The Port au Port Peninsula lies along the ancient Appalachian Mountain range, which stretches from Alabama to the Canadian province of Newfoundland. The peninsula extends into the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the rest of the province’s west coast through a narrow isthmus. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Basque fishermen, who had maintained seasonal fishing settlements for centuries, first called the area the Port of Rest. As year-round settlements developed, Port au Port became home to a mélange culture of bilingual residents from Mi'kmaq, Acadian, Basque, and French backgrounds. Since the 18th century, it has been informally known as the "French Shore."

Although the peninsula lacks natural harbors, Sheaves Cove has served as a sheltered beach where motor dories can be pulled ashore. Partially protected by a rocky headland, this cove is filled with palm-sized stones that shimmer in the midday sun through the clear, rippling seawater. These multicolored cobbles were formed from a complex geologic history of limestone, sandstone, and shale. They have been clamorously shaped by scraping and polishing against each other through the churn of ebbing and flooding swells. Light shifts from the sun's angle to a more vertical direction as it passes through the water. In this photograph, the water’s surface acts like a liquid lens, bending the light to magnify and distort the rounded stones. The various refractions outline and continually reshape their edges and faces as the rhythmic surges of waves from St. George Bay create a pulsing dance of light.