|
|
Historic
Attractions & Museums - Red Bay
|
| Red Bay is in the beautiful region of southern
coastal Labrador. The barren looking hills are covered with tuckamore
trees and brightly coloured flowers. The community is a National Historic
Site designated for its well documented history of 16th century
whaling. Once alive with industrial activity, Red Bay is now a quiet,
charming community. An island in the middle of the bay, named Saddle Island
for its distinctive shape, was the centre of a Basque whaling operation that
is believed to have been one of the most important of its kind in the world
during the last half of the 16th century. It was on this island that
archaeologists discovered the outlines of buildings and a cemetery where 140
Basques whalers were laid to rest, far from home. A Spanish galleon,
believed to be the San Juan, was found lying in deep silt at the bottom of
Red Bay in 1978. The ship is one of only two in the world that provide
examples of the naval architecture that allowed Europeans to colonize the
New World in the sixteenth century. |
|
|
|
Red Bay National Historic Site
P.O. Box 103
Red Bay, NL, A0K 4K0
(more information)
|
|
|
 |