Pickle Lake is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

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 ...

, and is the most northerly community in the province that has year-round access by road. Located north of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

, highway access is via Highway 599, the only access road to the town from the south. More northerly communities rely on

winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice. Segments of a winter road that cross an expanse of flo ...

s for access and are cut off to land travel in the summer. Highway 599 meets the

Northern Ontario Resource Trail The Northern Ontario Resource Trail (NORT) is the designation of two mainly gravel roads in the Canadian province of Ontario. One road travels north from Pickle Lake to the northern shore of Windigo Lake, then to the North Caribou Lake First Na ...

, formerly Tertiary Highway 808, at Pickle Lake. The Township of Pickle Lake has a population of 425 and its main industries are transportation (by air and land) and tourism. Pickle Lake Airport serves as the supply point to northern

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

. It is an access point for animal watching, with many opportunities to view moose, woodland caribou, timber wolf, black bear, game birds, bald eagles, song birds, and

migratory birds Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

such as ducks and geese. It is also a popular fishing and hunting destination. The town is sometimes referred to as the gateway to Ontario's "Last Frontier" because of its remote location. Pickle Lake has its own detachment of the

Ontario Provincial Police The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the State police, provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. The OPP patrols Provincial highways in Ontario, provincial highways and waterways; protects Government of Ontario, provincial government buil ...

. The community is located on the north-east shore of Pickle Lake, from which it takes its name.

History

Pickle Lake was founded as a local transportation centre for mining activities after gold was discovered nearby in 1928. From that time until 1995, more than 2.5 million ounces of gold were produced in the area. Copper was also mined near Pickle Lake in the 1970s. Exploration for gold and copper in the Pickle Lake area continues to this day. Jack Hammell's Pickle Crow Gold Mines (1935–1961) produced 1,446,214 ounces of gold. Alex and Murdoch Mosher's Central Patricia Mine (1927–1951) produced 621,806 ounces. Pickle Lake was incorporated as a township in 1980. It got its name from the shape of the lake which resembles a cucumber or pickle. The township also includes the former townsites of Central Patricia and Pickle Crow. Both formerly independent settlements, Central Patricia now consists only of a few buildings located at the terminus of Highway 599 within the township, while Pickle Crow is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

. After the Pickle Crow gold mine was shut down in 1966, the Ministry of Natural Resources set fire to the site as part of its program to clean up abandoned mines.

Demographics

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 ...

, Pickle Lake had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Climate

Pickle Lake has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

that closely borders on a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Dfb''/''Dfc)''. Winters are cold and dry with a January high of and a low of . Snowfall averages with reliable cover from November to April. There are 17.3 nights where the temperature will drop below . Summers are warm and wetter but short with a July high of and a low of . There are 4.8 days where the temperature will exceed . Precipitation tends to be higher during the summer months, with each month from June to August averaging 16 days with measurable precipitation. The highest temperature ever recorded in Pickle Lake was on 19 June 1933. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 8 February 1934.

Media

Pickle Lake's only local media service is the new CJTL-FM, which airs a mixed

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

and

format. The region is otherwise served through

rebroadcaster A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

s of services from larger cities such as

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Radio

* FM 96.5 – CJTL-FM,

* FM 98.5 – CFDK-FM,Decision CRTC 92-731
''CRTC'', October 16, 1992 ''(defunct)'' * FM 105.1 – CBQP-FM,

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

(relays

CBQT-FM CBQT-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the CBC Radio One station in Thunder Bay, Ontario, broadcasting at 88.3 FM, and serves all of Northwestern Ontario through a network of relay transmitters. History The station was launched in 1973 as C ...

)

References

External links

* {{Kenora District Mining communities in Ontario Municipalities in Kenora District Single-tier municipalities in Ontario Township municipalities in Ontario