The Thirty Thousand Islands are the world's largest freshwater archipelago, and are located mainly along the east side 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 ...

, part of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

, in Ontario, Canada. BIOSPHERE KEY MAP 8x11 Feb28-2019

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 ...

designated the area in 2004 as 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). It is an area of that stretches along the eastern coast from Port Severn to the French River. Though the Thirty Thousand Islands has no formal geographical boundaries, its general location runs from

Beausoleil Island Beausoleil Island; Île Beausoleil; is an long island in the municipality of Georgian Bay, Ontario, Georgian Bay, District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Central Ontario, Canada. The island is named after Louis Beausoleil, a Métis ...

in the south to the French River Provincial Park in the north. Just a few kilometres west of Beausoleil Island are four more islands – Giants Tomb Island, Hope Island,

Beckwith Island Beckwith Island is the eastern of three islands in southeastern Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. Beckwith Island and the attached "Little Beckwith" are part of the Beausoleil First Nation. Geography The island's highest elevation is above se ...

, and

Christian Island Christian Island is a large island in Georgian Bay close to the communities of Penetanguishene and Midland, Ontario. The island, with its neighbours Hope Island and Beckwith Island, is a Ojibwa reserve, known as Christian Island Indian Re ...

. To the west of French River Provincial Park are many more islands, including

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...

, the largest freshwater lake island in the world.

Group of Seven

Many of the

Group of Seven The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...

landscape paintings feature the Georgian Bay Shoreline and the adjacent windswept islands with their distinctive trees and large boulders, which are characteristic features 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 ...

Franklin Carmichael Franklin Carmichael (May 4, 1890 – October 24, 1945) was a Canadian artist and member of the Group of Seven. Though he was primarily famous for his use of watercolours, he also used oil paints, charcoal and other media to capture the Ontario ...

A.Y. Jackson Alexander Young Jackson LL. D. (October 3, 1882April 5, 1974) was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven. Jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in Canada, and was instrumental in bringing toget ...

Arthur Lismer Arthur Lismer, LL. D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage. Early life ...

Frederick Varley Frederick Horsman Varley (January 2, 1881 – September 8, 1969) was a member of the Canadian Group of Seven. Career Early life Varley was born in Sheffield, England, in 1881, the son of Lucy (Barstow) and Samuel James Smith Varley the 7th. He ...

A.J. Casson Alfred Joseph Casson LL. D. (May 17, 1898 – February 20, 1992) was a member of the Canadian group of artists known as the Group of Seven. He joined the group in 1926 at the invitation of Franklin Carmichael, replacing Frank Johnston. Ca ...

and

Tom Thomson Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His w ...

all painted extensively along Georgian Bay. At that time, they came by train as the road to

Killarney, Ontario Killarney is a municipality located on the northern shore of Georgian Bay in the Sudbury District of Ontario, Canada. Killarney is commonly associated with Killarney Provincial Park, which is a large wilderness park located to the east of the to ...

would not be built until four decades later. Tom Thomson - Summer Shore, Georgian Bay.jpg, Tom Thomson – Summer Shore, Georgian Bay

References

External links

Georgian Bay Land Trust

Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere

Georgian Bay Forever

Georgian Bay Association
{{coord, format=dms, display=title Archipelagoes of Canada Islands of Georgian Bay Geography of Parry Sound District