Algoma District District d'Algoma | |
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Coordinates: 48°00′N84°30′W / 48.000°N 84.500°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
Region | Northeastern Ontario |
Created | 1858 |
Area | |
• Land | 48,814.88 km2 (18,847.53 sq mi) |
Population (2021) [2] | |
• Total | 113,777 |
• Density | 2.4/km2 (6/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Area code | 705 |
Seat | Sault Ste. Marie |
Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The name was created by an American ethnologist, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793–1864), who was appointed Indian agent to the Ojibwe in Sault Ste. Marie region in 1822. "Al" is derived from Algonquin, while "goma" is a variant of gomee, meaning lake or water. [3]
Algoma District has shoreline along Lake Superior and Lake Huron. It has an international border crossing to the American state of Michigan, at Sault Ste. Marie. Historically, it was known for its lumber and mining industries.
The rugged scenery of the region has inspired works by Canadian artists, particularly the Group of Seven. They rented a boxcar from the Algoma Central Railway to travel on excursions through this region.
Surviving prehistoric remains in Algoma District are concentrated around waterways. These remains date as far back as the Archaic period. There are also sites from the later Woodland period, with evidence of extensive Late Woodland habitation. Ceramics at Late Woodland sites show predominantly southeastern links, having originated from the Huron–Petun complex (broadly Ontario Iroquoian) as well as from modern-day Michigan. [4] : 28
French explorers arrived in the area by the mid-17th century. As the French penetrated into North America, they established lines of forts and trading posts, often at river mouths to control trade, especially the lucrative fur trade. In Algoma, they established Fort Michipicoten, located at the mouth of the Michipicoten River where it empties into Lake Superior. The Michipicoten was one of the geographic features depicted by Samuel de Champlain on a 1632 map. [5] : 17 This helped the French bridge the distance to Fort Kaministiquia at the head of Lake Superior, and protected the route up the Michipicoten to James Bay, providing a significant crossroads of water routes.
Algoma was created by proclamation in 1858 [6] as a provisional judicial district of the Province of Canada comprising territory north of the French River as far west as Pigeon River, including all Canadian islands in Lakes Huron and Superior. The authorizing act of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was An Act to provide for the Administration of Justice in the unorganized Tracts of Country within the limits of this Province (known by its short title as The Temporary Judicial Districts Act, 1857).
The district seat is Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. However, it is noted that Thessalon is where the Algoma District Services Administration Board is located.
As the population grew and the northern and northwestern boundaries of Ontario were determined by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Algoma shrank. Other districts were created from it by the provincial government of Ontario:
Algoma District is crossed by a number of rivers, which historically were used as transportation and trade corridors. The Hudson's Bay Company chose key riverside or river mouth locations for a number of its trading posts in the district. One example was Fort Michipicoten, located at the Michipicoten River's mouth. The rivers flow in a number of directions, some crossing through other districts to ultimately empty into faraway water bodies such as James Bay. Others drain into the Great Lakes Basin via Lake Huron or Lake Superior.
Major rivers in Algoma District include:
In the Algoma section, the characteristic forest mixture consists of yellow birch, white spruce, balsam fir, sugar maple, hop-hornbeam, and eastern white cedar. Eastern white pine and occasional red pine (Pinus resinosa) dominate on the upper, steep south-facing slopes; white spruce, eastern white cedar, and balsam fir occupy the middle and lower slopes. A white spruce–balsam fir association, which usually includes white birch and black spruce, is prominent on the river terraces and adjoining flats in the northern part of the Section (Rowe 1972). [7]
Communities within these subdivisions are added in parentheses.
Name of City | Population | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Elliot Lake | 10,743 | |
Sault Ste. Marie | 73,368 |
Name of Town | Population | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Blind River | 3,472 | |
Bruce Mines | 566 | |
Spanish | 696 | |
Thessalon | 1,279 |
Name of Township | Population | Ref. |
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Dubreuilville | 635 | |
Hilton | 261 | |
Hornepayne | 1,050 | |
Huron Shores (Iron Bridge, Sowerby, Little Rapids, Dean Lake) | 1,723 | |
Jocelyn (Kentvale) | 237 | |
Johnson (Desbarats) | 750 | |
Laird | 1,057 | |
Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional (Echo Bay, Bar River, Sylvan Valley) | 1,609 | |
The North Shore (Spragge, Serpent River, Algoma Mills) | 509 | |
Plummer Additional | 650 | |
Prince | 1,031 | |
St. Joseph (Richard's Landing) | 1,240 | |
Tarbutt | 396 | |
Wawa (Michipicoten, Michipicoten River) | 2,975 | |
White River | 607 |
Name of Village | Population | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Hilton Beach | 145 |
Name of Reserve | Population | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Garden River 14 | 1,170 | |
Goulais Bay 15A | 82 | |
Gros Cap 49 | 68 | |
Gros Cap Indian Village 49A | N/A | |
Missanabie 62 | N/A | |
Mississauga First Nation#8 | 390 | |
Obadjiwan 15E | N/A | |
Rankin Location 15D | 566 | |
Sagamok | 1,036 | |
Serpent River 7 | 373 | |
Thessalon 12 | 108 | |
Whitefish Island | N/A |
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Algoma District had a population of 113,777 living in 51,709 of its 59,854 total private dwellings, a change of −0.3% from its 2016 population of 114,094. With a land area of 48,281.36 km2 (18,641.54 sq mi), it had a population density of 2.4/km2 (6.1/sq mi) in 2021. [8]
2021 | 2016 | 2011 | |
---|---|---|---|
Population | 113,777 (-0.3% from 2016) | 114094 (−1.5% from 2011) | 115870 (−1.4% from 2006) |
Land area | 48,281.36 km2 (18,641.54 sq mi) | 48,814.88 km2 (18,847.53 sq mi) | 48,810.68 km2 (18,845.91 sq mi) |
Population density | 2.4/km2 (6.2/sq mi) | 2.3/km2 (6.0/sq mi) | 2.4/km2 (6.2/sq mi) |
Median age | 50.0 (M: 48.4, F: 51.2) | ||
Private dwellings | 59,854 (total) 51,709 (occupied) | 60,324 (total) | 59,149 (total) |
Median household income | $70,000 |
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Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Province of the Canadian Shield, a vast rocky plateau located mainly north of Lake Huron, the French River, Lake Nipissing, and the Mattawa River. The statistical region extends south of the Mattawa River to include all of the District of Nipissing. The southern section of this district lies on part of the Grenville Geological Province of the Shield which occupies the transitional area between Northern and Southern Ontario. The extended federal and provincial quasi-administrative regions of Northern Ontario have their own boundaries even further south in the transitional area that vary according to their respective government policies and requirements. Ontario government departments and agencies such as the Growth Plan for Northern Ontario and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation define Northern Ontario as all areas north of, and including, the districts of Parry Sound and Nipissing for political purposes, and the federal but not the provincial government also includes the district of Muskoka.
