Georgian Bay | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 45°30′N 81°00′W / 45.5°N 81.0°W |
Basin countries | Canada |
Max. length | 190 km (120 mi)[citation needed] |
Max. width | 80 km (50 mi)[citation needed] |
Surface area | 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi)[citation needed] |
Average depth | 150 feet (46 m) near the shoreline of Cabot Head |
Islands | 31,000+ |
Settlements | Collingwood Owen Sound Meaford Parry Sound Wiarton Lion's Head Midland Penetanguishene Wasaga Beach Killarney |
Georgian Bay (French: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is the North Channel.
Georgian Bay is surrounded by (listed clockwise) the districts of Manitoulin, Sudbury, Parry Sound and Muskoka, as well as the more populous counties of Simcoe, Grey and Bruce. The Main Channel separates the Bruce Peninsula from Manitoulin Island and connects Georgian Bay to the rest of Lake Huron. The North Channel, located between Manitoulin Island and the Sudbury District, west of Killarney, was once a popular route for steamships and is now used by a variety of pleasure craft to travel to and from Georgian Bay.
The shores and waterways of the Georgian Bay are the traditional domain of the Anishinaabeg First Nations peoples to the north and Huron-Petun (Wyandot) to the south. The bay was thus a major Algonquian-Iroquoian trade route.