View source for Manitou Islands (Lake Nipissing)

{{Short description|Islands in Lake Nipissing in Ontario, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox islands
| name             = Manitou Islands
| image_name       = Manitou Islands Pano (cropped).jpg
| image_size       = 250
| image_caption    =
| image_alt        =
| map              = Ontario
| map_alt          =
| map_width        = 250
| map_caption      = Location within Ontario
| coordinates      = {{Coord|format=dms|region:CA-ON_type:isle|display=title,inline}}
| waterbody        = [[Lake Nipissing]]
| total_islands    = 5
| major_islands    = Great Manitou, Little Manitou, Calder, Rankin, Newman
| area_km2         =
| area_footnotes   =
| coastline_km     =
| coastline_footnotes =
| elevation_m      =
| elevation_footnotes =
| highest_mount    = <!--name-->
| Country_heading  =
| country          = Canada
| country_admin_divisions_title   = Province
| country_admin_divisions         = [[Ontario]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = District
| country_admin_divisions_1       = [[Nipissing District|Nipissing]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 = Census division
| country_admin_divisions_2       = [[Unorganized North Nipissing District|Unorg. North Nipissing]]
| population       =
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}}
The '''Manitou Islands''' are a series of small [[island]]s in [[Lake Nipissing]], in [[Nipissing District, Ontario|Nipissing District]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]. The islands form a circle and lie {{convert|10|km|mi|0}} southwest of [[North Bay, Ontario|North Bay]].
==History==
[[Samuel de Champlain]] visited the islands in 1613 and called them "pretty".<ref name="PerspectivesJune18">{{cite news|title= The aboriginal connection to the Manitous goes back centuries|last= Mackey|first= Doug|url= http://www.pastforward.ca/perspectives/June_182004.htm |work= Heritage Perspectives|publisher= Past Forward Heritage Limited|date= 2004-06-18|access-date= 2009-06-08}}</ref> Fur traders found the island a handy resting spot, and often would camp overnight. Today the islands' sand beaches continue to be a popular resting and recreation spot for many boaters.
Lime was quarried on the islands in the 1880s when the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] was built, and a [[lime kiln]] was operated to create lime for mortar.<ref name="PerspectivesJune18" /> Great Manitou Island, the largest of the islands, once held a dance hall and hotel, but it burned to the ground.<ref>{{cite news|title= The Manitou Island Provincial Nature Preserve|last= Mackey|first= Doug|url= http://www.pastforward.ca/perspectives/may_212004.htm |work= Heritage Perspectives|publisher= Past Forward Heritage Limited|date= 2004-05-21|access-date= 2009-06-08}}</ref> Uranium mining was conducted on Newman Island in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite news|title= Mining on the Manitous…a thing of the past|last= Mackey|first= Doug|url= http://www.pastforward.ca/perspectives/June_252004.htm |work= Heritage Perspectives|publisher= Past Forward Heritage Limited|date= 2004-06-25|access-date= 2009-06-08}}</ref>
Local legend says that the island is haunted by the Nipissing people who died of starvation after battling the [[Iroquois]] and being forced to flee the islands.<ref>{{cite news|title= The Manitou Islands of Lake Nipissing|last= Trembley|first= Marla|url= http://northernontario.travel/northeastern-ontario/the-manitou-islands |access-date= 2015-06-28}}</ref>
In 1972 the wreck of the steamship ''[[John B. Fraser]]'' was found between Goose Island and the Manitou Islands, in {{convert|14|m|ft}} of water.<ref name=WileyFraser/>
Until 1981, the entire Great Manitou Island was privately owned. In 1982, most of it was donated to the government through the efforts of the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Ontario Heritage Foundation. Over the following years, other individual private lots have been purchased by the government.<ref name="mgmt">{{cite web |title=Manitou Islands Provincial Park Management Plan |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/manitou-islands-provincial-park-management-plan |website=Ontario.ca |publisher=Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks |access-date=4 October 2021 |language=en |date=10 November 2015}}</ref>
==Geography==
[[File:Manitou Islands.jpg|thumb|left|Satellite image of the Manitou Islands]]
The total area of the islands is {{convert|100|ha|acre|0}}, and the total perimeter is {{convert|5|km|mi|1}}. The five islands are:
*Great Manitou Island {{coord|46|16|41|N|79|34|34|W|region:CA-ON_type:isle_scale:25000|display=inline}}
*Little Manitou Island {{coord|46|15|32|N|79|35|17|W|region:CA-ON_type:isle_scale:25000|display=inline}}
*Calder Island {{coord|46|16|14|N|79|33|38|W|region:CA-ON_type:isle_scale:25000|display=inline}}
*Rankin Island {{coord|46|15|00|N|79|34|03|W|region:CA-ON_type:isle_scale:25000|display=inline}}
*Newman Island {{coord|46|15|17|N|79|34|45|W|region:CA-ON_type:isle_scale:25000|display=inline}}
{{Clear left}}
==Geology==
The Manitou Islands lie inside the [[Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben]] and are part of an [[erosion|eroded]] [[volcanic pipe]],<ref>{{cite web|title= Background Geology of the North Bay area|url= http://home.cogeco.ca/~nananne/backgroundgeology/070211-BackgroundGeology-w.html |access-date= 2007-09-24 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071220210918/http://home.cogeco.ca/~nananne/backgroundgeology/070211-BackgroundGeology-w.html |archive-date = 2007-12-20}}</ref> leaving the multiple islands. The volcanic pipe formed by the violent, [[supersonic]] eruption of a deep-origin [[volcano]]. These volcanoes originate at least three times as deep as most other volcanoes, and the resulting magma that is pushed toward the surface is high in magnesium and [[Volatile (astrogeology)#Igneous petrology|volatile compounds]] such as [[water]] and [[carbon dioxide]].  As the body of magma rises toward the surface, the volatile compounds [[phase transformation|transform]] to [[gas|gaseous phase]] as [[pressure]] is reduced with decreasing depth.  This sudden expansion propels the magma upward at rapid speeds, resulting in a shallow supersonic eruption.
