- Halifax Peninsula
Infobox Settlement
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settlement_type = Community
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = CAN
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = NS
subdivision_type2 = Municipality
subdivision_name2 = Halifax Regional Municipality
subdivision_type3 = Communities
subdivision_name3 = Armdale, Downtown, Hydrostone, North End, Quinpool, South End, Spring Garden, West End
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leader_title =Council
leader_name =Peninsula Council
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established_title = Founded
established_date = 1749
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population_as_of = 2006
population_footnotes = [ [http://www.halifax.ca/municipalclerk/documents/2001-2006popbydist.pdf Population by Polling District, Halifax Regional Municipality - Statistics Canada ] ]
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population_total = 58,025
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postal_code_type =Postal code span
postal_code = B3K, B3H, B3J
area_code = 902
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footnotes =Part of a series about Places in Nova Scotia The Halifax Peninsula is a community and planning area located in the urban core of Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in the province of
Nova Scotia . Halifax Peninsula is home toDowntown Halifax , the financial and economic heart of the region, which was also the site of the original settlement and town of Halifax. It is also home to the majority of the area of Nova Scotia's Capital District.The town of Halifax was founded by the British government under the direction of the Board of Trade and Plantations under the command of Governor
Edward Cornwallis in 1749 [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=35941]After a protracted struggle between residents and the Executive Council, the
City of Halifax was incorporated in 1841. In 1969, the city, which then covered the entire peninsula, annexed theMainland Halifax area as well. On1 April ,1996 , the government of Nova Scotia formedHalifax Regional Municipality , a single-tier regional government governing all of Halifax County. TheCity of Halifax became a provincialmetropolitan area , and the HRM divided the former city into two separate community planning areas, Halifax Peninsula andMainland Halifax , with separate community councils inside of the regional government.Geographically, the Halifax Peninsula is a Canadian
peninsula in centralNova Scotia .History
: "For information since 1996, consult the
History of the Halifax Regional Municipality ."Rudyard Kipling paid homage to Halifax in his poem "The Song of Cities":::" Into the mist my guardian prows put forth,"::"Behind the mist my virgin ramparts lie,"::"The Warden of the Honour of the North,"::"Sleepless and veiled am I!"Although now located entirely within HRM, the peninsula was the original host to the town and now former
City of Halifax .The town of Halifax was founded by the British government under the direction of the Board of Trade and Plantations under the command of Governor Edward Cornwallis in 1749 [2] . The original settlement was clustered in the southeastern part of the peninsula along The Narrows, between a series of forts (Fort Needham to the north, Fort George (Citadel Hill) in the middle, and Fort Massey to the south) and the harbour. The settlement expanded beyond its walls and gradually encroached over the entire peninsula, creating residential neighbourhoods defined by the peninsula's geography (in addition to the central business district) and referred to by Haligonians as:
* North End
* South End, includingPoint Pleasant Park at the southernmost part of the peninsula
* West EndThe streets are set in a confusing grid pattern the way the then town officials originally planned in the 18th century.
After a protracted struggle between residents and the Executive Council, the city was incorporated to in 1841. The former city of Halifax was contained entirely within the Halifax Peninsula, however in 1969, municipal amalgamation saw adjacent rural areas of Halifax County west of the isthmus amalgamated into the city, including Rockingham and Spryfield.
During 1916-1919 a mega construction project was undertaken by
Canadian Government Railways (laterCanadian National Railway ) along the peninsula's Northwest Arm shoreline which saw a 4 km long rock cut blasted up to 30 m deep for a railway line running from Fairview Cove to serve the new Halifax Ocean Terminals which were built at the southeastern end; the rock from blasting work in the cut being used as infill for a portion of The Narrows.Following the dissolution of the city of Halifax in 1996 with the creation of the HRM, the peninsula has been referred to as the Halifax Pensinsula by the municipal government, with the areas of Rockingham and Spryfield being included in the Halifax Mainland district; residents of Halifax Peninsula engender mild annoyance to the residents of Halifax Mainland by considering their community and neighbourhoods to be the "real" Halifax, relegating Halifax Mainland to mere suburbs.
Geography
Extending from the western shore of
Halifax Harbour , the peninsula is connected to the much largerChebucto Peninsula by anisthmus measuring 2.6 km, defined by Fairview Cove and theBedford Basin to the north and theNorthwest Arm to the southwest. Down the length of this isthmus is Joseph Howe Drive, generally considered to be the boundary between the Halifax Peninsula andMainland Halifax . The Halifax Peninsula creates The Narrows, a constriction of Halifax Harbour to its east.Measuring 3.3 km at its widest and 7.5 km at its longest, the peninsula's topography is relatively flat near the
isthmus where Chebucto Field, anaerodrome that precededHalifax International Airport was located. The northern end of the peninsula rises to a glacial drumlin at Fort Needham (approx. 60 m abovesea level ), with the central area of the peninsula being a plateau roughly 40-50 m. in elevation. Another drumlin approx. 60 m above sea level is located atCitadel Hill and immediately offshore to the east at Georges Island.Present-day neighbourhoods
Colloquial neighbourhood names
*
Downtown Halifax
* North End Halifax
*West End, Halifax
*Quinpool district
* South End Halifax
* Spring GardenOfficial neighbourhood names
* Convoy Place
* Hydrostone
* Kent Park
* Mulgrave ParkHistoric neighbourhood names
*
Africville
* RichmondNotes
External links
* [http://www.halifaxwebcam.ca/ Live webcam of Halifax Peninsula]
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