Strait of Belle Isle

The Strait of Belle Isle is a natural waterway that separates the island of Newfoundland from Labrador to the north. On a warm, windless day, the Strait’s average width of 17.6 kilometers (11 miles) looks like an easy passage. However, it is notorious for its high winds and hazardous navigation, especially in the icy winter and spring. In spite of the dangers, it was the northern gateway to the Gulf of St. Lawrence through which has passed many famous sailors throughout history, beginning with Norse explorer Leif Eriksson who sailed through the Strait around 1000 AD. For thousands of years before that time, aboriginal people used the passage as they moved seasonally between Labrador and Newfoundland following sea mammal herds.

The Strait is on the same latitude as the English Channel and so was a direct latitudinal sail for northern Europeans searching for a route to Asia. Although John Cabot left no records of his trip, many historians believe that the southern side of the Strait was his first landfall in 1497. Shortly after, or perhaps even before Cabot, Basque fishermen plied the waters of the Strait fishing for cod. In  1534 Jacques Cartier sailed through the passage on the first of his three voyages to map the Gulf of St. Lawrence and search for a sea route west. It was not until the late 1700s that Europeans began to settle on the shores of the Strait of Belle Isle. Unfriendly relations with aboriginal people and treaty restrictions had prevented earlier settlement.

 During World War II, the Strait of Belle Isle became a dangerous passage for other than natural reasons. German U boats prowled the waters in search of Canadian shipping and managed to sink merchant ships heading to and from Quebec. In one night near Quirpon Island they sunk four boats under the watchful eye of the secret radar station on the island.

 In recent years, there has been a movement to build a tunnel under the Strait to improve access to and from Labrador. To date, the cost, problem of icebergs, and the small regional population have discouraged construction. Instead, a ferry crisscrosses the Strait several times a day during the seasons of open water.