Manitoulin Island - Geography and Geology

Geography and Geology

The island has an area of 2,766 km2 (1,068 sq mi), making it the 172nd largest island in the world, and Canada's 31st largest island. The island separates the larger part of Lake Huron to its south and west from Georgian Bay to its east and the North Channel to the north. Manitoulin Island itself has 108 freshwater lakes, some of which have their own islands; in turn several of these "islands within islands" have their own ponds. Lake Manitou (about 104 km2 - 40.5 sq. mi.) is the largest lake in a freshwater island in the world, and Treasure Island in Lake Mindemoya is the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake in the world. Nameless Lake is the island's only no-motor lake.

The island also has four major rivers: the Kagawong, Manitou River, Blue Jay Creek in Michaels Bay and Mindemoya Rivers, which provide spawning grounds for salmon and trout. The Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association was formed in 2000 and incorporated in 2007. The organization rehabilitates streams, rivers and creeks on Manitoulin Island for the sake of water quality and the fisheries resource. They have conducted enhancement strategies for the Manitou River and Blue Jay Creek. They have rehabilitated 17 major sites on the Manitou River and three major sites on Blue Jay Creek and have completed work on Bass Lake Creek and Norton's Creek. The organization plans to start work on the Mindemoya River in 2010.

The island is physio-graphically part of Southern Ontario, an "eastward extension of the Interior Plains, a region characterized by low relief and sedimentary underpinnings". It consists mainly of dolomite. It is a continuation of the Bruce Peninsula and Niagara Escarpment, a geological rock formation running south into Niagara Falls and continuing into New York. The "Cup and Saucer Trail", which climbs the escarpment, provides a spectacular lookout over the island.