The geographical centre of Mahone Bay is located at 44°29'37.65"N and 64°12'21.53"W. The bay is approximately 22km in depth as measured from the high tide mark in Chester Basin to the open Atlantic past Iron Bound Island. The entrance to Mahone Bay is 16.5 Km measured from Blandford to Rose Point which makes for a total area of approximately 288 square km.

The bay is generally surrounded by hills which are a result of complex geological origins and are between 50 and 70m in height; however, the eastern shore of the bay is enclosed by the Aspotogan Peninsula with its seaward promontory measuring about 145m in height. This highland is known as Mount Aspotogan and is the highest point on the Atlantic coast of mainland Nova Scotia.  This geographical feature can be seen at a distance of 20km+ out to sea, and as historical text do show, was an obvious point of reference for early seafaring folks.

Hudson, Champlain, and even Cornwallis during the founding of Halifax, all gained the Atlantic coast at this latitude. This author thinks Mt Aspotogan flanked by two large bays were an obvious feature which allowed navigators to know exactly where they were or rather, at which latitude they were at.