One detail visitors quickly learn to respect is the area known as the "black rocks." Closer to the water, the granite darkens from constant wave action and marine growth. These surfaces are extremely slippery, and powerful Atlantic swells can surge unexpectedly onto the rocks. The warning signs should be taken very seriously here, and for good reason.

In November 2007, due to Hurricane Noel the wave-rider buoy near Peggy’s Cove, recorded significant waves of more than 17 m came ashore. Waves broke a south-facing window in the lighthouse. This is reason to "Run from the water" when warned.

Shore to Lighthouse

A LiDAR cross-section is shown to illustrate the elevation profile toward the lighthouse. A more thorough analysis could calculate a wave run-up and overtopping envelope across rock shelves, showing the likely upper limit of water reach during storm conditions.

The tide heights are surveyed from the nearest station in Indian Harbour. The wave heights are surveyed from the nearest wave buoy, in LaHave Bank. The height of the black rocks was determined through empirical visual inspection (i.e., by eye).

Attribution

• "Light House, Peggy Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada", by ShacharWeis is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.
• CanElevation Series: LiDAR Point Clouds, licensed under the Open Government Licence.
• Automatically Extracted Buildings, licensed under the Open Government Licence.
• Impacts of Post-tropical Storm Noel on the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia, licensed under the Open Government Licence.