The Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada has a widely varied geography.
Halifax Regional Municipality is geographically large. At of total landmass, the maximum north-south distance of the municipality is approximately while its maximum east-west distance is approximately . Travel along its shoreline by road between its southwesterly point in Hubbards to its north easterly point in Ecum Secum is approximately .
The topography of Halifax varies as its size suggests. It has over of coastline with many sandy beaches and features many coves and inlets. Inland contains vasts forests featuring many drumlins and low hills. The highest point within the municipality is Blue Mountain Summit in Hammonds Plains at . The Musquodoboit Valley subregion includes over of fertile agricultural land.
There are many peninsulas along the coast of Halifax Regional Municipality. At the western portion of the municipality, the Chebucto Peninsula is formed by the indentations of the Bedford Basin, Halifax Harbour, and Saint Margaret's Bay. Within Halifax Harbour, the Halifax Peninsula forms a sub-peninsula.
Natural bays and harbours are throughout Halifax. Cow Bay, Saint Margaret's Bay, and Terrance Bay are the major bays. Beaver Harbour, Cole Harbour, Halifax Harbour, Indian Harbour, Jeddore Harbour, Ketch Harbour, Little Harbour, Musquodoboit Harbour, Pleasant Harbour, Popes Harbour, Prospect Harbour, Sambro Harbour, Sheet Harbour, and Ship Harbour are the major harbours.
Over twenty rivers flow through Halifax. The Chezzetcook, Musquodoboit, and Sackville rivers combined are over in length.
Despite being located southeast of Halifax Regional Municipality, Sable Island is part of the Halifax Regional Municipality. There are many hundreds of islands offshore of Halifax Regional Municipality. 100 Islands Wilderness off the coast of the eastern portion Halifax Regional Municipality contains 282 islands over an area of approximately of which approximately is land.
Halifax contains a population centre which is built on a series of hills and plateaus which surround Halifax Harbour and is composed of numerous communities-and-neighbourhoods. The community of Halifax lies on its namesake peninsula. Across the harbour from Halifax is Dartmouth with its defining geographic feature being a series of glacial lakes. To the north of the Bedford Basin is the community of Bedford. The approximate eastern, northern, and western extremities of the built-up area are East Preston, Middle Sackville, and Timberlea.
There are many urban communities-and-environs which make up the urban fabric of Halifax. As of the 2021 Census, the built-up area consists of of landmass, has 162,336 dwellings, and is home to 348,634 people. Compared to the 2016 Census, the urban land area increased by .
Halifax is marked by a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), but the area climate is heavily influenced by water temperatures in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean. Weather is somewhat unpredictable as there are numerous local microclimates.
Commonly, average air temperatures drop to in January, and exceed in July. Precipitation stands at approximately annually, and is somewhat heavy year-round, though summer is drier.
Between November through April, winter snow alternately falls-and-melts - for a seasonal total of approximately . Some, but usually very little, snow falls in May and October. Halifax usually experiences several strong winter storms. A blizzard in February of 2004 had sustained winds in excess of , produced wind gusts over , and precipitated of snow. This storm was nicknamed "White Juan", as it was recently after Hurricane Juan in September of 2003.
Spring is cool and foggy. Between March and May, roughly of precipitation is produced which is an average amount for Halifax.
Summer can range from hot and dry to cool and rainy. Hurricanes are fairly uncommon but do occur occasionally. There can be considerable variations between the weather near the Atlantic Ocean and the weather even several kilometres inland. This is partly caused by the effect of the Labrador Current, which transfers cold water from the Arctic along Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast in the spring and summer, while the Gulf Stream brings warmer water from the Gulf of Mexico along the coast during the fall and winter.
Autumn is often sunny and warm. Temperatures commonly reach during daytime during September.
The Halifax Regional Municipality is home to 6 weather stations operated by the Meteorological Service of Canada: