Satellite image of Chaleur Bay (NASA). Chaleur Bay is the large bay opening to the east; the
Gaspé Peninsula appears to the north and the
Gulf of St. Lawrence is seen to the east
Baie des Chaleurs, often called "Chaleur Bay" or "Bay of Chaleur" is an arm of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence separating Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula from New Brunswick's North Shore. It bathes 120 km of the northeastern shore of New Brunswick and most of the Gaspésie's south shore. It is nearly 50 km wide between Bathurst and New Carlisle and is over twenty-five kilometres wide for most of its length. At the bottom of the bay is the estuary of the Restigouche River. The name, meaning "bay of warmth" or "bay of torrid weather" was reportedly given by explorer Jacques Cartier.
The northern entrance to the Bay of Chaleur is at the "Haut-fond Leander" near Grande-Rivière and at its southern side, the Miscou shoals. The bay's V shape and the steep cliffs on its North side sometimes create particularly windy conditions especially off Nepisiguit Bay. Under the right wind, sea conditions on large areas of the bay can become quite treacherous. Tidal currents generally don't reach one knot, except at the mouths of some rivers and some channels.[1]
The warmer currents that enter the bay can make the water here the warmest north of the state of Virginia. The bay has many fine beaches, set in pristine natural settings, and the sand can get very warm on the sunny summer days. As it is a salt water body of water, the smell of salt water is quite prominent where it meets other shallow bodies of water, notably the Restigouche River. It's a quality spawning area for many species of fish and is well known for its succulent lobster and scallops.
The Bay of Chaleur is a member of the prestigious "Most Beautiful Bays of the World Club"[2]. It is also home to the world's second longest natural sand bar, the Eel River Bar. This sand bar is unique not only because is has fresh water on one side and salt water on the next, but because it is home to many endangered birds, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, harlequin ducks, and piping plovers.
Heron Island lies near Dalhousie, and across from Carleton-sur-Mer
The bay is host to an unusual visual phenomenon, the Phantom Ship of the Bay of Chaleur, an apparition of sorts resembling a ship on fire which appears all over the Bay