Native name: Ojibwe:ᒪᓂᑝᐙᓕᓐᒃ, Manidoowaaling | |
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 Satellite image of Manitoulin Island | |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Lake Huron |
| Coordinates | 45°46′N82°12′W / 45.767°N 82.200°W /45.767; -82.200 |
| Area | 2,766 km2 (1,068 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 352 m (1155 ft) |
| Highest point | The Cup and Saucer |
| Administration | |
Canada | |
| Province | Ontario |
| District | Manitoulin District |
| Largest settlement | Little Current |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 13,255[1] (2016) |
| Pop. density | 4.56/km2 (11.81/sq mi) |
Manitoulin Island (/ˌmænəˈtuːlɪn/MAN-ə-TOO-lin) is anisland inLake Huron, located within the borders of theCanadian province ofOntario. With an area of 2,766 km2 (1,068 sq mi), it is thelargest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 lakes itself. In addition to the historicAnishinaabe andEuropean settlement of the island,archaeological discoveries atSheguiandah have demonstratedPaleo-Indian andArchaic cultures dating from 10,000 BC to 2,000 BC.[2]
The current name of the island is the English version, viaFrench, of theOttawa orOjibwe nameManidoowaaling (ᒪᓂᑝᐙᓕᓐᒃ),[3] which means "cave of the spirit". It was named for an underwater cave where a powerful spirit is said to live.[4] By the 19th century, the Odawa "l" was pronounced as "n". The same word with a newer pronunciation is used for the townManitowaning (19th-century Odawa "Manidoowaaning"), which is located on Manitoulin Island near the underwater cave where legend has it that the spirit dwells. The modern Odawa name for Manitoulin Island isMnidoo Mnising, meaning "Spirit Island".[5]
Manitoulin Island contains a number of lakes of its own. In order of size, its three most prominent lakes areLake Manitou,Lake Kagawong andLake Mindemoya. These three lakes in turn have islands within them, the largest of these being Lake Mindemoya's 33-hectare (82-acre)Treasure Island, located in the centre of Mindemoya.
The island has an area of 2,766 km2 (1,068 sq mi), making it the largest freshwater island in the world, the174th largest island in the world andCanada's 31st largest island.
The island separates the larger part ofLake Huron to its south and west fromGeorgian Bay to its east and theNorth Channel to the north.
Manitoulin Island itself has 108 freshwater lakes, some of which have their own islands.Lake Manitou, at 104 km2 (40 sq mi), is the largest lake in a freshwater island in the world,[6] andTreasure Island inLake Mindemoya is the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake in the world.[6] Motors are prohibited on boats onNameless Lake.
The island also has four major rivers: theKagawong,Manitou River,Blue Jay Creek inMichael's Bay andMindemoya rivers, which providespawning grounds forsalmon andtrout.
TheManitoulin Streams Improvement Association was formed in 2000 and incorporated in 2007. The organization rehabilitates streams, rivers and creeks on Manitoulin Island to improve water quality and the fisheries resource. The Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association has conducted enhancement strategies for the Manitou River and Blue Jay Creek. The association has rehabilitated 17 major sites on the Manitou River and three major sites on Blue Jay Creek; it has completed work on Bass Lake Creek and Norton's Creek. The organization plans to start work on the Mindemoya River in 2010.
Although culturally and politically considered part ofNorthern Ontario, the island is physiographically part ofSouthern Ontario, an "eastward extension of the Interior Plains, a region characterized by low relief and sedimentary underpinnings". The island consists mainly ofdolomite as it is a continuation of theBruce Peninsula andNiagara Escarpment. This geological rock formation runs south intoNiagara Falls and continues intoNew York. The "Cup and Saucer Trail", which climbs theescarpment, provides a lookout over the island.
Manitoulin Island experiences ahumid continental climate (Dfb) with moderation fromLake Huron. The island experiences warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Manitoulin Island has a comparable climate to that ofHokkaido (hemiboreal climate), despite being on the same latitude asLugano, Switzerland, which has atemperate climate. The island is characterized by long stretches of marked seasonal differences.[7]
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The island has two incorporated towns (Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands andGore Bay), eighttownships (Assiginack,Billings,Burpee and Mills,Central Manitoulin,Dawson,Gordon/Barrie Island,Robinson andTehkummah) and sixAnishinaabereserves (M'Chigeeng, Sheguiandah, Sheshegwaning, Aundeck Omni Kaning,Wiikwemkoong andZhiibaahaasing).
