Five Islands is a rural community in Colchester County Nova Scotia with a population of 316 located on the north shore of Minas Basin, home of the highest tides in the world. It is named after five small islands – Moose, Diamond, Long, Egg, and Pinnacle – located just off the coast. The islands are an exposed part of the North Mountain Basalt. Moose Island is in Colchester County. The remaining islands are in Cumberland County. Beyond Pinnacle Island is a seastack called Pinnacle Rock.
The Five Islands Provincial Park includes Moose and Diamond Islands. Five Islands had a lighthouse in operation from 1914 to 1999. It was moved several times due to erosion. The lighthouse has since been preserved by a community group.
Native Mi'kmaq legend has it that the Five Islands were created when their god Glooscap threw the mud, sticks and stones at the giant beaver who dammed his medicine garden in Advocate. The mud, sticks and stones that formed the islands are said to have trapped the beaver in one of the islands and turned it into gold.