The bulk of the material used in this web page was prepared by Gordon Fader (retired geologist from the Geological Survey of Canada) and based on research undertaken by Gordon Fader and Bob Miller over a 15 year period and published in Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 590, (will be available soon). Some of the photographs and images are from the private collection of Gordon Fader. The multibeam bathymetric data was collected by the Canadian Hydrographic Service, provided by Mike Lamplugh, and processed by Stanly Johnston of the Oceans and Coastal Management Division, DFO.

The captains, officers, and crews of the Canadian Coast Guard Ships Navicula, Frederick G. Creed, F.C.G. Smith, Dawson, Matthew, and Hudson, as well as H.M.C.S. Cormorant are thanked for their assistance in data collection. The Nova Scotia Public Archives provided historical photographs. Diver Terry Dwyer made available seabed photographs of shipwrecks. Jim Bradford and Scott Moody, Route Survey Office, Department of National Defence, provided the sidescan sonogram of The Narrows schooner. The map of continental reconstruction is from the Last Billion Years, produced by the Atlantic Geoscience Society. Ralph Stea is thanked for discussions on the glacial history of the region. Dale Buckley conducted concurrent geochemistry studies and provided helpful discussions on harbour issues. The Electronic Publishing facility of the Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic) prepared and helped design many of the diagrams and maps. Gary Grant, Ken Hale, Phil O’Regan, and Rhonda Sutherland are especially thanked for their efforts.

The following is a list of references on geoscience aspects of Halifax Harbour and surrounding areas for further reading.

Buckley, D.E.
2000:
Keys to environmental quality management in marine areas of Halifax Harbour; in Preserving the Environment of Halifax Harbour, (ed.) A. Ducharme; Meeting held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, March 14–15, 2000, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Report 1, p. 48–56.

2001:
Historical perspective of metal contaminants in Halifax Harbour; in Preserving the Environment of Halifax Harbour, (ed.) A. Ducharme and G. Turner; Meeting held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, March 14–15, 2000, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, p. 18–25.

Buckley, D.E., Smith, J.N., and Winters, G.V.
1995:
Accumulation of contaminated metals in marine sediments of Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia: environmental factors and historical trends; Applied Geochemistry, v. 10, p. 175–195.

Courtney, R.
1993:
Halifax Harbour bathymetric morphology; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 2637, 1 colour map sheet, scale 1:10 000.

Courtney, R. and Fader, G.B.J.
1994:
A new understanding of the ocean floor through multibeam mapping: Science Review 1992 and 1993 of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Halifax Fisheries Research Laboratory and St. Andrews Biological Station, Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Scotia Fundy Region, p. 9–14.

Edgecombe, R.B., Scott, D.B., and Fader, G.B.J.
1999:
New data from Halifax Harbour: paleoenvironment and a new Holocene sea-level curve for the inner Scotian Shelf; Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 36, p. 805–817.

Fader, G.B.J.
1989:
A Late Pleistocene low sea-level stand of the southeast Canadian offshore; in Late Quaternary Sea-level Correlation and Applications, (ed.) D.B. Scott, P.A. Pirazolli, and C.A. Honig; Kluwer Academic Publisher, Dordiecht, Netherlands, p. 71–103.

1991:
Gas-related sedimentary features from the eastern Canadian continental shelf; Continental Shelf Research, v. 11, p. 1123–1153.

1994:
Seabed impacts of the explosion of the Mont-Blanc; in Ground Zero: a Reassessment of the 1917 Explosion in Halifax Harbour, (ed.) A. Ruffman and C.D. Howell; Nimbus Publishing Ltd., Halifax, Nova Scotia and Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada studies at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, p. 345–364.

1995:
The marine geological setting and the seabed impact of the 1917 explosion of the Mont-Blanc in Halifax Harbour; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 3045, 62 p.

2000:
Geological and anthopogenic features of Halifax Harbour; in Preserving the Environment of Halifax Harbour, (ed.) A. Ducharme; Meeting held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, March 14–15, 2000, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Report 1, p. 28–35.

2001:
Halifax Harbour, the geology and evolution of marine habitat; in Preserving the Environment of Halifax Harbour, (ed.) A. Ducharme and G. Turner; Meeting held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, March 14–15, 2000, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, p. 30–44.