During the summer, the population (12,600 permanent residents) on the island grows by more than a quarter due to tourists coming for boating and other activities in scenic surroundings. The island, along with several smaller neighbouring islands, constitutes theManitoulin Districtcensus division of Ontario.
Manitoulin Island's soil is relativelyalkaline, which precludes the growth of commonNorthern Ontario flora such asblueberries, but allows for the island's trademarkhawberries. These berries are so distinctive that people born on the island are referred to as "Haweaters". Each year on the Augustlong weekend, the island hosts the Haweater Festival. The festival attracts numerous tourists; it features parades, firework shows, craft shows, and rural competitions such as horse pulls.
Year-round motor-vehicle access to the island is available via the one-laneLittle Current Swing Bridge, which crosses the North Channel atLittle Current. From late May to early October, a daily passenger-vehicle ferry, theMS Chi-Cheemaun (Ojibwe for "Big Canoe"), travels betweenTobermory on the tip of theBruce Peninsula andSouth Baymouth. Winter ice prevents ferry service during that season. There are two airports on the island,Gore Bay-Manitoulin Airport andManitoulin East Municipal Airport, the latter of which opened in 1988. Both allow small planes access to the island and Border Patrol clearance.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1871 | 2,231 | — |
| 1881 | 8,460 | +279.2% |
| 1891 | 10,794 | +27.6% |
| 1901 | 11,828 | +9.6% |
| 1911 | 11,324 | −4.3% |
| 1921 | 10,468 | −7.6% |
| 1931 | 10,734 | +2.5% |
| 1941 | 10,841 | +1.0% |
| [8] | ||
As of 2016[update], the population was 13,255.[1]
Ethnic groups
Religious groups
The most common first languages on Manitoulin Island in 2016 wereEnglish (80.8%),Ojibwe (11.2%),French (2.8%),German (0.8%), andOdawa (0.8%).[1]
In 1952archaeologistThomas E. Lee discoveredSheguiandah on the island, aprehistoric site. During excavation, he foundartefacts of thePaleo-Indian andArchaic periods, dating at least to 10,000 BC and possibly to 30,000 years ago.[2] Additional studies were undertaken by a team he led from theNational Museum of Canada in succeeding years.[9] Popular interest in the finds was so high that it contributed to Ontario's passing legislation in 1953 to protect its archaeological sites.[10]
A team performed excavations again in the early 1990s, applying new methods of analysis from botany and other scientific disciplines. They concluded the site was at least 9500 years old, making it one of the most significant in Ontario.[11]
Manitoulin meansspirit island inAnishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language). The island is considered sacred by the NativeAnishinaabe people, who identify as the"People of the Three Fires." This loose confederation is made up of theOjibwe,Odawa andPotawatomi tribes.
The North Channel was part of the route used by the French colonialvoyageurs andcoureurs des bois to reachLake Superior. The first knownEuropean to settle on the island was FatherJoseph Poncet, aFrenchJesuit, who set up amission nearWiikwemkoong in 1648. The Jesuits called the island"Isle de Ste-Marie".
In addition, the Five Nations of theIroquois began raiding the island and area to try to control thefur trade with the French. As part of what was called theBeaver Wars, the Iroquois drove the Anishinaabe people from the island by 1650. According to Anishinaabe oral tradition, to purify the island from disease, the people burned their settlements as they left. The island was mostly uninhabited for nearly 150 years.
Native people (Odawa,Ojibwe,Potawatomi) began to return to the island following theWar of 1812 between Britain and the United States. They ceded the island to the BritishCrown in 1836; the government set aside the land as a refuge for Natives. In 1838Jean-Baptiste Proulx re-established aRoman Catholicmission. TheJesuits took over the mission in 1845.
In 1862, the government opened up the island to settlement by non-Native people by the Manitoulin Island treaty. As theWikwemikong chief did not accept this treaty, his people's reserve was held back from being offered for development. That reserve remains unceded. On August 7, 1975, the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve reasserted theirclaim to sovereignty over the islands off the east end of Manitoulin Island, declaring, "Wikwemikong Band has jurisdiction over its reservation lands and surrounding waters."[12]
The province erected an Ontario Historical Plaque on the grounds of the Assiginack Museum to commemorate the Manitoulin Treaties' role in Ontario's history.[13]
Geographic data related toManitoulin Island atOpenStreetMap| International | |
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