Sable Island – a long, slender stretch of land located 290 kilometers off the coast of Nova Scotia – has been named Canada’s newest national park, reports the National Post.
Only 40 kilometers long by 1.5 km wide, the crescent-shaped island is home to a bird sanctuary, a pair of 300-year-old lighthouses, an extensive dune system, a shipwreck graveyard, and over 400 untamed horses. The sandy surface also holds a shallow lake.
"Today’s historic agreement will ensure that this iconic and valued Canadian landscape fabled for its wild horses, shipwrecks and one of the largest dune systems in Eastern Canada, will be protected as a national park reserve for the benefit of Canadians for all time," said Minister of the Environment, Peter Mackay.
As part of its new protection as a national park, the oil rigs that troll the nearby waters are prohibited within one nautical mile of its shores and its surface cannot be drilled.