Ramsey Lake

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Ramsey Lake
Lac Ramsey (French)
Bitimagamasing (Ojibwe)
Ramsey Lake 2025.jpg
View of Ramsey Lake from the northern shore.
Greater Sudbury locator map 2021.svg
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Ramsey Lake
Canada Ontario relief location map.jpg
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Ramsey Lake
Location Sudbury, Ontario
Coordinates 46°28′N80°57′W / 46.467°N 80.950°W / 46.467; -80.950
Basin  countriesCanada
Surface area792.2 ha (1,958 acres)
Max. depth20.5 m (67 ft)
Shore length134.0 km (21.1 mi)
Islands 7
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Ramsey Lake (French : Lac Ramsey) is a lake in northern Ontario, Canada, located entirely within the city of Greater Sudbury. [1] The lake, which is traditionally known as Bitimagamasing ("water that lies beside the hill") in Anishinaabemowin, [2] is the 9th largest lake in the city. It was renamed after Canadian Pacific surveyor William Allen Ramsey in 1879, [3] and is a significant source of drinking water for the city. [1] The lake is centrally located in Sudbury, with Bell Park, Laurentian University, and Science North located on its shores.

Contents

Geography

Minnow Lake, Laurentian Lake, and several creeks on the north shore drain into Ramsey Lake. [1] Bethel Lake can also flow into Ramsey Lake in times of elevated water levels. Ramsey Lake drains into Lily Creek, which connects to Robinson Lake and Kelly Lake. This further drains into the Spanish River, which ultimately flows into Georgian Bay. [1]

Ecology

Geese and Ducks on Ramsey Lake Geese and Ducks on Ramsey Lake.jpg
Geese and Ducks on Ramsey Lake

In the 1890s, the smelting of copper and nickel ores began. This heavily impacted the ecology of the Sudbury region, as high concentrations of sulphur dioxide started to acidify soils and lakes. [4] By 1960, the annual sulphur dioxide emissions generated by the mining industry peaked at 2.5 million tonnes. [4]

In 1973, a committee was formed to address the environmental impacts of the mining industry. The committee, later known as the Vegetation Enhancement Technical Advisory Committee (VETAC), began a program to rehabilitate 30,000 hectares of land, including Ramsey Lake. [4] The program received the United Nations Local Government Honours award at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [4]

With the closure of the Coniston smelter and the completion of the Inco Superstack in 1973, which dispersed emissions over a wider area, [5] the lake underwent a significant rehabilitation. [4] By 2023, Sudbury had achieved a 98% decline in atmospheric sulphur emissions, and water samples of Ramsey Lake showed a 66.8% decrease in copper and a 39.3% decrease in nickel from 1990 to 2018. [5]

The aquatic biodiversity of the lake has also significantly improved, and it now supports a healthy population of fish, including walleye and northern pike. [6]

Blue-green algae is present in the lake, and it represents a health concern when blooms occur. [7] A noted rise in sodium and chloride levels in the lake, the result of road salt use in winter months, can impact species of zooplankton that consume blue-green algae. [5]

Human history

A sunset over Ramsey Lake, with the Inco Superstack in the skyline Sudbury sunset.JPG
A sunset over Ramsey Lake, with the Inco Superstack in the skyline

The original Anishinaabemowin name for the lake is Bitimagamasing, which is often translated as "water that lies beside the hill". [2] It is located on the traditional lands of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek within the Robinson Huron treaty of 1850.

Science North on the shore of Ramsey Lake Science North August 2023.jpg
Science North on the shore of Ramsey Lake

In 1871, Canadian Pacific Railway completed a survey of the Sudbury region led by Sandford Fleming, and this survey bypassed the area entirely. [3] Construction had not started by 1879, when a new revision to the survey was ordered. William Allen Ramsey, chief of the survey party, dubbed the lake "Lost Lake" after getting lost in a fog. [3] James Worthington, a superintendent for Canadian Pacific, [8] was impressed by the new survey and renamed the lake in Ramsey's honour. [3]

From 1938 to 1987, Austin Airways operated bush planes from their base on the lake. [9]

Prior to his death in 1945, lumber baron William J. Bell donated a large section of land along the western shore of the lake to the city. [10] The land became Bell Park, which was named in his honour. [10] The park includes a Blue Flag awarded beach, two gazebos, an amphitheatre, and a boardwalk which connects the park to Science North. [11] Moonlight Beach, which sits on the eastern shore of the lake, also holds a Blue Flag award. [12]

In 1984, Science North opened on the southwestern corner of the lake. [13] The building was designed by Moriyama and Teshima, and resembles two snowflakes that are connected by a rock tunnel. [14] It received the Governor General’s Medal for Architecture in 1986. [15]

The William Ramsey Cruise Boat departs from Science North, and runs from June to September. [16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ramsey Lake". www.greatersudbury.ca. Archived from the original on 2025-08-13. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
  2. 1 2 "Bitimagamasing: Ramsey's Anishinaabemowin name to be featured on billboard". Sudbury.com. Nov 27, 2018. Retrieved Aug 31, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Did you know Lake Ramsey was originally called Lost Lake?". Sudbury.com. Aug 29, 2016. Retrieved Aug 31, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Nicola, Ross (1998). Healing the Landscape: Celebrating Sudbury's Reclamation Success[Un paysage en renaissance: Sudbury - inspiration d'un succès écologique] (in English and French). Friesens. ISBN   9780968832400.
  5. 1 2 3 E., Wright; Lepage, A.; Robinson, N.; Gunn, J. "Past, Present, and Future of Lake Laurentian and its Watershed" (PDF). laurentian.ca. Retrieved Sep 1, 2025.
  6. Dolson, Nancy; Niemi, Darren (1989). "RAMSEY LAKE: An Assessment of the Fish Community and a Review of the Fisheries Management History" (PDF). laurentian.ca. Retrieved Sep 1, 2025.
  7. "Sudbury health unit warns blue-green algae blooms may be on Ramsey Lake". CBC News. July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  8. Gilhula, Vicki (Oct 21, 2021). "Then & Now: Finding the mysterious Mrs. Sudbury and how the Worthingtons left their mark on the Nickel City". Sudbury.com. Retrieved Aug 31, 2025.
  9. "Austin Airways commemorated with new plaque, garden at Ramsey Lake". CBC. Apr 20, 2015. Retrieved Sep 1, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Wallace, Carl; Thomson, Ashley, eds. (2010). Sudbury: rail town to regional capital. Toronto Oxford: Dundurn. ISBN   978-1-55002-170-7.
  11. "Bell Park Beach". Blue Flag. 2015. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  12. "Moonlight Beach". Blue Flag. 2017. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  13. "About Us". Science North. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  14. "Science North architect Raymond Moriyama has died". Sudbury.com. 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  15. "Governor General's Medals in Architecture". Canada Council for the Arts. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  16. "William Ramsey Cruise Boat - Discover Sudbury, ON". Tourism Sudbury. Retrieved 2025-09-01.