Algoma District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

Northeastern Ontario Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior. Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timisk ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The name was created by an American ethnologist,

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi R ...

(1793–1864), who was appointed Indian agent to the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

in Sault Ste. Marie region in 1822. "Al" is derived from Algonquin, while "goma" is a variant of gomee, meaning lake or water. Algoma District has shoreline along

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

and

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

. It has an international border crossing to the American state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, at

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

. Historically, it was known for its lumber and mining industries. The rugged scenery of the region has inspired works by Canadian artists, particularly the

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

. They rented a boxcar from the

Algoma Central Railway The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario, Canada, that operates between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, Ontario, Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa, Ontario, Wawa. The area served by th ...

to travel on excursions through this region.

History

Surviving prehistoric remains in Algoma District are concentrated around

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

s. These remains date as far back as the Archaic period. There are also sites from the later

Woodland period In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BC to European contact i ...

, with evidence of extensive Late Woodland habitation. Ceramics at Late Woodland sites show predominantly southeastern links, having originated from the

Huron Huron may refer to: Native American ethnography * Huron people, who have been called Wyandotte, Wyandot, Wendat and Quendat * Huron language, an Iroquoian language * Huron-Wendat Nation, or Huron-Wendat First Nation, or Nation Huronne-Wendat * N ...

–

Petun The Petun (from ), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati (Dionnontate, Etionontate, Etionnontateronnon, Tuinontatek, Dionondadie, or Khionotaterrhonon) ("People among the hills/mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the w ...

complex (broadly Ontario Iroquoian) as well as from modern-day

. French explorers arrived in the area by the mid-17th century. As the French penetrated into North America, they established lines of forts and trading posts, often at

river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carryin ...

s to control trade, especially the lucrative

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

. In Algoma, they established

Fort Michipicoten A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

, located at the mouth of the

Michipicoten River The Michipicoten River is a river in Algoma District of northern Ontario, Canada, which flows from Dog Lake and joins with the Magpie River to empty into Michipicoten Bay on Lake Superior near the town of Wawa. This river is in length (inclu ...

where it empties into

. The Michipicoten was one of the geographic features depicted by

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

on a 1632 map. This helped the French bridge the distance to Fort Kaministiquia at the head of Lake Superior, and protected the route up the Michipicoten to

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

, providing a significant crossroads of water routes.

Administrative history

Algoma was created by proclamation in 1858Proclamation to take effect 1 May 1858, ''Canada Gazette'' (April 17, 1858), p. 676-677. New Proclamation to take effect 1 Oct 1859, ''Canada Gazette'' (Sept 10, 1859), p. 2226. as a provisional judicial district of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

comprising territory north of the French River as far west as Pigeon River, including all Canadian islands in Lakes Huron and Superior. The authorizing act of the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

was ''An Act to provide for the Administration of Justice in the unorganized Tracts of Country within the limits of this Province'' (known by its short title as ''The Temporary Judicial Districts Act, 1857)''. The

district seat A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in northern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of the St. Mary's River directly across from its "twin city," Sault Ste. Marie, in the state of Michigan. The city's population was 72,051 at the 2021 census, makin ...

. However, it is noted that

Thessalon Thessalon is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located at the junction of Highway 17 and Highway 129 on the north shore of Lake Huron. It is surrounded by, but not part of, the municipality of Huron Shores, and is part of Algoma Di ...

is where the Algoma District Services Administration Board is located. As the population grew and the northern and northwestern boundaries of Ontario were determined by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

, Algoma shrank. Other districts were created from it by the provincial government of Ontario: *

Thunder Bay District Thunder Bay District is a district#Ontario, district and Census divisions of Canada, census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The County seat, district seat is Thunder Bay. Most of the district (93.5%) is uni ...

in 1871 *

Manitoulin District Manitoulin District is a district in Northeastern Ontario within the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1888 from part of the Algoma District. The district seat is in Gore Bay. It comprises Manitoulin Island primarily, as well as a ...

in 1888 *

Sudbury District The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District. In 1973, the Regional Municipality of Sudbury was creat ...

