Beausoleil Island; Île Beausoleil; is an long
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in the municipality of
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) 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 ...
,
District Municipality of Muskoka
The District Municipality of Muskoka, more generally referred to as the District of Muskoka or Muskoka, is a regional municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Muskoka extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching ...
in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada.
The island is named after Louis Beausoleil, a Métis settler whose 1819 homestead stood at the island's southern tip. The name of the island in the Huron-Wendat language is Skiondechiara which means "The land to appear floating afar". The name of the island in the Anishinaabemowin language is variously Pamedenagog, Baamidoonegog or Epenmindaagoog meaning “rocky place floating about the mouth of a river”.
Located in the
Thirty Thousand Islands The Thirty Thousand Islands are the world's largest freshwater archipelago, and are located mainly along the east side of Georgian Bay, part of the Great Lakes, in Ontario, Canada.
UNESCO designated the area in 2004 as the Georgian Bay Littoral ( ...
in
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) 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 ...
on
Lake Huron
Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...
, it is the largest
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in
Georgian Bay Islands National Park and is the only place in the park where camping is allowed.
Beausoleil Island is also part of the
Georgian Bay Littoral
The Georgian Bay Littoral (also called the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in Ontario, Canada. The biosphere was the thirteenth in Canada, and covers the Thirty Thousand Islands area of eastern Georgian Bay ...
(also called the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve)
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
.
Natural history
Beausoleil Island is a refuge for the Eastern
Massasauga
The massasauga (''Sistrurus catenatus'') is a rattlesnake species found in midwestern North America from southern Ontario to northern Mexico and parts of the United States in between. Like all rattlesnakes, it is a pit viper and is venomous.
Th ...
rattlesnake, the only
snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
whose venom is potentially dangerous to humans. On sunny days,
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) 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 ...
's cobalt waters form a striking counterpart to the light blue of the sky, the pinkish rocks of the
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...
, and the dark green of the park's famous windswept pines.
The Fairy Lake and Cambrian Trails, in the north of the island, offer especially striking views of these natural features.
Northern Beausoleil Island's characteristic
bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid Rock (geology), rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust (geology), crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface mater ...
and
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
environment is rich in many species and is a major breeding area for
amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s,
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
s and snakes. Southern Beausoleil Island's hardwood and mixed forests are good representations of regional woodland communities.
History
![Beausoleil Island map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Beausoleil_Island_map.png)
Artifacts from as far back as the
Middle Archaic
Middle or The Middle may refer to:
* Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits.
Places
* Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man
* Middle Bay (disambiguation)
* Middle Brook (disambiguation)
* Middle Creek ...
period, 7,000 years ago, have been found, such as an Otter Creek projectile made from Onondaga chert. The remains of ancient pottery, tools, and hunting implements that have been found on Beausoleil have enabled archaeologists to determine that the island was, in all probability, used as a summer camp by early hunting and gathering cultures. These include primarily a Middle Woodland site occupied by the Point Peninsula and Saugeen groups (2,400-1,300 years ago), and the Algonkian speaking Odawa (or Ottawa) of the
Late Woodland Period
In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeologi ...
(600–400 years ago). Several other cultures have also left evidence of their occupation on the island.
Descendants of the
Chippewas of Lake Huron and Lake Simcoe settled on Beausoleil Island in 1842. The soil on the island proved to be unsuitable for cultivation, so the band moved to the Christian Islands which had been set aside as a reserve in the 1850s. On June 5, 1856 Beausoleil and all of the other islands in Georgian Bay, except the Christian Islands, were surrendered or sold to the British Crown. The Chippewa residents of Christian Islands still identify themselves as the
Beausoleil First Nation
Beausoleil First Nation ( oj, G'Chimnissing) is an Ojibwe First Nation band government located in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. The main settlement of the Beausoleil First Nation is on Christian Island, Ontario, Canada in southern Georgian Bay. ...
.
The island was designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...
in 2011.
Summer Camps
Beausoleil Island has played a significant role in the birth of residential camping in Ontario. Beausoleil Island has been the home of 5 residential children's summer camps, all located on land leased from
Parks Canada
Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
. These camps have included Camp Wabanaki (Kitchener-Waterloo YMCA, 1940-1970), Camp Beausoleil (Toronto YMCA, 1931-1981) and Camp Manitimono (Calvary Baptist Church, 1933-1994), with two YMCA Camps remaining on the island: YMCA Camp Kitchikewana (YMCA of Simcoe Muskoka) founded by the Midland YMCA in 1919 and YMCA Camp Queen Elizabeth (YMCA of Western Ontario) originally the Sea Cadet Camp Queen Elizabeth (Royal Canadian Navy) established in 1942. Former staffers at these last two camps went on to become great leaders in the Canadian camping movement: Winston "Smitty" Smith,
[https://ymcaofsimcoemuskoka.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Wall-of-Distinction-Magazine-low-res-spread-pages.pdf ] Jack Pearse,
Ron and Mickey Johnstone among them.
Camp Kitchikewana is one of the oldest camps in Ontario.
[https://www.gottarent.com/community-story/6869129-almost-a-century-s-worth-of-camp-kitchi-traditions-on-beausoleil-island/]
Recreation
Beausoleil Island offers tent and cabin camping,
overnight and day docking, heritage education programs, and
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
trails.
Wheelchair accessible sites and reserved campsites are also available at the Cedar Spring campground.
See also
*
List of islands of Ontario
This is a list of islands of Ontario.
Lake Abitibi
* Black Island
* Kenosha Island
* Mistaken Islands
Albany River
* Albany Island
* Big Island
* Blackbear Island
* Byrd Island
* Cheepay Island
* Comb Island
* Fafard Island
* Fa ...
References
{{NHSC
Landforms of the District Municipality of Muskoka
Islands of Georgian Bay
National Historic Sites in Ontario