Fader, G.B.J. and Buckley, D.E.
1997:
Environmental geology of Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia; in Environmental Geology of Urban Areas, 1997, (ed.) N. Eyles; Geological Association of Canada, St. John’s, Newfoundland, p. 249–267.

Fader, G.B.J. and Miller, R.O.
1992:
Cruise report F.R.V. Navicula 1990-010, Halifax Harbour, May 22–June 8, 1990; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 2445, 26 p.

1994:
A preliminary assessment of the aggregate potential of the Scotian Shelf and adjacent areas; in Coastal Zone Canada ’94, Cooperation in the Coastal Zone: Conference Proceedings, (ed.) P.G. Wells and P.J. Ricketts; Coastal Zone Canada Association, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, v. 1, p. 230–262.

Fader, G.B.J. and Petrie, B.
1991:
Halifax Harbour — how the currents affect sediment distributions; in Science Review, 1988 and 1989, (ed.) T.E. Smith; the Halifax Fisheries Research Laboratory, and the St. Andrews Biological Station, Scotia-Fundy Region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, p. 31–35.

Fader, G.B.J., Miller, R.O., and Courtney, R.C.
1997:
A geological interpretation of multibeam bathymetry: inner Halifax Harbour; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 3411, 1 sheet.

Fader, G.B.J., Miller R.O., and Pecore, S.S.
1991:
The marine geology of Halifax Harbour and adjacent areas (v. 1 and 2, 23 p. and 25 maps); Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 2384.

1994:
Sample control, anchor marks, anthropogenic features and lacustrine sediments of Halifax Harbour; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 2958, 32 p.

Forbes, D.L., Boyd, R., and Shaw, J.
1991:
Late Quaternary sedimentation and sea level changes on the inner shelf near Halifax, Nova Scotia; Continental Shelf Research, v. 11, p. 1155–1179.

Hargrave, B.T. and Lawrence, D.
1988:
Bibliography of Halifax Harbour and Bedford Basin; Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 2001, 15 p.

King, L.H.
1969:
Submarine end moraines and associated deposits of the Scotian Shelf; Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 80, p. 83–96.

1970:
Surficial geology of the Halifax-Sable Island map area; Marine Sciences Paper, no. 1, 16 p.

Lawrence, D.J.
1989:
Physical oceanography and modeling in Halifax Harbour: a review; in Investigations of Marine Environmental Quality in Halifax Harbour: (ed.) H.B. Nicholls; Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Canadian Technical Report 1693, p. 54–63.

Lewis, M.C. F., Taylor, B.B., Stea, R.R., Fader, G.B.J., Horne, R.J., MacNeill, S.G., and Moore, J.G.
1998:
Earth science and engineering: urban development in Metropolitan Halifax region; in Urban Geology of Canadian Cities, (ed.) P.F. Karrow and O.L. White; Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 42, p. 409–444.

Loncarevic, B.D., Courtney, R.C., Fader, G.B.J., Giles, P.S., Piper, D.J.W., Costello, G., Hughes-Clark, J.E., and Stea, R.R.
1994:
Sonography of a glaciated continental shelf; Geology, v. 22, p. 747–750.

Miller, A.A.L., Mudie, P.J., and Scott, D.B.
1982:
Holocene history of Bedford Basin, Nova Scotia: foraminifera, dinoflagellate, and pollen records; Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 19, p. 2342–2367.

Stea, R.R. and Mott, R.J.
1989:
Deglaciation environments and evidence for glaciers of Younger Dryas age in Nova Scotia, Canada; Boreas, v. 18, p. 169–187.

Stea, R.R., Boyd, R., Costello, O., Fader, G.B.J., and Scott, D.B.
1996:
Deglaciation of the inner Scotian Shelf, Nova Scotia: correlation of terrestrial and marine glacial events; in Late Quaternary Palaeoceanography of the North Atlantic Margins, (ed.) J.T. Andrews, H.H. Bergsten, and A.E. Jennings; Geological Society (London), Special Publication 111, p. 77–101.

Stea, R.R., Boyd, R., Fader, G.B.J., Courtney, R.C., Scott, D.B., and Pecore, S.S.
1994:
Morphology and seismic stratigraphy of the inner continental shelf off Nova Scotia, Canada: evidence for a –65 m lowstand between 11,650 and 11,250 14C yr. B.P.; Marine Geology, v. 117, p. 135–154.