Maritime coastal sunset

A maritime sunset

One of the largest population centers in Canada's Maritime Provinces is found on Cape Breton Island. And yet for all the people who live here, the sense of grand wilderness isn't dimmed. A seemingly endless shoreline rings the island—perhaps best viewed by driving the Cabot Trail scenic highway. Also worthy of note is an extension of the Appalachian mountains called the Highlands, which rises in the north. Considering all of the nature parks, woodlands, and seashores, it's easy to forget that the island's east coast buzzed with the clamor of coal mines and steel mills until recently, and was Nova Scotia's industrial heartland for most of the 20th century.