The results are reported of a field and laboratory investigation of the geotechnical properties of the surficial bottom, or near-surface, sediments of the Strait of Canso, Nova Scotia. The investigation procedures includedin situshear vane tests performed using a diver-operated apparatus lowered to the bottom from the survey ship, and undisturbed sampling using the Lehigh University Gravity Corer, which provides a 10 cm diameter sample.Soils encountered within the sampling depth (0–1.5 m maximum) consisted of layered and bioturbated coarse-grained and fine-grained sediments. Most of the investigative work was concerned with the fine-grained sediments, clayey silts, and clays, which were found to be soft and compressible, but possessed a reserve resistance in both shear and one-dimensional consolidation which give them the characteristics of overconsolidated clays. This reserve resistance has been attributed to chemical alteration, including the effects of organic compounds.