Port of Iona · Pitu’paq / Bras d’Or Lake · Unama’ki / Cape Breton Island
Discovery Centre reopens in June 2027
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Port of Iona, 2583 St. Columba Road, Iona, NS
Admission by donation · Open June to October
Contact usThe Lake
Pitu’paq / Bras d’Or Lake
Pitu’paq / the Bras d’Or Lake is more than a body of water. It connects communities, cultures and ecosystems across Cape Breton Island. Ocean water mixes with fresh water from rivers and streams, so the Lake is brackish: salty, but less salty than the open ocean. The result is a varied estuarine environment of deep basins, shallow bays, narrow tidal passages, rocky shores and wetlands.
What makes the Lake remarkable is the combination of these features within one relatively compact and accessible system: a place for discovery, learning, research and stewardship. At Iona, the Barra Strait offers a particularly visible place to begin exploring those relationships.
The Living Shore
Walk and observe the Port and Iona’s public beach and shoreline, and connect what you see outside with what you learned in the Discovery Centre. Iona Beach is also protected under Nova Scotia’s Beaches Act, part of the stewardship story here. A Living Shore is being developed along this shore, linking shoreline learning, habitat care and observation of changing conditions. It is not yet a guided or self-guided attraction.
Natural shoreline surfaces can be uneven or slippery. Wear suitable footwear, supervise children near the water and respect weather and water conditions.
Underwater gallery
What lives here
You don’t have to dive to see beneath the surface. Filmed in Pitu’paq / the Bras d’Or Lake, these nine short films bring its underwater life up close. Select a thumbnail to watch each film.
Lobster
Moon Jelly
Comb Jelly
Maned Nudibranch
Polychaete Worm
Deep Water Sponge
Frilled Anemone (open)
Frilled Anemone (closed)
Coastal discovery: what’s coming
Marine Trails are being developed and assessed, looking at environmentally responsible ways to connect biodiversity, geology, learning and stewardship along the shore and in the water. Until then, films and ROV footage let everyone explore beneath the surface.
The more we discover about Pitu’paq / the Bras d’Or Lake, the better we can understand its changes, its relationships and our responsibility to care for it.
Explore Our Story and Our Work →Questions people ask
What is the Mi’kmaw name for the Bras d’Or Lake?
Pitu’paq.
Is the Bras d’Or Lake salt water or fresh water?
Neither, exactly. The Lake is brackish: salty, but less salty than the open ocean. Ocean water enters from the Atlantic and mixes with fresh water from rivers and streams, which makes the Lake an estuary.
Can I snorkel or dive here?
Marine Trails are being developed and assessed, and are not yet open to visitors. In the meantime, explore underwater life through films at the Discovery Centre and in our underwater gallery.
What lives in the Lake?
Our nine underwater films show some of the Lake’s marine life, including lobster, moon jellies, anemones and sea plants.