Georgian Bay: Discovering A Unique North American Ecosystem

Discover the marvel that is Georgian Bay, its hidden history, its storied rock, culture, and the fragile nature that abounds here.

Georgian Bay contains the largest freshwater island in the world (Manitoulin Island) and the world's largest freshwater archipelago (the Thirty Thousand Islands). Some of its rocks are 2.5 billion years old. It is home to a fascinating range of plants and animals that live both above and below the water and as such is a unique ecosystem. Its startling shorelines have inspired scientists, artists, and conservationists for generations.

The Bay has been home to Native people for thousands of years. Samuel Champlain canoed it in 1615 marveling at its maze of islands. The Bay was a significant part of the fur trade and the lumber business and a place that attracted new farmer-settlers who would find both solace and sorrow among the beautiful but unforgiving Canadian Shield rocks.

Georgian Bay's waterscapes are as legendary as the summer storms that spring out of nowhere. It is also a place of calm, crystal-clear waters and glorious sunsets that provide families with memories that last a lifetime.

This book is a project of the Georgian Bay Land Trust (GBLT) which recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Edited by award-winning geologist and best-selling author, Nick Eyles, the text and pictures have been selected from a wide-ranging group of scientists, historians, artists, writers, photographers, and people who are passionate about preservation of this unique ecosystem.

The iconic landscape and the story it tells of the history of our planet is little known to Canadians despite its proximity to the nation's largest urban area.

Everything you wanted to know about Georgian Bay and were afraid to ask, is right here. It brings together leading geologists, ecologists, artists and archeologists to tell the dramatic and so-far untold story of Georgian Bay

• From its earliest beginnings some 1.5 billion years ago in the aftermath of a gigantic meteorite strike when the area was dominated by mountains as large as the Himalayas,
• To the first appearance of humans during the waning stages of the last ice age some 12,000 years ago when much of the area still lay buried under ice a kilometre thick,
• About the mammals and birds,
• The unique freshwater ecosystems,
• The forests,
• Even the art of the area.

From Wasaga Beach in the south, through Tobermory in the west and Parry Sound to the east, up to Manitoulin Island and Little Current in the north, and everywhere in between, if you enjoy, are fascinated by, or just curious about this unique region then check out this book!

List of Contributors:

Christine Boyanoski is a curator and writer based in Toronto and holds a PhD from the University of London, UK. She has organized many exhibitions and published extensively in the field of Canadian art.

Martin Cooper has been involved in archaeology in Ontario for over thirty years. He is a Partner and Senior Archaeologist with Archaeological Services Inc. and has served as Project Director on hundreds of single and multi-phased assessments throughout Ontario.

Nick Eyles is Professor of Geology at the Scarborough campus of the University of Toronto and has published research on world geology from the Arctic to the Antarctic.

Susan Hannon is a retired ecology professor from the University of Alberta. Her research career focussed on behaviour and ecology of birds and the impacts of forestry and agriculture on bird communities.

Jamie Hunter has a Master's degree in Museum Studies and brings fifty years of archaeological and historical experience to bear in the preservation, research and dissemination of the human history of the Huronia/Southeastern Georgian Bay region.

Bill Lougheed is a retired scientist and biomedical engineer with a life-long interest in conservation on Georgian Bay. Bill is the Executive Director of the Georgian Bay Land Trust and summers on Georgian Bay.

Andrew Miall has been Professor of Geology at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, since 1979, where his focus is teaching and research on the stratigraphy and sedimentology of sedimentary basins.

Karl Schiefer Ph.D., is an internationally-recognized specialist in freshwater ecosystems having held academic and research positions focusing on aquatic ecosystem research in Canada and abroad.

Peter Storck has a Ph.D. in anthropology and is Senior Curator Emeritus at the Royal Ontario Museum following a very long and distinguished career on New World archeology and the peopling of North America.

Janny Vincent is a second generation islander on Georgian Bay and has spent over 50 years summering with her family there. She resides in Toronto and is the President of Vincent Associates Inc., a full service information management company and President and C.E.O. of Fundata Canada, one of Canada's leading supplier of financial information. Janny is a graduate of the University of Toronto where she studied English.

Bob Whittam is a well-known ornithologist, who has many years' experience working with and writing about the birds of Georgian Bay and many other sites across the Great Lakes.

Ronald F. Williamson is founder and managing partner of Archaeological Services Inc., a cultural resource management consulting firm based in Toronto and Burlington, Ontario.

Edited by Nick Eyles