in 1894 *

Timiskaming District Timiskaming is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district was created in 1912 from parts of Algoma, Nipissing, and Sudbury districts. In 1921, Cochrane District was created from p ...

in 1912

Geography

Rivers

Algoma District is crossed by a number of rivers, which historically were used as transportation and trade corridors. The

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

chose key riverside or river mouth locations for a number of its trading posts in the district. One example was

, located at the Michipicoten River's mouth. The rivers flow in a number of directions, some crossing through other districts to ultimately empty into faraway water bodies such as

. Others drain into the

Great Lakes Basin The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose di ...

via

. Major rivers in Algoma District include: * Batchawana River (empties into Batchawana Bay on Lake Superior) *

(empties into Michipicoten Bay on Lake Superior) *

Missinaibi River The Missinaibi River is a river in northern Ontario, Canada, which flows northeast from Missinaibi Lake, north of Chapleau, and empties into the Moose River, which drains into James Bay. This river (including Missinaibi Lake and Moose River ...

(originates at Missinaibi Lake and empties into the Moose River, then ultimately into James Bay) *

Mississagi River The Mississagi River is a river in Algoma and Sudbury Districts, Ontario, Canada, that originates in Sudbury District and flows to Lake Huron at Blind River, Algoma District. Etymology The river's name comes from the Ojibwe ''misi-zaagi'', me ...

(originates in Sudbury District and flows into Lake Huron) *

Kapuskasing River The Kapuskasing River is a river in the James Bay drainage basin in Cochrane District and Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, northeastern Ontario, Canada. Shows the river course. The river is a left tributary of the Mattagami River. Course ...

(begins at

Kapuskasing Lake Kapuskasing Lake is a lake in Algoma District and Sudbury District in Northeastern Ontario, northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is in the James Bay drainage basin and is the source of the Kapuskasing River. The majority of the lake is in Township (C ...

and flows northward to James Bay)

Forests

In the Algoma section, the characteristic

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

mixture consists of yellow birch, white spruce, balsam fir, sugar maple, hop-hornbeam, and eastern white cedar. Eastern white pine and occasional red pine (''Pinus resinosa'') dominate on the upper, steep south-facing slopes; white spruce, eastern white cedar, and balsam fir occupy the middle and lower slopes. A white spruce–

balsam fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

association, which usually includes

white birch White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

and

black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of Newfoundland and Labrador and is tha ...

, is prominent on the river terraces and adjoining flats in the northern part of the Section (Rowe 1972).Rowe, J.S 1972. Forest regions of Canada. Can. Dep. Environ., Can. For. Serv., Ottawa ON, Publ. 1300. 172 p.

Subdivisions

Communities within these subdivisions are added in parentheses.

Cities

Towns

Townships

Village

Reserves

Unorganized areas

* North Part (incl. local services boards of Aweres,

Batchawana Bay Batchawana Bay is a small bay in Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Superior, approximately north of Sault Ste. Marie. The name "Batchawana" is derived from the Ojibwe word ''obatchiwanang'' (o ...

Goulais and District Goulais and District is a local services board in the Canadian province of Ontario. Located in the Algoma District north of Sault Ste. Marie, it encompasses and provides services to the unincorporated townships of Dennis North, Fenwick, Havillan ...

Hawk Junction Hawk Junction is a community with a local services board in the Canadian province of Ontario,

Missanabie Missanabie is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Algoma District at the northern terminus of Highway 651, inside the boundaries of the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve. A designated place served by a local services ...

, Peace Tree, Searchmont and

Wharncliffe and Kynoch Wharncliffe and Kynoch is a local services board in the Canadian province of Ontario, consisting of the unincorporated communities of Wharncliffe and Kynoch in the Algoma District.South East Part

Demographics

As a

in the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the Algoma District had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of −0.3% from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Highways

King's Highways

* #17 * #101 * #108 * #129

Secondary highways

* #519 * #532 * #538 * #546 * #547 * #548 * #550 * #552 * #553 * #554 * #556 * #557 * #563 * #565 * #631 * #638 * #639 * #651 * #670

Tertiary highways

* #821

Protected areas

* Algoma Headwaters Provincial Park * Aubinadong River Provincial Park * Aubrey Falls Provincial Park *

Batchawana Bay Provincial Park Batchawana Bay Provincial Park is a park in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada, located from Sault Ste. Marie on Ontario Highway 17, and on Batchawana Bay on Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surfac ...

