Lake Nipissing History
Lake Nipissing, 831 square
km, at elevation 196 m,is the fifth-largest in Ontario excluding
the great lakes, and is located 50 km northeast of Georgian Bay.
Its name derives from an native language word meaning
“little water.” Lake Nipissing runs in an east-west
direction to a length of 80 km. Because it parallels the
prevailing winds, navigation is frequently treacherous. It is
comparatively shallow (about 10 m in most places) and is
consequently well aerated, which is conducive to healthy plant
and fish life. Dozens of rivers and streams drain into Lake
Nipissing, the largest being the Sturgeon River. Historically its
2 most important outlets were the Mattawa River, which links it
to the the Ottawa River system, and the French River, which
issues from its southwest end, draining into Georgian Bay. Along
this Ottawa-north Georgian Bay route travelled the early French
explorers – the first being Étienne Brule in 1610 –
tracing a path followed by fur traders for the next 200 years.
Permanent settlement around the lake dates from 1874 at Nipissing
village in the southeast and from 1882 at North Bay when the CPR
reached its NE shore. From the 1880s through to WWI Lake
Nipissing was a major transportation route for settlers and
lumbering, as steamships plied it regularly. Since then it has
served mainly as a tourist and recreation waterway.