Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay ({{coor dm|48|23|N|89|15|W|}}, time zone EST) is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest city in Northern Ontario (2001 population 109,016http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CSD-P.cfm?T=1&PR=35&SR=526&S=1&O=A; CMA 121,986http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CMA-P.cfm?T=1&PR=35&SR=26&S=1&O=A). The city takes its name from the immense bay at the head of Lake Superior, known on 18th century French maps as "Baie du Tonnerre". The city was formed in 1970 by the merger of the cities of Fort William, Ontario, Port Arthur, Ontario and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre. Its port forms an important link in the shipping of grain and other products from western Canada through the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway to the east coast. The city is often referred to as the Lakehead or Canadian Lakehead because of its location at the end of Great Lakes navigation.

Geography and Climate

The city has an area of 328.47 sq. km. which includes the former cities of Fort William and Port Arthur as well as the townships of Neebing and McIntyre.

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The former Fort William section occupies flat alluvial land along the Kaministiquia River which has a river delta at its mouth of two large islands known as Mission Island and McKellar Island. The former Port Arthur section is more typical of the Canadian Shield with gently sloping hills, and very thin soil lying on top of bedrock with many bare outcrops. Thunder Bay, which gives the city its name, is immense - about 22.5 km (14 miles) from the Port Arthur downtown to Thunder Cape at the tip of the Sleeping Giant.

Related Topics:
Alluvial - Kaministiquia River - River delta - Canadian Shield - Sleeping Giant

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The city reflects the settlement patterns of the 19th century. It is therefore highly spread out for historical reasons. Anchoring the west end of the city, the Fort William Town Plot surveyed in 1859-60 was named West Fort (Westfort) in 1888 by the CPR. The land adjoining the lower Kaministiquia River became the residential and central business district of the town and city of Fort William. A large uninhabited area adjoining the Neebing and McIntyre rivers which became known as Intercity separated Fort William from the residential and central business district of Port Arthur. At the extreme east of the city, a part of McIntyre Township was annexed to the town of Port Arthur in 1892, forming what later became known as the Current River area.

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Since 1970, the central business districts of Fort William and Port Arthur have suffered a serious decline as business and government have relocated to the Intercity area. There has also been substantial residential growth in adjacent areas of the former Neebing and McIntyre townships.

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The climate is influenced by Lake Superior, resulting in cooler summer temperatures and warmer winter temperatures for an area extending inland as far as 16 km. The average daily temperatures range from a high of 17.6°C in July and a low of -14.8°C in January; the average daily high in July is 24.2°C and the average daily high in January is -8.6°C. The city is quite sunny with an average of 2167.7 hours of bright sunshine each year, ranging from 283.4 hours in July to 88.8 hours in November.

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