Thunder Bay (Ontario)

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Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay.jpg
Thunder Bay as seen from Sleeping Giant
Canada Ontario relief location map.jpg
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Thunder Bay
Location Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates 48°22′00″N89°02′00″W / 48.3667°N 89.0333°W / 48.3667; -89.0333
Type Bay
Part of Lake Superior
Primary inflows Kaministiquia River, Current River
Max. length55 km (34 mi) [1]
Max. width24 km (15 mi) [1]
Surface elevation183 m (600 ft)
Islands Caribou, Pie, Welcome Islands
Settlements Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay is a large bay on the northern shore of Lake Superior, in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. [2] The bay is bordered to the east by the Sibley Peninsula at the southern tip of which is Thunder Cape, marking the entrance to the bay for ships approaching from the east. The mesas and sills on the peninsula are known as the Sleeping Giant due to their appearance when viewed from Thunder Bay.

Contents

The harbour at the City of Thunder Bay is Canada's westernmost port on the Great Lakes. [3]

The Ojibwa called it Animikie, meaning "thunder". French explorers called it Baie du Tonnerre which was translated to Thunder Bay in English. [4] In 1871, the bay gave its name to the newly created Thunder Bay District, and in 1970, the amalgamated city of Port Arthur and Fort William also adopted the name Thunder Bay.

The waters along the bay's shores form part of the Lake Superior Water Trail. This 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) long water trail is a link in the Trans Canada Trail network and provides paddlers access to the bay and facilities for travel along the coast from Gros Cap to the City of Thunder Bay. [5]

Geography

Sleeping Giant as seen across Thunder Bay Sleeping Giant Provincial Park Ontario - view from Thunder Bay.jpg
Sleeping Giant as seen across Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay is an extensive diamond-shaped body of water surrounded by cliffs rising from 300 metres (1,000 ft) to 460 metres (1,500 ft) out of the lake. It is about 55 kilometres (34 mi) long in a northeast-southwest direction, and about 24 kilometres (15 mi) wide from northwest to southeast. Its eastern entrance is Thunder Cape, a prominent headland at the southern tip of Sibley Peninsula. Pie Island divides the mouth of the bay into 2 channels. [1] [6]

Notable islands and island chains in the bay include: [1]

Rivers emptying into the bay include the:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf of St. Lawrence</span> Outlet of the North American Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean

The Gulf of St. Lawrence fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder Bay</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population is 108,843 according to the 2021 Canadian census. Located on Lake Superior, the census metropolitan area of Thunder Bay has a population of 123,258 and consists of the city of Thunder Bay, the municipalities of Oliver Paipoonge and Neebing, the townships of Shuniah, Conmee, O'Connor, and Gillies, and the Fort William First Nation.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgian Bay</span> Large bay of Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada

Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is the North Channel.

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Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Nipigon</span> Lake in Ontario, Canada

Lake Nipigon is part of the Great Lakes drainage basin. It is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of the Canadian province of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany River</span> River in Ontario, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ontario Highway 61</span> Ontario provincial highway

King's Highway 61, commonly referred to as Highway 61 and historically known as the Scott Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 61-kilometre (38 mi) route connects the Pigeon River Bridge, where it crosses into the United States and becomes Minnesota State Highway 61, with a junction at Highway 11, Highway 17 and the Harbour Expressway in Thunder Bay. The highway forms part of the Lake Superior Circle Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silver Islet</span> Small island and community in Ontario, Canada

Silver Islet refers to both a small rocky island and a small community located at the tip of the Sibley Peninsula in northwestern Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sibley Peninsula</span>

The Sibley Peninsula is a 52-kilometre (32 mi) long and 10-kilometre (6 mi) wide peninsula in Ontario, Canada, on Lake Superior. It projects into the lake from Superior's north shore, and separates Thunder Bay to the west from Black Bay to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleeping Giant Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in Ontario, Canada

Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, established in 1944 as Sibley Provincial Park and renamed in 1988, is a 244-square-kilometre (94 sq mi) park located on the Sibley Peninsula in Northwestern Ontario, east of Thunder Bay. The nearest communities are Pass Lake, in the township of Sibley, located at the northern entrance to the park, and Dorion, located 35 kilometres (22 mi) northwest, in the township of Shuniah. The seasonal community of Silver Islet is located on the southern tip of the peninsula. The primary feature of the park is the Sleeping Giant, which is most visible from the city of Thunder Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Shore (Lake Superior)</span> Geographic region in the United States and Canada

The North Shore of Lake Superior runs from Duluth, Minnesota, United States, at the western end of the lake, to Thunder Bay and Nipigon, Ontario, Canada, in the north, to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in the east. The shore is characterized by alternating rocky cliffs and cobblestone beaches, with forested hills and ridges through which scenic rivers and waterfalls descend as they flow to Lake Superior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rossport, Ontario</span> Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Rossport is a dispersed rural community and unincorporated place in the Unorganized part of Thunder Bay District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is on the north shore of Lake Superior in geographic Lahontan Township, and is on Ontario Highway 17. Rossport is a designated place served by a local services board, and has a population of 65.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area</span> National marine conservation area in Ontario, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Michigan</span>

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Lac des Mille Lacs is a lake in the western part of Thunder Bay District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Nelson River drainage basin and is the source of the Seine River. The lake lies between Ontario Highway 17 on the north and Ontario Highway 11 on the south about 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of the city of Thunder Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pie Island</span> Island in Ontario, Canada

Pie Island is an island in Lake Superior, Ontario, Canada, located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Thunder Bay and 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Isle Royale, Michigan. It is about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long with an area of 46 square kilometres (18 sq mi). Pie Island is readily visible from the shoreline and high parts of the city of Thunder Bay.

Black Bay Peninsula is a volcanic peninsula in Unorganized Thunder Bay District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It separates Black Bay and Nipigon Bay and consists of over 300 flood basalt lava flows. Porphyry Island, an island entirely encompassed within Porphyry Island Provincial Park, lies off the tip of the peninsula. A 49-square-kilometre (19 sq mi) portion of the peninsula has been set aside as the Black Bay Peninsula Enhanced Management Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Turgeon</span> Lake in Quebec, Canada

Turgeon Lake is a freshwater body located in the Northwest province of Quebec, in Canada. This body of water straddles the municipalities of:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 United States Coast Pilot - Great Lakes, Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior and St. Lawrence River. Vol. 6 (27th ed.). U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Survey. 1997. p. 378. Retrieved 18 December 2023.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. "Thunder Bay". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  3. "About: The Superior Way West". www.portthunderbay.ca. Port of Thunder Bay. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  4. "History of Thunder Bay". www.thunderbay.ca. City of Thunder Bay. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  5. "Lake Superior Water Trail". superiorconservancy.org. Lake Superior Watershed Conservancy. 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  6. Robert C. Ray, United States Hydrographic Office (1896). Sailing Directions for the Great Lakes and Connecting Waters (2nd ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 32. Retrieved 18 December 2023.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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