The Evangeline region of Prince Edward Island is an area we haven’t fully explored, so my husband and I recently drove along part of that coast. This area is west of Summerside and predominately Acadian, descendants of the original French settlers on the island. French is the first language of the majority of people in this region, representing about 3% of the island’s population.
We passed the Eglise Notre Dame du Mont Carmel along the way, a large church which dominates the countryside. We stopped at Cape Egmont to see the lighthouse and noticed Notre Dame in the distance,
certainly visible to the boats at sea. It was a good landmark for fishers in the days prior to satellite navigation systems aboard fishing vessels.
Parking near the lighthouse and looking out,
we could see the land falls off into the sea, without any fencing to prevent tragedy. Carefully approaching the edge, we discovered a sea stack below with cormorants enjoying the sun. It is interesting the birds frequent one part of the sea stack and not the whole surface.
The cliffs consist of mudstone and sandstone layered from sea level up but red soil makes up a huge portion of the cliff, kept in place by the grass.
Notice the two young people in the photo above. They are standing in the area below, near the outer edge. Needless to say, we did not venture there.
The sea stack with the cormorants in residence is actually a double sea arch. The smaller arch on the left is newer, having developed over the last year. A walk along the cliffs is necessary to see both of them as the smaller one isn’t visible at every angle.
In the water below, cormorants land and take off, looking like they are enjoying a dip in the sea on this hot day. One looks to be drying its wings on the water, a behaviour I hadn’t seen before.
Usually we see spread wings on land.
Further off-shore, the fishing boats are going to and from the Fishing Cove west of the Cape in Egmont Bay.
It is a windy day and the water is choppy. We were happy to be where we were rather than on that boat. However, we will visit this lighthouse again to watch the progress of the sea stack over time.
28 comments:
These are outstanding shots, Marie. I am so glad you decided to share so many of them in your post. I am so impressed! Thank you.
That church in the distance! ❤️❤️
Fascinating to see the sea stack each year Marie, always love seeing the lighthouse. I did see the young couple a bit to close to the edge, my days of living on the edge are definitely over 😊 Superb series of images 💜
My My , What A Lovely Drive - Such A Beautiful Part Of The World - Travel On Kids
Cheers
Such gorgeous sights! The development of the new arch speaks of the power of the water to erode. I know PEI has a lot of concern about the erosion.
An impressive stretch of coastline; I'm always attracted to sea-stacks, especially when they are popular with sea birds. I've never noticed Cormorants stretching their wings like that when on the water either.
Both the lighthouse and seastack draw my eye.
it is such a beautiful area, and i always enjoy reading about it's history. i did not realize or think about french being the first language. the picture of the lighthouse is exquisite, it looks like a beautiful day!!
i wondered if that were 2 people on the cliff...i image it would be exciting to be there but not for me!! your beaches and the red sand is so different than ours!! the formations are so cool!!
That shot of the sea cliffs by the double sea arch is spectacular!
I have only ever noticed that wing stretch on land as well. How fascinating that the cormorants only chose one side of the stack...
Thank you so much for showcasing yet more of the beautiful area you live in.
Love the photos, but, like you, I think it is weird that the cormorants are only on half.
So beautiful, especially the lighthouse.
Such a beautiful area.
It is interesting to see how the water carves out the designs on the cliffs.
Fascinating scenery in PEI. I most go there some day.
Now you have me wondering why the cormorants favour one side of the rock over the other. It is apparent from the amount of guano on one side that this is of regular occurrence. Wouldn't it be awful if we had all the answers?.
Oh my, I wouldn't want to walk out along that path either :)
Hello Marie,
Beautiful views of the coastline. I love the lighthouse, cormorants and the sea stacks. The arches are cool to see. Lovely outing and photos. Have a great day and happy week ahead!
Well done, a lovely set of photos. I would not walk that close to the edge!!! Sorry I am not keeping up with blogs and comments just so much going on. Lots to do in the garden and I have not had time to process photos that I have taken, I am getting backlogged!!
Hope all is well, take care, Diane
Beautiful coastline. The land under those two people looks like it is ready to fall away. Scary place to stand for a view. The stacks will be interesting to follow. The cormorants know real estate is about location, location , location. lol. The lighthouse is beautiful.
splendid water dear Marie !
great that you went to explore area you could not visit before .it looks awesome indeed .
your captures always narrate poetical expressions .i enjoyed the birds on that such intriguing rock ,remarkable shots !
may be the bird is highly sensitive or may be he want to protect some injury from being wet (if he is as clever )
i saw striking scenes filmed on such outer edges ,they scare me lol
light houseis really elegant
more health ,peace and joy to you and family!
The Seastacks are so interesting. That one seemed to develope into two really quickly.
Looking forward to seeing its progress in the coming months.
Love the photos and the views you capture.
Sue
What a beautiful shore line. I love it. Just to he abloe to look out on that daily would be great.
Rock formation is quite interesting.
Coffee is on and stay safe
I love that lighthouse. I so would love to know why the cormorants are only in one area and not on the other part. Strange.
With my love of Louisiana, it is amazing to think of the long trip the Acadians made. If they were looking for warmer weather, they certainly found it in hot and humid Louisiana. I'm going to have to Google Acadians again. I have forgotten the background story.
Lovely, lovely images of the sea stacks and the cormorants activities.
Beautiful!
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