* Batchawana River Provincial Park * Chapleau Crown Game Preserve * Chapleau-Nemegosenda River Provincial Park * Delta Provincial Nature Reserve * Fort Creek Conservation Area * Goulais River Provincial Park * Hiawatha Highlands Conservation Area * La Cloche Provincial Park *

Lake Superior Provincial Park Lake Superior Provincial Park is one of the largest provincial parks in Ontario, covering about along the northeastern shores of Lake Superior between Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa in Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Ontario Highwa ...

* Little White River Provincial Park * Marks Bay Conservation Area * Matintenda Provincial Park * Michipicoten Post Provincial Park * Missinaibi Provincial Park * Mississagi Provincial Park * Mississagi River Provincial Park * Montreal River Provincial Park * Nagagami Lake Provincial Park * Nagagamisis Provincial Park * Nemegosenda River Wetlands Provincial Park * North Channel Islands-La Cloche Provincial Park * North Shore Waterwat Provincial Park * Obatanga Provincial Park *

Pancake Bay Provincial Park Pancake Bay Provincial Park was established in 1968 by List of Ontario Parks, Ontario Parks. It is a recreation-class provincial park created to help preserve the fragile beach dune ecology. There are 325 campsites, including 160 with electricity ...

* Pichogen River Provincial Nature Reserve * Pokei Lake-White River Wetlands Provivncial Nature Reserve * Potholes Provincial Nature Reserve *

Pukaskwa National Park Pukaskwa National Park ( ) is a national park located south of the town of Marathon, Ontario in the Thunder Bay District of northern Ontario, Canada. Established in 1978, Pukaskwa is known for its vistas of Lake Superior and boreal forests. The ...

* River aux Sables Provincial Park * Sandy Islands Provincial Nature Reserve * Sayme-Aubinadong-Gong Provincial Park * St. Joseph's Island National Marine Bird Sanctuary * Wenebegon River Provincial Park

Attractions

Agawa Canyon The Agawa Canyon is a shallow canyon located deep in the sparsely populated Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It was created 1.2 billion years ago by faulting along the Canadian Shield and then enlarged by the erosive action of the ...

(Algoma, Unorganized, North Part) *

Algoma University Algoma University, commonly shortened to Algoma U, is a Canadian public university in the province of Ontario, with campuses in Brampton, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie, and Timmins. Algoma U offers bachelor's degrees, master's degre ...

(Sault Ste. Marie) * Fire Tower Lookout (Elliot Lake) * Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site (St. Joseph) * High Falls of the

(Wawa) * Mount Dufour Ski Resort (Elliot Lake) * Sault Ste. Marie Airport (Sault Ste. Marie) *

Sault Ste. Marie Canal The Sault Ste. Marie Canal is a National Historic Site in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and is part of the national park system, managed by Parks Canada. It includes a lock to bypass the rapids on the St. Marys River. The first canal near the si ...

(Sault Ste. Marie) *

Sault College Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded college in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. It began in 1965 as the Ontario Vocational Centre. Today, Sault College is partnered with private Trios College. Sault college offers ...

(Sault Ste. Marie) * Searchmont Ski Area * Stone Ridge Golf Resort (Elliot Lake) * Crimson Ridge Golf Course * Batchawana Bay Provincial Park * Hub Trail (hiking, bicycling, and cross-country ski trail through Sault Ste. Marie) * Rocking On The River (Wandering-Elk Promotion & Productions), Concert Venue @ 135 Royer Rd., Blind River. *Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre https://bushplane.com/ (Aeronautical museum located at 50 Pim Street on the waterfront in downtown Sault Ste. Marie)

References

External links

Algoma District's Historic Bridges

Ontario's Algoma Country
{{Subdivisions of Ontario