Sable Island National Park Reserve is a protected natural area in eastern Canada. It occupies Sable Island, a crescent-shaped sand bar about 180 miles (290 kilometers) southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the Atlantic Ocean. Sable Island is about 26 miles (42 kilometers) long and less than 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) wide at its widest point. It covers about 11 1/2 square miles (30 square kilometers). The park reserve has long beaches, freshwater ponds, and one of eastern Canada’s largest systems of sand dunes. Sable Island has a temperate (moderate) climate with strong winds and frequent heavy fogs.
Several hundred wild horses live in Sable Island National Park Reserve. The area also has the world’s largest breeding colony of gray seals. Harbor, harp, hooded, and ringed seals also live there or visit. Sable Island is a stopping place for a variety of migratory birds. The Ipswich sparrow breeds almost exclusively on Sable Island. Other birds found in the park reserve include roseate terns and a large population of gulls. Fish that live in the island’s freshwater ponds include mummichogs, sticklebacks, and American eels. Grass and scrub cover much of the island.
Europeans visited Sable Island in the 1500’s. The island lies near a major shipping route between Europe and North America. Attempts to settle the island in the 1600’s and 1700’s failed. But the settlers left behind some domesticated animals, including horses. Sable Island has been the site of hundreds of shipwrecks. The wrecks earned the island the nickname “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” Today, modern navigation systems help prevent such accidents.
Some meteorologists and other researchers live and work on Sable Island. People who wish to visit Sable Island must register with Parks Canada. They must take care of themselves and are responsible for their own safety. Access to the island by plane and boat is limited.
In 2011, the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia agreed to make Sable Island a national park reserve. Parks Canada has administered Sable Island since 2012.
See also Sable Island .
