Sunday Drive to Bell Island

To get to Bell Island you'll need to catch the ferry in Portugal Cove.

Bell Island consists almost entirely of cliffs that tower up to 45 metres above the ocean.

The island is home to four settlements with a total of over 2000 inhabitants. The vast majority of them live in the main settlement of Wabana.

Bell Island is well known for its iron ore mining that took place from 1895 to 1966 it was regarded as one of the most important iron ore producers in the world.

Bell Island was very important to the Allied war industry during World War II, which led to Nazi Germany attacking twice.

When the mining operation wined down, the population fell dramatically.

Sunday Drive is a weekly feature that focuses on small to medium communities in Newfoundland and Labrador.