The Sleeping Giant is a series of mesas formed by the erosion of thick,

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

ic sills on Sibley Peninsula which resembles a giant lying on its back when viewed from the west to north-northwest section 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 populati ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. As one moves southward along the shoreline toward Sawyer's Bay the Sleeping Giant starts to separate into its various sections. Most distinctly in the view from the cliffs at Sawyer's Bay the Giant appears to have an

Adam's Apple The Adam's apple or laryngeal prominence is the protrusion in the human neck formed by the angle of the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx, typically visible in men, less frequently in women. Structure The topographic structure which is e ...

. The formation is part of Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. Its dramatic steep cliffs are among the highest in Ontario (250 m). The southernmost point is known as Thunder Cape, depicted by many early Canadian artists such as William Armstrong. One Ojibway legend identifies the giant as Nanabijou, who was turned to stone when the secret location of a rich silver mine now known as

Silver Islet Silver Islet refers to both a small rocky island and a small community located at the tip of the Sibley Peninsula in northwestern Ontario, Canada. A rich vein of pure silver was discovered on this small island in 1868 by the Montreal Mining ...

was disclosed to white men. Sleeping Giant is the namesake and general setting of the 2015 Canadian film ''Sleeping Giant''.

Seven Wonders of Canada

It was voted number one for a list of Seven Wonders of Canada, with a total of 177,305 votes, beating the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is t ...

and

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

by almost 90,000 votes.CBC's Seven Wonders of Canada Results Page, accessed 6 June 07
/ref> Ultimately it was not selected by the panel of judges,

Ra McGuire Ramon Wayne "Ra" McGuire (born June 13, 1950) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and founding and longtime member of the rock band Trooper. Ra (pronounced "Ray") has performed with Trooper and Brian Smith from 1975, when their first album was ...

, Roberta Jamieson and Roy MacGregor, who decided their vote by geographic and poetic criteria .

References

* Ontario Parks
Sleeping Giant Background Information
' (2003) Queen's Printer for Ontario. . Retrieved on 26 September 2007. {{reflist

External links

Information on the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park

Sleeping Giant Background Information

Information from the City of Thunder Bay on the Park
Landforms of Thunder Bay District Anishinaabe mythology Sills (geology) Rock formations of Canada Igneous petrology of Ontario

Seven Wonders of Canada

See also

References

External links