The windy road comes to Arisaig (Àrasaig in Gaelic), a small village in along the Sunrise Trail on Route 245. This community was founded ca. 1785 by Scottish immigrants who named it after their former home, Arisaig, on the west coast of Scotland. This was the site of the earliest settlement made in Antigonish County by Highland Scots. Today, those roots are recognized in the highways signs that name each community both in Gaelic and English.
This area is well-known in the province for its fossils. Interesting, eh? Arisaig rocks and fossils were deposited in a warm, shallow sea more than 200 million years – before dinosaurs (and this laptop) evolved! Many of the animals at Arisaig either lived attached to the sea floor or buried in the mud and silt below. There was not much life on land at that time, not even plants. Gosh, that would mean no chocolate either but who can live without chocolate anyway. Good thing I wasn’t around. Just sayin’.
If you’re Arisaig on a clear night, look across the water and you’ll see the lights of PEI (30km across the Northumberland Straight). From that distance, they’d be “mini lights”…sorry, can’t help myself.
Check out these links:
Wikipedia: Arisaig
