Physical Geography

New Brunswick occupies part of the northernmost section of the Appalachian region of North America. It is sometimes called the Acadian section of the Appalachians. The province is primarily a flat to rolling land, only occasionally marked by features of fairly bold relief. As in New England, the surface was modified by continental glaciers during the last Ice Age. The ice sheets eroded and smoothed and in places leveled the land. On receding, they left vast amounts of debris throughout much of the province.

Uplands and low mountains cover the western part of the province. Here, the terrain varies from rolling to rough, and elevations are generally between 1,000 and 2,000 feet (300 and 600 m) above sea level. Mount Carleton, at 2,690 feet (820 m), is the highest point in the province. The southern part of New Brunswick is characterized by low hilly tracts overlooking the Bay of Fundy and several fairly broad river valleys. The rest of the province consists of relatively flat seaboard lowlands, curving inland between Moncton and Bathurst.

Along the coast, numerous islands, harbors, and river estuaries have been created through subsidence, or sinking, of the land. Grand Manan, Campobello, Deer, Lamèque, and Miscou are the largest islands.

New Brunswick has many rivers. The chief one is the St. John, which drains much of the west and the south. Among its tributaries are the Tobique, Nashwaak, Salmon, Canaan, and Kennebecasis rivers. Other principal rivers include the Restigouche, Nepisiguit, Miramichi, and St. Croix.

Small lakes dot some sections of the western upland; larger ones occur in the south and the southwest. Chief among them are Grand Lake, Oromocto Lake, Magaguadavic Lake, and the Chiputneticook group. Probably the most distinctive water feature is the Bay of Fundy's extremely high tides, which rise more than 50 feet (15 m) in some inlets.

Because of prevailing westerly winds, New Brunswick's climate is like that of inland rather than maritime regions. Only the coastal areas experience some of the moderating influences of the sea. In the uplands, winters are much colder and summers slightly warmer than along the coast. At Saint John on the south coast, for example, average temperatures are 19° F. (-7° C.) in January and 63° F. (17° C.) in July; at Grand Falls in the northwest they are 10° F. (-12° C.) and 65° F. (18° C). Extremely low readings—as low as -40° F. (-40° C.)—sometimes occur in the uplands.

Precipitation ranges between 40 and 55 inches (1,020 and 1,400 mm) and is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. Much of it falls as snow, which in places accumulates to considerable depths.

Forests cover about 80 per cent of New Brunswick. Coniferous trees, especially spruce, fir, pine, and hemlock, predominate in the north. Mixed forests, consisting of conifers and such deciduous trees as birches, maples, poplars, and elms, occur elsewhere. Nearly half the forest land is owned by the provincial government; much of the rest is in farm woodlots.