The east and northeast coast
Northward from the Avalon, along the coast rimming Trinity, Bonavista, and Notre Dame bays, the landscape is softened. The headlands and islands are still barren, but in the bays and estuaries the size and variety of the forest cover attest to deeper soils. The rocky shoreline is interrupted by stretches of sandy beach, and the fishing village occasionally is replaced by a farming community. Many islands shield the mainland from the worst effects of the northeasterly winds and create hundreds of miles of virtually landlocked waters. Many old communities, such as Fogo, Bonavista, and Twillingate, developed in the more exposed locations, where the exigencies of the fishery demanded they be built. These are being outstripped in growth by the newer towns located in more-favorable settings, such as Clarenville, Lewisporte, and Springdale, which have become important distribution centers linked at one time to the railway and now to the Trans-Canada Highway.
Northern Peninsula
The Northern Peninsula (locally called the Great Northern Peninsula) stretches northward toward the Labrador coast between Bonne Bay on the west and White Bay on the east. In the west the Long Range Mountains, rising abruptly from a narrow coastal plain dissected by numerous fjords and rivers, offer spectacular scenic attractions. On the eastern slope of the mountains are stands of commercial forest. Settlements along the coast are somewhat more widely spaced than in other regions. The principal towns include the important fishing center of Port au Choix and the town of Saint Anthony.
The west coast
The west coast region stretches southward from Bonne Bay, at the base of the Northern Peninsula, to Cape Ray on Cabot Strait. The northern section is well forested, while the stretch from St. George’s Bay to the Codroy Valley has some of the province’s best agricultural land. The principal population centers are Corner Brook, a city originally based on a large pulp and paper complex but now more diversified, and Stephenville, which was originally developed in conjunction with a U.S. air base. The town was later converted into a center for light industry; it also has a paper mill.
The south coast
The most spectacularly rugged section of the island’s coastline is probably the south coast, stretching from Cape Ray eastward to Fortune Bay. There the land generally rises abruptly from the sea, forming numerous embayments separated by rocky peninsulas. The rivers are short and turbulent, but their valleys are well forested. At the head of Bay d’Espoir is a major hydroelectric plant. Many small settlements that once dotted the coast have been abandoned, and the population is now centered in a few relatively large communities, such as Burgeo, Harbour Breton, and Channel–Port aux Basques, located at the western extreme of the region.
Burin Peninsula
Almost all settlement on the Burin Peninsula is coastal. The larger towns, Marystown, Burin, Grand Bank, and Fortune, were all major deep-sea fishing ports and centers for the fresh-fish processing industry. St. Lawrence once produced Canada’s total supply of the mineral fluorspar, an important agent in metallurgy.
The island interior
The interior was largely uninhabited, at least by Europeans, until the early 20th century. Railway construction and the pulp and paper industry fostered the development of several towns, including Grand Falls–Windsor (originally separate towns) and Bishop’s Falls. Badger and Howley emerged as logging centers. Buchans was at one time an important mining town. The town of Gander was created by the rise in international air traffic, both civil and military, in the mid-20th century.
Labrador
Labrador is composed of two sharply contrasting regions. The coastal region south of the Hamilton Inlet is settled with scattered fishing villages. The area north of the inlet has a handful of permanent settlements with predominantly Innu and Inuit populations. The largest town is Happy Valley–Goose Bay, which developed around a military airfield constructed during World War II. In western Labrador the twin mining towns of Labrador City and Wabush are modern and well-planned. Churchill Falls is the site of one of the world’s greatest hydroelectric developments.
Demographic trends
From the beginning of settlement, Newfoundland was a staging point for further emigration, and from the late 19th century there has been a large emigration to the United States—particularly New York state and New England—and to all parts of Canada. Within the province the trend toward urbanization was accelerated in the 1950s and ’60s by a government policy of resettlement, designed to reduce the costs of services by centralizing population. Both urbanization and emigration were further stimulated by the collapse of the cod fishery in the 1990s. The population is now predominantly urban, with about one-third living in the St. John’s metropolitan area.
Economy
Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy has traditionally been based on exploiting and exporting natural resources. Historically, the fisheries were Newfoundland’s chief economic asset, supplemented from the late 19th century by increasingly important mining and forestry sectors. However, in the late 20th century the province’s fishing industry went into sharp decline, as did the other primary industries. In the early 21st century the Newfoundland economy showed signs of recovery, thanks largely to a combination of mineral extraction and growing tourism.