Batchawana Bay is a small

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

Algoma District Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The name was created by an American ethnologist, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793–1864), who was appointed Indian agent to the Ojibwe ...

in Northeastern

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 ...

, Canada. It is on the eastern shore of

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 ...

, approximately north of

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 ...

. The name "Batchawana" is derived from 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 ...

word ''obatchiwanang'' (or spelled ''badjiwanung''), meaning "current at the strait" or "narrows and swift water there", and refers to the turbulent or bubbling waters flowing between Batchawana Island and Sand Point where the lake narrows and a strong current and undertow results. The

believed this was caused by an underwater spirit about to surface.

Geography

The bay, part of

Whitefish Bay Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of Lake Superior between Michigan, United States, and Ontario, Canada. It is located between Whitefish Point in Michigan and Whiskey Point along the more rugged, largely wilderness Canadian Shield ...

, is formed on the north side by the Whitefish Point on the Canadian side of

. Havilland and Harmony Bays are 2 smaller sub-bays within it. Batchawana Island, with an area of more than and a coastline of , is a large and only island in the middle of the bay. This pristine undeveloped island was also reputedly the site of Spirit houses (elevated graves) of the Ojibwe. Batchawana Island and Whitefish Point are both important routes and stopovers for migratory birds.

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 ...

is located on the northern shore of the bay, and the unincorporated place and Compact Rural Community of Batchawana Bay is on the northwest shore of the bay. The community is along Highway 563. Nearby Batchawana Mountain () is the fourth highest point in Ontario at .

History

Batchawana Bay was an important fishing site for the Ojibwe. A

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

was established on Batchawana Island near the mouth of the Batchawana River for

fur trading 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 ...

around 1817 or 1819 by clerks of the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

. After the merger of the North West Company with 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 ...

, the post (spelled "Batchewana" or "Bachawinna" at the time) continued to operate as a HBC winter outpost for Michipicoten until 1870. In the early 1920s, the largest fish ever recorded in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

was caught by Frank Lapoint in the bay. A

sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

, it was reportedly 90 years old, measured 2.25 m (7.5 ft) and weighed 140 kg (310 lb). The bay was historically notable as the dividing point separating the two

Robinson Treaty The Robinson Treaties are two treaties signed between the Ojibwa chiefs and the Crown in 1850 in the Province of Canada. The first treaty involved Ojibwa chiefs along the north shore of Lake Superior, and is known as the Robinson Superior Treaty. ...

areas between the Crown and the

people.

References

External links

{{Great Lakes Bays of Ontario Landforms of Algoma District Bays of Lake Superior

Geography

History

See also

References

External links