up, in the Rainy river valley, near Lake Temiscaming and elsewhere,
and mines of various kinds were discovered, as the Canadian Pacific
railway and its branches extended through the region, and at length
the finding of very rich silver mines attracted world-wide attention
to northern Ontario. In the better explored parts along the great
lakes and the railways, ores of gold, silver, nickel, cobalt, antimony,
arsenic, bismuth and molybdenum have been obtained, and several
important mines have been opened up. Gold has been found at
many points across the whole province, from the mines of the Lake-of-the-Woods
on the west to the discoveries at Larder Lake on the
east; but in most cases the returns have been unsatisfactory, and
only a few of the gold mines are working. Silver mines have proved
of far greater importance, in early days near Thunder Bay on Lake
Superior, more recently in the cobalt region near Lake Temiscaming
on the east side of the province. Silver Islet mine in Lake Superior
produced in all $3,250,000 worth of silver, but this record will no
doubt be surpassed by some of the mines in the extraordinarily rich
cobalt district. The veins are small, but contain native silver and
other rich silver ores running sometimes several thousand ounces
per ton, the output being 5,500,000 oz. in 1906. Associated with
the silver minerals are rich ores of cobalt and nickel, combined
with arsenic, antimony and sulphur, which would be considered
valuable if occurring alone, but are not paid for under present
conditions, since they are difficult to separate and refine. The
cobalt silver ores arc found mainly in Huronian conglomerate, but
also in older Keewatin rocks and younger diabase, and the silver bearing
region, which at first included only a few square miles, is
found to extend 25 m. to the west and as much to the north. Up
to the present the most important mineral product of Ontario is
nickel, which is mined only in the neighbourhood of Sudbury,
where the ores occur in very large deposits, which in 1905 produced
9503 tons, more than half of the world's supply of the metal. With
the nickel copper is always found, and copper ores are worked on
their own account in a few localities, such as Bruce mines. Iron
ores have been discovered in many places in connexion with the
“iron formation” of the Keewatin, but nowhere in amounts comparable
with those of the same formation in Michigan and Minnesota.
The total mineral output of Ontario, including building materials
and cement, is larger than that of any other province of the dominion,
and as more careful exploration is carried on in the northern parts,
no doubt many more deposits of value will be discovered. It has
been found that northern Ontario beyond the divide between the
Great Lakes and Hudson Bay possesses many millions of acres of
arable land, clay deposits in a post-glacial lake, like those in the
southern part of the province, running from east to west from Lake
Abitibbi to a point north of Lake Nipigon. Railways are opening
up this tract. The clay belt is in latitudes south of Winnipeg,
with a good summer climate but cold winters. The spruce timber
covering much of the area is of great value, compensating for the
labour of clearing the land.
Lakes and Rivers.—All parts of Ontario are well provided with lakes and rivers, the most important chain being that of the St Lawrence and the Great Lakes with their tributaries, which drain the more populous southern districts, and, with the aid of canals, furnish communication by fairly large vessels between the lower St Lawrence and the Lake Superior. Lake Nipigon, a beautiful body of water 852 ft. above the sea, 70 m. long and 50 m. wide, may be looked upon as the headwaters of the St Lawrence, since Nipigon river is the largest tributary of Lake Superior, though several other important rivers, such as the Kaministiquia, the Pic and the Michipicoten, enter it from the north. All these rivers have high falls not far from Lake Superior, and Kakebeka Falls on the Kaministiquia supplies power to the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur, while the deep water of its mouth makes the great shipping port for western wheat during the summer. The north shore of Lake Superior is bold and rugged with many islands, such as Ignace and Michipicoten, but with very few settlements, except fishing stations, owing to its rocky character. At the south-eastern end St Mary's river carries its waters to Lake Huron, with a fall of 602 to 581 ft., most of which takes place at Sault Sainte Marie, where the largest locks in the world permit vessels of 10,000 tons to pass from one lake to the other, and where water-power has been greatly developed for use in the rolling mills and wood pulp industry. The north-east shores of Lake