Northern and eastern Ontario (Canada)

How is the land laid out?

The Canadian Shield comprises much of Ontario and lies just east and north of the interior plains and north of the Great Lakes. Its southeasternmost point reaches the banks of the St. Lawrence not far northeast of Lake Ontario. Its most notable local hydrologic features are the lakes that mark its boundary with the interior plains, which, within this area, include Lakes Superior, Huron and Ontario. These lakes are connected by waterways: part of the St. Lawrence River system.

On the south shores of Hudson Bay lie the northern interior lowlands, the western part of which are within this area. Lake Winnipeg's outflow, the Nelson River, passes through this band.

Who lives there?

This area is in the part of North America in which English-speakers and Christians are the majority.

One city of note:

Ottawa, has 1.2 million metropolitan residents, and over 900 thousand within the city proper.¹ while not having a million inhabitants, is nearly that large, and is Canada's capital. It is in the Saint Lawrence Valley, on the river that shares the city's name, on the ancient long distance canoe route from the Atlantic to the interior.

Who was there before?

The Algonquian languages occupied northern Ontario, more or less the Canadian Shield portion. Today's speakers--in all provinces--include about 70,000 Cree and 80,00 Ojibwa. Smallpox in the 17th century much reduced their original numbers.

The French were the first Europeans to arrive, settling near the lake shores. Their few numbers were overwhelmed by English-speaking settlers who arrived in great numbers from the south after the United States won independence from the United Kingdom.

Around the area

north
northeast
east of central Ontario and northeast of peninsular Ontario
east of southern Ontario
southwest of eastern Ontario
south of Lake Superior and the Saint Marys River
southwest
west

Footnotes