Rip-rap rocks at Delaps Cove

The rip-rap sea defences at Delaps Cove are designed to protect the dwellings above the beach and also the fishing boats, jetties and huts along the north bank of the river. The river flows down from North Mountain through the wilderness area to the Nova Scotian shore of the Bay of Fundy, with seaweed-covered basalt bedrock exposed between the pine trees and the tidal waters.

The tidal range of the water in the Bay of Fundy is the greatest in the world, in some places, at certain times, rising over 56 feet from low tide level to high tide level. A tremendously powerful surge of water pumps in and out of the Bay, and is liable to create extreme problems for the people working and living on its shores in stormy or winter weather. The sea defences are much needed to preserve the homes and livelihoods of people living on the edge of the Bay.

The rip-rap boulders are mostly basalt, which is possibly local in origin, and granite that must have been brought in from further afield. The granite has large sizes of clear, pink and black crystals, and occasionally inclusions (xenoliths) of other rock types that fell into the magma chamber when the granites were forming. Adjacent to the wooden jetty, the rip-rap is retained by some interesting well-weathered wooden timbers.