over the edges of the “ramp”, though from its general tilt seen in photo #1, one would think that run-off would flow in the opposite direction.

Photo #7 shows the continuation of the coast to the south, with some overlap on the left with photo #6. The ramp ends in the upper right of the photo where the forest begins. A beach, lined with driftwood, occupies the shore in the right half of the photo below the cliff face. And nowhere is to be seen the isolated rock structure in photo #3! If you study the patterns in the grass at the western edge of the “ramp” in photo #2, you can deduce where it must be in photo #7, but it’s sure not obvious!

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Photo #8, which overlaps on the left with photo #7, shows the shore as it continues to the south below the mountain south of the end of the “ramp”, the uppermost part of which is seen at the far left of this photo. Here, the rocky cliffs further north give way to more sand/gravel cliffs with some embedded boulders and showing signs of erosion wherever the vegetation has been unable to establish itself.

Photo #9, which again overlaps on the left with photo #8, shows the shore further south. The trees have been able to colonize closer to the water than further north, though the cliffs remain largely sand/gravel with interspersed large boulders. For a mountainside adjacent to the Gulf, this photo shows a surprising number of deciduous trees. It must be rather colourful in the fall.

This photo marks the furthest south point for which I have good views; since the sun was becoming rather stronger, the captain turned us around and continued very slowly back towards Polletts Cove, allowing me to get some of the better photos I have from there.