The Manitou Islands contain the uncommon [[Rock (geology)|rock types]] of [[fenite]] and [[syenite]]. [[Mineral]]s found associated with these rocks include: [[pyroxenite]]s, [[amphibole]], [[apatite]], [[biotite]], [[calcite]], [[magnetite]], [[monazite]], [[nepheline]], [[pyrite]], [[pyrochlore]], [[pyroxene]] and [[quartz]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Other localities - Canada|url= http://www.koeln.netsurf.de/~w.steffens/can.htm |access-date= 2007-09-28}} Site information taken from {{cite book |title= Alkaline rocks and carbonatites of the world. Part 1, North and South America|last= Woolley|first= Alan R|year= 1987|publisher= [[Natural History Museum, London|British Museum (Natural History)]]|location= [[London]]|isbn= 978-0-565-00971-7|oclc= 220114352}}</ref>
The nearby [[Callander Bay]] is also a volcanic pipe.
==Provincial park==
{{Infobox protected area
|name            = Manitou Islands Provincial Nature Reserve
|alt_name        = Manitou Islands Provincial Park
|iucn_category   = ia
|iucn_ref        =
|nearest_city    = [[North Bay, Ontario|North Bay]]
|nearest_town    =
|coordinates     = {{Coord|46|15|58|N|79|34|52|W|region:CA-ON_type:landmark|display=inline}}
|coords_ref      = <ref>{{Cite cgndb|FEUVG|Manitou Islands Provincial Nature Reserve}}</ref>
|area_ha         = 1925.80
|area_km2        =
|area_ref        = <ref name="OP">{{cite web |title=Manitou Islands |url=https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/manitouislands |website=www.ontarioparks.com |publisher=Ontario Parks |access-date=1 October 2021}}</ref>
|elevation       =
|elevation_avg   =
|elevation_min   =
|elevation_max   =
|designation     = Nature reserve
|established     = 1989
|visitation_num  =
|visitation_year =
|visitation_ref  =
|governing_body  = [[Ontario Parks]]
|url             = https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/manitouislands
}}
The Manitou Islands Provincial Nature Reserve protects 4 of the 5 islands (as a private island, Calder Island is excluded), and also has a 1-kilometer-wide zone around the islands that protects the submarine lakebeds. It was established in 1989 and is representative of island ecology in Lake Nipissing with warmer than normal regional temperatures. Permitted activities include swimming, boating, and nature viewing.<ref name="mgmt"/><ref name="OP"/>
It is a non-operating park, meaning that there are no facilities or services. The park’s beaches are available for day use only.<ref name="OP"/>
==Flora==
Trees on the islands include [[basswood]], [[Fraxinus|ash]], [[silver maple]], [[white birch]], [[Thuja occidentalis|white cedar]], [[burr oak]], and [[sugar maple]].<ref name="mgmt"/><ref name="OP"/>
Common vegetation include [[striped maple]], [[chokecherry]], [[Canada yew]], [[stinging nettle]], and [[poison ivy]] (which is prevalent in most vegetated areas).<ref name="OP"/>
==See also==
*[[Volcanism of Canada]]
*[[Volcanism of Eastern Canada]]
*[[List of volcanoes in Canada]]
*[[Callander Bay]]
==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=WileyFraser>
{{cite news
| title       = The wreck of the side paddlewheel steamer John Fraser, Lake Nipissing, Ontario, Canada*
| work        = [[International Journal of Nautical Archeology]]
| author      = Bessel J. VandenHazel
| date        = November 1987
| doi       = 10.1111/j.1095-9270.1987.tb00608.x
}}
</ref>
}}
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web|title=Topographic Map sheets 31L4, 31L5 |publisher=[[Natural Resources Canada]] |date=2006-02-06 |work=[[Atlas of Canada]] |url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/topo/map/ |access-date=2009-06-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122152226/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/topo/map/ |archive-date=2009-01-22 }}
{{refend}}
[[Category:Diatremes of Ontario]]
[[Category:Proterozoic volcanoes]]
[[Category:Lake islands of Ontario]]
[[Category:Landforms of North Bay, Ontario]]
[[Category:Lake Nipissing]]
[[Category:Lime kilns in Canada]]
[[Category:Quarries in Canada]]