Bras d'Or Lake is an
inland sea, or large body of partially fresh/salt water in the centre of
Cape Breton Island in the province of
Nova Scotia,
Canada. Bras d'Or Lake is sometimes referred to as the
Bras d'Or Lakes or the
Bras d'Or Lakes system; however, its official geographic name is
Bras d'Or Lake as it is a singular entity. Canadian author and yachtsman
Silver Donald Cameron describes Bras d'Or Lake as "A basin ringed by indigo hills laced with marble. Islands within a sea inside an island." The lake is connected to the North Atlantic by natural channels, the Great Bras d'Or Channel north of
Boularderie Island and the Little Bras d'Or Channel to south of Boularderie Island, connect the northeastern arm of the lake to the
Cabot Strait. The Bras d'Or is also connected to
Atlantic Ocean via the Strait of Canso by means of a lock canal completed in 1869—the
St. Peters Canal, at the southern tip of the lake.