CanadaIsland
Cape Breton Island
10,311 km² rising to 535 m out of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
10,311km²
Area
1,181km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
535m
Highest point
White Hill
132,010
People
18°C
Warmest sea
August
9km
To the mainland
When to go to Cape Breton Island
Best to visit in August.
The sea is warmest in August (18 °C) and coolest in March (0 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Nova Scotia, Canada
Cape Breton Island is an island in Canada. It covers 10,311 km², with 1,181 km of coastline. Its highest point, White Hill, rises to 535 m. About 132,010 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 9 km away.
Getting there
- Sydney / J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport (YQY)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at YQY airport (Sydney)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesNorth Sydney - Port aux Basques Ferry, North Sydney-Argentia Ferry, Little Narrows
- 9 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Cape Breton Island.
- 161beachesLong Beach, Phalens Bar, Catalone Beach and 158 more
- 91viewpoints
- 26lighthousesLouisbourg Lighthouse, Gabarus Lighthouse, Kidston Island Lighthouse and 23 more
- 6ferry terminalsLittle Narrows (west), Little Narrows (east), Marine Atlantic - North Sydney Terminal and 3 more
- 8marinasDobson Marina, Harbour Authority of North Sydney Ballast Grounds, Mira Boat Club and 5 more
- 149named peaksWhite Hill, The Pinnacle, North Mountain and 146 more
- 33waterfallsBeulach Ban Falls, Mary Ann Falls, Egypt Falls and 30 more
- 8castles and fortsKing's Bastion, Résidence du gouverneur, Dauphin Demi-Bastion and 5 more
- 9ruins and archaeological sitesRochefort Point, Ruins of Old Louisbourg Lighthouse, Chapel Point Battery Site and 6 more
- 8waymarked walking routesFraney, Middle head, Skyline Trail and 5 more
- 60campsitesCheticamp Campground, Campground, Sunset Sands RV Park and 57 more
- 89hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 134restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Cape Breton Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Cape Breton Island, each with its own numbers.
279beaches and covesCoastya
224lakesLakeyas
16waterfallsCascadyas
Largest lake
57.2km²
Lake Ainslie
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
24.3°C
Middle Lake
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
19.2°C
Indian Point Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
279 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Christies Beach18.9°C
- Victoria Beach18.6°C
- Nelgah Beach18.8°C
- French Covecove18.0°C
- Hay Covecove17.9°C
- Irish Covecove18.1°C
- Pipers Covecove18.1°C
- Jersey Covecove18.9°C
271 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
224 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Ainslie57.2km²
- Gabarus Lake10.8km²
- Loch Lomond10.2km²
- Chéticamp Flowage5.6km²
- Catalone Lake4.4km²
- Boot Lake3.4km²
- Blacketts Lake1.6km²
- Beaver Dam Lake0.51km²
216 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
16 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Still Brook Waterfall
- Uisage Ban Falls
- Devils Hill Falls
- Egypt Falls
- Myles Doyle Falls
- MacIsaacs Brook Falls
- Big Falls
- Easach Ban
8 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 166 m above the sea. 66 % of it is below 200 m.
- 29 %0–50 m
- 36 %50–200 m
- 34 %200–500 m
- <1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Sydney105,968 people
- Glace Bay16,915 people
- Sydney Mines12,353 people
- Membertou7,859 people
- North Sydney5,699 people
- Princeville5,571 people
- Whitney Pier4,612 people
- Eskasoni 33,521 people
- Port Hawkesbury3,210 people
- Westmount3,000 people
- Ingonish2,673 people
- St. Peter's2,634 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -2 | -2 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 7 | 2 |
| Night low (°C) | -8 | -8 | -6 | -1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 2 | -3 |
| Sea (°C) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| Rain (mm) | 105 | 94 | 86 | 97 | 85 | 105 | 78 | 91 | 96 | 120 | 117 | 134 |
| Wet days | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 16 |
| Sun h/day | 1.2 | 2.3 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 5.7 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 23 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.6 | −0.3 | −0.5 | −0.4 | −2.4 | −0.9 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.5 |
| 2021 | +1.7 | +0.5 | +0.3 | −0.3 | +0.5 | +1.1 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +1.6 | +1.5 | +1.1 |
| 2022 | +0.7 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +1.8 | +1.0 | +1.3 | +1.4 |
| 2023 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.7 | ±0.0 | +1.6 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +1.7 | +1.4 | +0.8 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +1.7 | +1.6 | +1.7 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +0.6 | +1.8 | +1.7 | +1.4 | +0.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
France
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q188489) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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