:''For the
riding which returns members to the
Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, see '
Miramichi Bay-Neguac'''
'Miramichi Bay' is an
estuary located on the west coast of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence in
New Brunswick, at the mouth of the
Miramichi River. Miramichi Bay is separated into the "inner bay" and the "outer bay", with the division being a line of uninhabited
barrier islands which are continually reshaped by ocean storms. The largest of these islands is the uninhabited Portage Island, which was broken in two during a violent storm in the 1950's. The islands provide some protection to the inner bay from ocean storms in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The Inner Miramichi Bay, and the lower portions of its tributary rivers (including the
Miramichi River), are parts of a
drowned river valley system. Since
deglaciation,
sea level rise in Miramichi Bay has flooded the mouths of these rivers with
saltwater. The flooded, meandering, ancient Miramichi river channel forms a navigable route through the Inner Bay for ocean-going ships entering the port at
Miramichi (formerly the ports of
Chatham, New Brunswick and
Newcastle, New Brunswick). The inner bay measures only 4 m deep on average, with the navigation channel measuring only 6-10 m. Since dredging maintenance of this channel has stopped, the port is now only accessible to ships with a shallow draft.
The estuary is a highly dynamic environment, subject to high freshwater outflows during the spring
freshet, low outflow and rising saltwater content during the summer period, fall ocean storms and
nor'easters which reshape the barrier islands and the old river channel, and winter
sea ice which encases the entire estuary. The shallow inner bay warms rapidly during summer. The
diurnal tide cycle ranges only 1 m on average. Continued sea level rise is very slowly inundating adjacent low-lying areas and promoting rapid erosion of the low sandstone cliffs bordering the bay.
The estuary is significant in that it is a highly productive ecosystem, despite its relatively small size. The estuary receives the freshwater discharge from the Miramichi River and its tributaries, giving local waters somewhat lower salinity. Organic materials from the surrounding shorelines and inflowing rivers contribute, together with the warm water, to the bay's high productivity.
Marine life includes
harbour seals,
herring gulls, the
common tern (''pictars'' to use the old Scottish word), the
great blue heron (commonly called "crane" in the Miramichi), the
common loon, and
cormorants (called "black shag" locally), with
kingfishers,
plovers,
snipe and
killdeer along the shore.