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princeedwardisland.ca is the official website of the province of Prince Edward Island. Learn about Prince Edward Island and government services available to residents and business.
- About PEI
Sharing Mi’kmaq and Acadian history on Prince Edward Island;...
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princeedwardisland.ca is the official website of the...
- Online Services
princeedwardisland.ca is the official website of the...
- Immigrate
Welcome to Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada's smallest...
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Find links directly to Finance PEI, Innovation PEI, Health...
- Housing, Land and Communities
Land Use Planning in Prince Edward Island. Municipalities of...
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- About PEI
Prince Edward Island (PEI; French: Île-du-Prince-Édouard; Scottish Gaelic: Eilean a' Phrionnsa; colloquially known as The Island) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. While it is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, it is the most densely populated.
A breathtaking destination, filled with wandering trails, endless beaches, and unique experiences everywhere you look. Plan your trip to Prince Edward Island today.
25 de mai. de 2024 · Carolyn B Heller. May 25, 2024 • 8 min read. Experience a colorful slice of island life on your first visit to Prince Edward Island © Peter Unger / Getty Images. Long sandy beaches backed with red cliffs. Freshly caught lobster, oysters and clams. Toe-tapping music at lively kitchen parties or local pubs.
- Overview
- Relief and soils
- Climate and plant and animal life
Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), one of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Curving from North Cape to East Point, “the Island,” as Prince Edward Islanders refer to the province, is about 140 miles (225 km) long, ranging from 2 to 40 miles (3 to 65 km) in width. It lies between 46° and 47° N latitude and 62° and 64° W longitude. To the south and west, the Northumberland Strait separates the island from the mainland provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Its location, along with the island’s fertile red soil, has given Prince Edward Island two nicknames: the “Garden of the Gulf” (referring to the Gulf of St. Lawrence) and the “Million-Acre Farm.” It is also sometimes referred to as “Spud Island” because of its significant potato production.
The aboriginal Mi’kmaq (Micmac) people called the island Abegweit—popularly translated “Cradled on the Waves”—which aptly describes the slender crescent of land nested in the surrounding waters. As part of Acadia during the French regime (1720–58), it was called Île Saint-Jean, but when the British took over they first Anglicized the name to St. John’s Island, then attempted to call it New Ireland, and finally, in 1799, named it for Edward Augustus, the duke of Kent and Strathern, commander of the British forces in North America and one of the sons of King George III of Great Britain. The island became a separate colony in 1769 and has remained what some scholars characterize as a “subnational island jurisdiction” ever since. In 1873 Prince Edward Island became the seventh province of Canada.
Numerous streams, bays, and tidal estuaries indent the irregular coastline. On the north side the bays are generally blocked by dunes, but on the east and south there are good natural harbours. Along the 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of shoreline, red sandstone cliffs average about 20 feet (6 metres) in height but occasionally exceed 50 feet (15 metres). Most of the island is within 5 miles (8 km) of the sea or a tidal inlet, and no spot is more than 10 miles (16 km) from salt water. Water pollution has not been extensive (mainly because of the paucity of heavy industry and of mass manufacturing), but effluents from food- and fish-processing plants, manure, pesticide, and fertilizer runoff, and soil erosion from intensive potato cultivation, as well as oil leakage and sedimentation, have collectively seriously degraded some water resources. Evidence of this can be found in the episodes of massive fish kills in rivers and estuaries that have been reported at least since 1962 and documented since 1994.
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Islands and Archipelagos
The landscape ranges from rolling hills in central Queens county to level stretches in western Prince county. The highest elevation is 466 feet (142 metres) above sea level in Queens county. The soils, classed as podzols, rest on a sandstone base and are low in plant nutrients and high in acidity. On more than half the island, the red sandy loam is suitable for cultivation.
The climate of the province receives a significant impact from the surrounding ocean, with warmth drawn from the waters in the fall and early winter but then cool air for most of spring and summer. With this “oceanic pump” effect, the onset of the seasons is delayed several weeks when compared with continental Canada. The average mean temperature is in the low 40s F (about 6 °C), and the mean annual precipitation is about 40 inches (1,000 mm). Such mean temperatures, however, conceal some the most variable day-to-day weather experienced in the country. Mean maximum temperature in July is the low 20s C (about 74 °F), while mean minimum temperature in February is about −12 °C (about 11 °F). Measurable snowfalls are common over the long winter season from November to April.
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Prior to European settlement, the mixed forest consisted mainly of beech, maple, pine, hemlock, oak, and spruce, varying according to topography, elevation, and soil drainage. Fragmented successional forest now covers about half the island. Foreign species now include linden, horse chestnut, black walnut, and European mountain ash. Tall trees line town streets as well as country lanes.
Home. What to Do. Come Find Your Island. We’re all searching for something. For many visitors, the search ends on Prince Edward Island. Get ready to unpack your sense of discovery with endless beaches, wandering trails and unique attractions. Every inlet is like a storybook with its own songs, tall tales and unique way of doing things. Beaches.
North America. Fringed by grassy bluffs, flat pastures and miles of rust-red sand, Prince Edward Island presents a postcard-worthy picture of pastoral Canada. Every summer, thousands of tourists descend on the island to visit its beaches and seaside villages, many of which lie within the boundaries of Prince Edward Island National Park.
