Port Hastings, Nova Scotia
Port Hastings (Scottish Gaelic: Còbh a' Phlàstair) is a Canadian rural community in Inverness County, Nova Scotia.
The community is located at the eastern end of the Canso Causeway on Cape Breton Island. It is named after Charles Hastings Doyle.[1]
History
The community was previously known as Plaster Cove.
The Inverness and Richmond Railway was built from coal mines in Inverness to a loading dock at Point Tupper in 1901.[2] The construction of the Canso Causeway which opened in 1955 saw the community become a railway junction after the Truro-Sydney mainline of Canadian National Railways (CNR) was diverted from the railcar ferry terminals at Mulgrave and Point Tupper. The CNR line to Inverness was eventually abandoned in the 1980s, although the Truro-Sydney mainline continues to operate under the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway.
The construction of the Canso Causeway also brought what would become the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 104 and Highway 105) through the community.
A traffic circle named the Port Hastings Rotary creates an important interchange between Highway 104, Highway 105, Trunk 19 and Trunk 4 several hundred metres east of the Canso Canal Bridge.
The growth of automobile-focused tourism following World War II saw several motels and gas stations and a tourist information centre located at the traffic circle.
The community is home to the Port Hastings Museum which documents local history, including that of the Canso Causeway.
Climate
Similar to most of Nova Scotia, Port Hastings has a humid continental climate with some maritime influences, including high snowfall in winter and relatively narrow temperature fluctuations by Canadian standards.
| Climate data for Port Hastings | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.3 (64.9) |
16.7 (62.1) |
17.8 (64) |
26.7 (80.1) |
31.7 (89.1) |
36.1 (97) |
37.2 (99) |
32.8 (91) |
31 (88) |
29.4 (84.9) |
30 (86) |
20.6 (69.1) |
37.2 (99) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −0.9 (30.4) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
2.1 (35.8) |
7 (45) |
13.4 (56.1) |
18.7 (65.7) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
18.8 (65.8) |
13.1 (55.6) |
7.3 (45.1) |
2.2 (36) |
10.5 (50.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −9 (16) |
−9.6 (14.7) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
4 (39) |
9 (48) |
13.4 (56.1) |
13.9 (57) |
10.1 (50.2) |
5.2 (41.4) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−5 (23) |
2.2 (36) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −26.7 (−16.1) |
−26.1 (−15) |
−26.7 (−16.1) |
−13.3 (8.1) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−2.2 (28) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−7.2 (19) |
−12.2 (10) |
−22.8 (−9) |
−26.7 (−16.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 147.4 (5.803) |
107.2 (4.22) |
132.3 (5.209) |
142.1 (5.594) |
106.4 (4.189) |
114.2 (4.496) |
90.8 (3.575) |
111.7 (4.398) |
113.6 (4.472) |
143.4 (5.646) |
163.3 (6.429) |
166.2 (6.543) |
1,538.5 (60.571) |
| Source: Environment Canada[3] | |||||||||||||
References
- MacDougall, J.L., History of Inverness County, Nova Scotia (pre-1922)
Coordinates: 45°37′59″N 61°24′00″W / 45.633°N 61.400°W