Cassels Lake (originally known as White Bear Lake) is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located within the Municipality of

Temagami Temagami, formerly spelled as Timagami, is a municipality in northeastern Ontario, Canada, in the Nipissing District with Lake Temagami at its heart. The Temagami region is known as ''n'Daki Menan'', the homeland of the area's First Nations commu ...

, in the

Nipissing District, Ontario Nipissing District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858. The district seat is North Bay. In 2016, the population was 83,150. The land area is ; the population density was , making it o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It contains numerous

portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

campsite A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

s and is one of three lakes on the eastern edge of the White Bear Forest. The lake is named in honour of Sir Walter Cassels, President of the

Exchequer Court of Canada In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's '' current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reve ...

History

Cassels Lake was originally known as White Bear Lake, named after White Bear (Wabimakwa).Hodgins, Bruce W.; Benidickson, Jamie (1989). ''The Temagani Experience: Recreation, Resources, and Aboriginal Rights in the Northern Ontario Wilderness'', Canada:

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...

, p. 35, 40–48, 66, 299 In the 1920s a

log Log most often refers to: * Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut ** Logging, cutting down trees for logs ** Firewood, logs used for fuel ** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs * Logarithm, in mathe ...

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

was constructed at the narrows connecting Cassels Lake and Rabbit Lake to float logs from the surrounding area out to the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

.White Bear Old Growth Forest Trail Guide
/ref> The water level in numerous lakes close to Temagami was increased numerous feet. The Gillies' Bros.

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

company then cut the trees from the land and the flooded forest area leaving behind the snags and

stump Stump may refer to: * Stump (band), a band from Cork, Ireland and London, England * Stump (cricket), one of three small wooden posts which the fielding team attempt to hit with the ball *Stump (dog): Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (born 1998), 200 ...

s seen in the water. The old growth

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

and

red pine ''Pinus resinosa'', known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to North America. Description Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from in height and in trun ...

immediately south of the mill was never cut and remains today as the 400-year-old White Bear Forest. According to local folklore, this stand wasn't cut because the wife of the mill manager wanted to look out of her home on the majestic pine forest, and so forbid him from cutting there. The White Bear Forest on the south side of the lake, opposite the former mill, is now a

conservation reserve A conservation reserve is a protected area set aside for conservation purposes. Conservation reserves by country Australia In South Australia, a conservation reserve is a type of protected area declared under the ''Crown Land Management Act 2009 ...

. The reserve has a system of

hiking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

, which provide visitors with a great opportunity to experience the

old growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance (ecology), disturbance, and thereby exhibits un ...

pine forest.

References

Lakes of Temagami {{NorthernOntario-geo-stub

History

See also

References