Terra Nova Trivia: 11 Facts about Terra Nova National Park
Terra Nova is one of only two National Parks on the island of Newfoundland. It probably isn’t the most celebrated — images of Gros Morne on the island’s west coast routinely make the tourism ads but Terra Nova is loved all the same and it’s an interesting place.
Here are 11 pieces of Terra Nova National Park trivia to discuss around your next campfire.
1. Terra Nova’s the Oldest
Maple Leaf at Malady Head
Newfoundland and Labrador became Canada’s 10th province in 1949, and, less than ten years later, in 1957 Terra Nova National Park was established. That makes it the oldest National Park in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Terra Nova officially opened in 1961 but a national park was under consideration much longer. A park in Newfoundland was mentioned at least as early as 1948 during Newfoundland National Convention debates.
On June 28, 1955 an amendment to Canada’s National Parks Act cleared the way to developing a park in Newfoundland but it took until 1957 to select the land and declare Terra Nova a national park.
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Despite having strong support for a National Park in Newfoundland, selecting the location was difficult.
The piece of land chosen was to preserve land representative of the province. Sites which had been considered included the Salmonier River and Placentia Bay areas, the upper Burin Peninsula, the Bonavista Bay Area and land lying between Trinity Bay and Conception Bay.
Ultimately the land near Bonavista Bay won out. It was felt that it was representative of the province’s coastal scenery and was easily accessible to a large number of citizens and tourists.
The site, as a national park, would be subject to restrictions on development and resource extraction.
The would-be Terra Nova National park region was already home to sawmills and forest harvesting. In some quarters, there were hopes that this might be expanded and the forests of Terra Nova could feed a pulp and paper mill. On top of that, Newfoundland was going to need to expand its electricity production and one potential source would by hydro-electricity produced on the Terra Nova River — a national park would, potentially, put an end to both of these prospects.
The province was worried that selecting this site might hobble their efforts for economic growth.
An editorial in Newfoundland’s Evening Telegram (April 12, 1957) criticized the province:
“Ottawa has been ready since 1950 to set up a park in Newfoundland but the Provincial Government has spent seven years stalling. Their attitude has been that they’d be delighted to set aside an area for a national park provided the Federal Government would allow them to build a pulp mill in the middle of it, or open a mine, or start several sawmills, or build dams and canals for a hydro-electric development.”
In the end a balance was struck and a relatively small tract of land was selected for Terra Nova.
2. Terra Nova’s the Most Easterly
Salton’s Brook, Terra Nova
Situated on the east coast of Canada’s most easterly province, Terra Nova is Canada’s most easterly national park. It is located just over 200km from Cape Spear, the most easterly point in Canada.
The park preserves eastern island boreal forest. At Terra Nova the coastline is dotted with inlets and sounds offering an opportunity to appreciate the interplay of of ocean and forest ecosystems.
3. Terra Nova’s the Smallest
Of the four National Parks/National Park Reserves in Newfoundland and Labrador, Terra Nova is the smallest. By a lot.
The parks in Labrador are even larger. Torngat Mountains National Park is 9700km2 and Akami-Uapishkᵘ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve is 10700km.
4. Terra nova’s Got 2X More Trail
There are 42.2 kms of Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) within Terra Nova National Park but over 80km of trails — that’s nearly 2 kilometres of hiking trail for every kilometre of highway.
There are 12 trails in the park offering everything from a quick and easy afternoon stroll (like the 0.5km, Heritage Trail ) to the challenging 35km (return) Outport Trail which is done as a multi-day backcountry camping adventure.
Eastport Causeway as seen from the Mill Cove Lookout Trail, Terra Nova National Park.
That said, don’t discount the scenic drives the Park has to offer. The Eastport Causeway on Route 310 through Terra Nova is over a kilometre long and offers stunning views of the Park and Southwest Arm.
5. Terra Nova Has The Most Campsites
Terra Nova has the most campsites of any National Park in the province, by a wide margin — over 400. Choices range from tenting and camper sites, to oTENTiks (a combination tent/A-frame cabin) and Ôasis (a sort of tear drop-shaped ‘duplex’).
Gros Morne National Park, comes in second place for number of sites — 236.
6. Terra Nova Has Darker Skies
Terra Nova National Park is Newfoundland’s first, and onlyRoyal Astronomical Society of Canada Dark Sky Preserve. It received the designation in 2018. A Dark Sky Preserve is an area that takes measures to eliminate light pollution. To get the designation the park had to retrofit, eliminate and re-position lights to create a dark sky. It makes the park great for star-gazing and safer for a lot of nocturnal animals — like the little brown bat.
7. Terra Nova Has 9 Species at Risk
The little brown bat is one of 9 at-risk species that call Terra Nova National Park home, The little brown bat is one of three species of bat native to Newfoundland but it’s endangered due to habitat-loss, toxins and white-nose syndrome.
Terra Nova is also home to the Newfoundland sub-species of the American pine marten. In the 1980s the population of marten was estimated as between 630 and 875, by the 1990s it was thought to have declined to about 300.
The park has been playing an active role in the preservation of the sub-species and in 2019 the estimate was thought to be between 286-556 animals.
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Red Crossbill
Boreal Felt Lichen
Blue Felt Lichen
Northern Long-Eared Bat
Olive Sided Flycatcher
Rusty Blackbird
Short Eared Owl
8. Terra Nova’s Not Natural
A bridge on the Sandy Pond Trail
Okay, Terra Nova is mostly natural.
Sandy Pond, a popular swimming area in the park, has a dam to control the water level and, in 1970, a section of man-made beach was built to create more space for visitors to enjoy.
9. Terra Nova Tee Off
In the 1980s, Terra Nova created a golf course on its southern boundary, near Port Bandford. Called the Twin Rivers Course, the first 9-holes officially opened in August 1984 with a second nine-holes following in July 1991.
Since opening, the course has been considered one of the premiere golfing destinations in the province.
10. Terra Nova Tinder
Fire Tower at Ochre Hill, Terra Nova National Park.
From time-to-time the park is deliberately set on fire. Terra Nova has conducted prescribed burns of their forested areas to promote new growth.
Park literature suggests that as much as 85% of the park’s forested ecosystems are 100 years old or older, with some trees as old as 240 years.
11. Terra Nova Talk
The park has some interesting names — including Pissing Mare Falls, a small but pretty waterfall on the Coastal Trail. Perhaps the most often mispronounced name in the park is Malady Head.
Malady Head is a large bluff above Southwest Arm near the northern boundary of the park. It is the site of a spectacular hike (the Malady Head Trail) and beautiful campground.
Fall at Malady Head Campground
Its definitely worth visiting and when you go you might as well say the name like the locals do. Many visitors, understandably, pronounce Malady as if they were talking about an ailment but that’s not how locals say it.
The locals say ‘ma-la-dee.’
I grew up on the Eastport Peninsula, just outside Terra Nova. I remember hearing stories suggesting the name came from European settlers referring to the large bluff as ‘my lady.’
I have no idea if that’s true — so better file it under folklore rather than fact.
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Terra Nova at Parks Canada History
Terra Nova National Park, Human History Study by Kevin Major
Terra Nova National Park, Parks Canada.
