Shifting sands: Tracing the evolution of Prince Edward Island’s coastal dunes

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is the smallest Canadian province and only island province in Canada. This small sandstone island has a lengthy coastline, of which nearly one-third is classified as sand dune, and over half on the northern shore facing the long reach of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While scientific interest has focused on coastal erosion, the role of coastal dunes is less understood, and historical records are scarce. However, the boundedness and small size of the island has historically provided opportunities for mapping, with the exacting surveys of Captain Samuel Holland in the eighteenth century, Admiral Henry Bayfield in the nineteenth century, and comprehensive aerial photo analysis and topographic mapping in the twentieth century. Overlaying these sources in a Geographic Information System (GIS), and comparing them with additional historical maps and charts at the site of the first settlement around St. Peters Bay provides insight into the rapid and continuing evolution of the nearby coastal sand dunes, which can in turn be linked to key eras in the island’s 300 years of colonial history.