CONCEPTION BAY

'Conception Bay' is a Canadian bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. Dotted with many rustic small towns and fishing communities, as well has small mountains. The bay indents the Avalon Peninsula with the opening of the bay to the Atlantic Ocean at the northeast. It is bounded by Cape St. Francis in the south and Split Point near Bay de Verde in the north.
Conception Bay covers an area of 1295 square kilometers and contains several islands, the three major ones being Bell Island, Little Bell Island and Kelly's Island. The Bay is fed into by rivers from both the east and west side of the bay, which are then fed into the Atlantic Ocean.

Contents

History

Modern Day

History

The name Conception Bay comes from the Portuguese Baia de Conceicao or Baia de Comceica and was presumably given in honour of the Feast of the Conception, December 8. The name first appears on the Oliveriana map of 1505 – 1508.
During the World War II, Bell Island was exploited by the allies for it's iron ore deposits. The bay was entered by German U-boats on at least two occasion, and Bell Island was one of few places in North America to suffer a direct enemy attack (see Attacks on North America during World War II). The pier where 80,000 tons of iron ore was stored for shipping was torpedoed by German U-boats in 1942. At low tide you can see the relics of the 4 ships that were sunk during the attack and on shore stands a memorial to the 69 men who lost their lives.

Modern Day

Ferry Services run between Bell Island and and Portugal Cove, running through what locals know as the "Bell Island Tickle", on the eastern shore. Hump Back whales have been known to enter the bay while on migration. Private vessels and tourist ships dot the bay during the summer, but the Newfoundland winter generally advises pleasure craft to stay off the water.