The Mira River is presently crossed by three road bridges, Victoria Bridge, carrying Grand Mira South Road, Marion Bridge carrying Nova Scotia Route 327, and Albert Bridge, carrying Nova Scotia Trunk 22, each bridge in their respective namesake communities. Entrance Of The Beautiful Mira River, Near Sydney, N.S." By MacLeod's Book Stores Sydney & Glace Bay, N.S. The nearer bridge was eventually demolished and the further bridge in the photo was converted to carry the road once the railway shut down.
Both bridges had swing spans to allow vessels to travel up the Mira River. Bridges Ĭa 1900-1925 A view of the Mira Gut Road Bridge (nearer) and Sydney and Louisburg Railway's Mira River Bridge (further) at the mouth of the Mira River where it empties into Mira Gut and Mira Bay. Over the years, it has become a renowned folk song, that has been recorded by many artists and translated into several different languages. The Mira River was the inspiration for local singer-songwriter Allister MacGillivray's Song for the Mira. According to estimates by the Province of Nova Scotia, there are 102,428 people resident within the Mira/Salmon River watershed in 2011.
The Mira region is also home to the Two Rivers Wildlife Park. Popular swimming spots include Marion Bridge, Mira Gut Beach, Sangaree Island, Mira Water Park, and Albert Bridge. Several campgrounds and parks, along with the Mira Boat Club at Albert Bridge make the Mira River a vacation destination in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. The river's width (on some old maps and in old Sailing Directions it is referred to as a lake) and calm waters make it ideal for pleasure boating and other recreational activities numerous cottages line its banks. Consequently, the river is popular for fishing. The waters of the Mira River support a variety of fish species including sea trout, shad, perch, American eel, striped bass, mackerel, herring, brook trout, speckled trout, minnows and smelt. Tidal waters move back and forth in the eastern portion of the river. Along the southern part of its course, glacial deposits have interrupted the flow to form a chain of small lakes which are all less than 15 metres above sea level. The Mira River has a drainage area of approximately 648 square kilometres (250 sq mi), with the Gaspereau, Salmon and Trout rivers, along with Black Brook, as its main tributaries. South of the Mira, fossils are also imbedded in the Cambrian sandstones and shales. These coal seams supported the region's long history of coal mining. Abundant fossils can be found in this coal. At that time shallow lakes, bays, swamps and coastal flood plains covered much of the region. The carboniferous bedrock to the north of the Mira includes numerous coal seams - evidence of the area's environment 300 million years ago. About three kilometres from the mouth of the Mira, the river narrows and cuts a valley through bedrock to reach the Atlantic Ocean. Along the lower two-thirds of the river, these glacial deposits also formed numerous peninsulas such as the one Mira River Provincial Park occupies. Lying in a long narrow valley, possibly along an old fault line, the lower reaches of the river have been dammed by glacial gravels to form a long lake. The highly eroded bedrock is covered by a thick layer of glacial till, sands and gravels deposited during the retreat of the last ice age some 15,000 years ago. The river lies between 320 million year old Carboniferous formations to the north and 500 million year old Cambrian and Precambrian formations to the south. The Mira River Valley is a dominant topographical feature of southeastern Cape Breton, extending from Framboise Cove northwards to about Marion Bridge and then sweeping eastwards to exit at Mira Bay. By 1776 the name on maps was 'Miray' and 'Mire.' Geology Another source gives the name's origin as having been given by Portuguese fishermen and explorers who may have named it after a place south of Oporto in Portugal. The Mi'kmaq name for the river was 'Sookakade,' meaning 'the silver-place.' One version of source of the river's name is that it was named after a French officer, Lieutenant M.