Atlantic Canada, also known as the Atlantic Provinces, consists of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada. While much of the inland consists of forests, and there is a good deal of mining in some areas, fishing has been important to the provinces since the first European settlers arrived.
The term the Maritimes is also used, but it does not include Newfoundland since it originated before 1949 when Newfoundland joined Canada.
