Burgeo | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Flag | |
  Burgeo Location of Burgeo inNewfoundland | |
| Coordinates:47°37′12″N57°37′18″W / 47.62000°N 57.62167°W /47.62000; -57.62167[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Sue Ann Peckford-Spencer |
| • MHA | Michael King (Burgeo-LaPoile) |
| • MP | Carol Anstey (Long Range Mountains) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 1,176[2] |
| Time zone | UTC-03:30 (NST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-02:30 (NDT) |
| Area code | 709 |
| Highways |  Route 480 |
Burgeo (/ˈbɜːrdʒoʊ/BUR-joh)[3] is a town in theCanadian province ofNewfoundland and Labrador. It is located mainly on Grandy Island, on the south coast of the island ofNewfoundland. It is anoutport community.
The town is approximately 121 km (75 mi) east ofChannel-Port aux Basques. Burgeo is home toSandbanks Provincial Park, named for its sand dunes and long expanses of flat, sandy beaches.[4]
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Burgeo had a population of1,176 living in571 of its660 total private dwellings, a change of-10% from its 2016 population of1,307. With a land area of 29.51 km2 (11.39 sq mi), it had a population density of39.9/km2 (103.2/sq mi) in 2021.[2]
The population was 900 in 1911, 2,474 in 1976, 1,607 in 2006, 1,464 in 2011, and 1,307 in 2016.[5] The median age in the town was 60 in 2021.[6]
The principal industry was fishing and fish processing until the town was one of many affected by the1992 cod moratorium.[7] As such, the moratorium caused excessive outmigration.
Burgeo has aferry dock with connections toRamea,Grey River andFrancois.[8][9][10][11] The town is also the southern terminus forRoute 480 (Burgeo Highway), connecting Burgeo with theTrans-Canada Highway (Route 1) and the rest of mainland Newfoundland.[12]
Burgeo has asubarctic climate (Dfc) with long, cold winters and short, cool summers. Precipitation is heavy year round.[13]
| Climate data for Burgeo Coordinates47°37′N57°37′W / 47.617°N 57.617°W /47.617; -57.617 (Burgeo); elevation: 12 m (39 ft); 1961–1990, extremes 1966–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.7 (47.7) | 8.9 (48.0) | 9.2 (48.6) | 14.8 (58.6) | 21.7 (71.1) | 24.4 (75.9) | 25.9 (78.6) | 26.7 (80.1) | 23.1 (73.6) | 18.6 (65.5) | 14.4 (57.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 26.7 (80.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) | −2 (28) | 0.5 (32.9) | 4.5 (40.1) | 8.8 (47.8) | 12.6 (54.7) | 16.5 (61.7) | 18.1 (64.6) | 15.2 (59.4) | 10.3 (50.5) | 5.8 (42.4) | 1.3 (34.3) | 7.5 (45.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.9 (23.2) | −5.6 (21.9) | −2.9 (26.8) | 1.5 (34.7) | 5.6 (42.1) | 9.5 (49.1) | 13.6 (56.5) | 14.8 (58.6) | 11.6 (52.9) | 6.9 (44.4) | 2.8 (37.0) | −2.0 (28.4) | 4.2 (39.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −8.4 (16.9) | −9.4 (15.1) | −6.4 (20.5) | −1.5 (29.3) | 2.4 (36.3) | 6.4 (43.5) | 10.5 (50.9) | 11.4 (52.5) | 7.8 (46.0) | 3.4 (38.1) | −0.3 (31.5) | −5.4 (22.3) | 0.9 (33.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −25.6 (−14.1) | −25.2 (−13.4) | −12.2 (10.0) | −7.2 (19.0) | 1.1 (34.0) | 4.4 (39.9) | 3.9 (39.0) | −0.6 (30.9) | −4.7 (23.5) | −12.9 (8.8) | −18.3 (−0.9) | −25.6 (−14.1) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 156.7 (6.17) | 130.5 (5.14) | 128.1 (5.04) | 131.6 (5.18) | 125.2 (4.93) | 149.3 (5.88) | 139.9 (5.51) | 138.5 (5.45) | 133.2 (5.24) | 156.9 (6.18) | 175.5 (6.91) | 173.8 (6.84) | 1,739.2 (68.47) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 84.1 (3.31) | 71.7 (2.82) | 75.5 (2.97) | 110.5 (4.35) | 121.0 (4.76) | 149.3 (5.88) | 140.0 (5.51) | 138.5 (5.45) | 133.2 (5.24) | 154.6 (6.09) | 158.4 (6.24) | 117.5 (4.63) | 1,454.3 (57.25) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 75.3 (29.6) | 62.6 (24.6) | 53.6 (21.1) | 19.6 (7.7) | 3.7 (1.5) | 0.2 (0.1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2.2 (0.9) | 16.3 (6.4) | 54.8 (21.6) | 288.3 (113.5) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 19 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 199 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 7 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 152 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 16 | 14 | 12 | 6 | trace | trace | trace | 0 | 0 | trace | 5 | 12 | 65 |
| Source: 1961-1990Environment and Climate Change Canada[14] | |||||||||||||
Burgeo (Najioqonuk in theMiꞌkmaq language) falls under the Flat Bay ward of theQalipu First Nation. It is also home to the independent Burgeo First Nation Band, a local self-identified band ofMiꞌkmaq that currently have status and non-status members. Non-status members are planning to seek status under theIndian Act.[15]
The famed Canadian nature writer andnaturalistFarley Mowat lived in Burgeo for five years during his time in Newfoundland. He wrote several books during his time there, including the controversialA Whale for the Killing,[16] which was later adapted into amovie loosely based on the book but with the same name. Mowat's wife,Claire Mowat, wrote her bookThe Outport People about life in Burgeo;[17] however, the town in the book is given the fictional name "Baleena".[18]
Route 480, also referred to as the Burgeo road, was a frequent subject for famed Canadian painterChristopher Pratt, who depicted it on several occasions and began his bookThoughts on Driving to Venus there in 1999. On 11 April 2009, Pratt wrote:[19]
'Burgeo Road, 10:30 am. 3 °C, breezy, mixture of sun and cloud. Enroute Sandbanks on a chilly but very inviting day. I always remember these "Car Books" began on this road—intended to be a short-hand, stream of consciousness, trigger-happy sort of thing, a sequence of responses, not considered efforts at insights or forced philosophies.'