Wawa is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario in the Algoma District. Formerly known as the Township of Michipicoten, named after a nearby river of that name, the township was officially renamed in 2007 for its largest and best-known community of Wawa, located on the western shores of Wawa Lake.
The Michipicoten River is a river in Algoma District of northern Ontario, Canada, which flows from Dog Lake and joins with the Magpie River to empty into Michipicoten Bay on Lake Superior near the town of Wawa. This river is 113 km (70 mi) in length and drains an area of about 5,200 km2 (2,000 sq mi).
The Missinaibi River is a river in northern Ontario, Canada, which flows northeast from Missinaibi Lake, north of Chapleau, and empties into the Moose River, which drains into James Bay. This river is 755 kilometres (469 mi) in length. It is one of the longest free-flowing and undeveloped rivers in Ontario.
The Batchawana River is a river in Algoma and Sudbury Districts of Ontario, Canada, which empties into Batchawana Bay on Lake Superior north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. The area was represented by the riding of Algoma from 1867 to 1904 and from 1968 to 1996 and then by Algoma—Manitoulin from 1996 to 2004.
The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario, Canada, that operates between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa. The area served by the railway is sparsely populated, with few roads.
St. Joseph Island is in the northwestern part of Lake Huron. It is part of the Canadian province of Ontario. At 365 km2 (141 sq mi) in area, it is the sixth largest lake island in the world; the second largest island on Lake Huron, following Manitoulin Island; and the third largest of all the islands on the Great Lakes, trailing Manitoulin and Lake Superior's Isle Royale.
Sault Ste. Marie is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968.
Nipigon is a township in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located along the west side of the Nipigon River and south of the small Helen Lake running between Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior. Lake Nipigon is located approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Nipigon. Located at latitude 49.0125° N, Nipigon is the northernmost community on the Great Lakes.
Unorganized North Algoma District is an unorganized area in northeastern Ontario, Canada, comprising all areas in Algoma District, north of the Sault Ste. Marie to Elliot Lake corridor, which are not part of an incorporated municipality or a First Nation. It covers 44,077.03 km2 (17,018.24 sq mi) of land, and had a population of 6050 in 2021. Many of these communities were/are stations on the Algoma Central Railway or were logging/mining towns.
The Huron Central Railway is a railway operating in northern Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Genesee & Wyoming Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming.
Garden River First Nation, also known as Ketegaunseebee, is an Ojibwa band located at Garden River 14 near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
Rankin Location 15D is one of four reserves of the Batchewana First Nation in Algoma District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the north, west and south by the city of Sault Ste. Marie, and on the east by Garden River First Nations reserve of another Ojibwe people. As of 2005, a total of 2,205 people were registered to the Nation; about half live on the reserves and many others live in Sault Ste. Marie.
Batchawana Bay Provincial Park is a park in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada, located 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Sault Ste. Marie on Ontario Highway 17, and on Batchawana Bay on Lake Superior. It is a day-park, and is operated by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The mouth of the Carp River is at the west end of the park. The park is known for its natural, clean, sandy beach.
The Diocese of Algoma is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario of the Anglican Church of Canada. It comprises nearly 182,000 square kilometres of the Ontario districts of Algoma, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Manitoulin, and parts of the districts of Nipissing and Timiskaming. The diocese forms a wide band stretching from just west of Thunder Bay on the northern shore of Lake Superior east to the border of Ontario and Quebec. Neighbouring Anglican dioceses are Rupert's Land to the west, Moosonee to the north, Ottawa to the east, and Ontario, Toronto, Huron to the south.
Batchawana Bay is an unincorporated place and Compact Rural Community in Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is also the name of a local services board, consisting of parts of the geographic townships of Fisher, Herrick, Ryan and Tilley. It is located north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, on the shores of Batchawana Bay off Lake Superior.
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in Ontario, Canada. The third-largest city in Northern Ontario after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, it is located on the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. To the southwest, across the river, is the United States and the Michigan city of the same name. The two cities are joined by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 on the Michigan side to Huron Street on the Ontario side. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the Saint Mary's Rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world's busiest canal in terms of tonnage that passes through it, while smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal.
The Batchewana First Nation is an Ojibway First Nation in northern Ontario. Their traditional lands run along the eastern shore of Lake Superior, from Batchawana Bay to Whitefish Island. They were reserved this land in the 1850 Robinson Huron Treaty, but surrendered most of it under the 1859 Pennefather Treaty. Through purchase and land claims, it has reclaimed some territories, including Goulais Bay 15A, Obadjiwan 15E, Rankin Location 15D and Whitefish Island.