Huron and its large expansion Georgian Bay are fringed with thousands of islands, mostly small, but one of them, Manitoulin Island, is 80 m. long and 30 m. broad. French river, the outlet of Lake Nipissing, and Severn river, draining Lake Simcoe, come into Georgian Bay from the east, and canals have been projected to connect Lake Huron with the St Lawrence by each of these routes, the northern one to make use of the Ottawa and the southern one of Trent river. The Trent Valley canal is partly in operation. Georgian Bay is cut off from the main lake by Manitoulin Island and the long promontory of Bruce Peninsula. Lakes Superior and Huron both reach depths hundreds of feet below sea-level, but the next lake in the series, St Clair, towards which Lake Huron drains southward through St Clair river, is very shallow and marshy. Detroit river connects Lake St Clair with Lake Erie at an elevation of 570 ft.; and this comparatively shallow lake, running for 240 m. east and west, empties northwards by Niagara river into Lake Ontario, which is only 247 ft. above the sea. Niagara Falls, with rapids above and below, carry the waters of the upper lakes over the Niagara escarpment. Power from the falls is put to use in New York state and Ontario, a large amount being sent to Toronto 80 m. away. Welland canal, between Port Colborne on Lake Erie and Dalhousie on Lake Ontario, carries vessels of 14 ft. draught from one lake to the other. From Lake Ontario the St Lawrence emerges through the meshes of the Thousand Islands, where it crosses Archaean rocks, after which follow several rapids separated by quieter stretches before Montreal is reached at the head of ocean navigation. Steamers not of too great draught can run the rapids going down, but vessels must come up through the canals. All the other rivers in southern Ontario are tributaries of the lakes or of the St Lawrence, the Ottawa, navigable in many parts, being the largest, and the Trent next in importance. In northern Ontario lakes are innumerable and often very picturesque, forming favourite summer resorts, such as Lake Temagami, the Muskoka Lakes and Lake-of-the- Woods. The latter lake with Rainy Lake and other connected bodies of water belong to the Hudson Bay system of waters, their outlet being by Winnipeg river to Lake Winnipeg, from which flows Nelson river. In Ontario the Albany, Moose, Missanabi and Abitibbi flow into Hudson Bay, but none of these rivers is navigable except for canoes.
Climate.—The climate of Ontario varies greatly, as might be expected from its wide range in latitude and the relationships of the Great Lakes to the southern peninsula of the province. The northern parts as far south as the north shore of Lake Superior have long and cold but bright winters, sometimes with temperatures reaching 50° F. below zero; while their summers are delightful, with much sunshine and some hot days but pleasantly cool nights. Between Georgian Bay and Ottawa the winters are less cold, but usually with a plentiful snowfall; while the summers are warm and sometimes even hot. The south-west peninsula of Ontario has its climate greatly modified by the lakes which almost enclose it. As the lakes never freeze, the prevalent cold north-west winds of North America are warmed in their passage over them, and often much of the winter precipitation is in the form of rain, so that the weather has much less certainty than in the north. The summers are often sultry, though the presence of the lakes prevents the intense heat experienced in the states to the west and south. Owing to the mildness of its winters, the south-west peninsula is a famous fruit country with many vineyards and orchards of apples, plums and peaches. Indian corn (maize) is an important field crop, and tobacco is cultivated on a large scale. Small fruits and tomatoes are widely grown for the city markets and for canning, giving rise to an important industry. The normal temperatures (Fahr.) for three points in the south-western, eastern and north-western portions are given below:—
| Toronto. | Ottawa. | Port Arthur. | |
| December, January and February . | 23·7 | 13·3 | 7·3 |
| March, April and May | 40·6 | 38·5 | 31·1 |
| June, July and August | 65·4 | 67·4 | 58·9 |
| September, October and November | 47·0 | 44·8 | 38·5 |
| in. | in. | in. | |
| Average annual precipitation | 33·944 | 32·650 | 23·580 |
(A. P. C.)
Population. — The following table shows the population of the province:—
| 1881. | 1891. | 1901. | |
| ¹Townships. | 1,346,623 | 1,283,281 | 1,247,190 |
| ²Towns and villages | 323,188 | 432,912 | 935,757 |
| Cities | 257,111 | 398,128 | |
| 1,926,922 | 2,114,321 | 2,182,947 |
¹The name given to the rural municipalities.
²Any town in Canada can become incorporated as a city on attaining a population of 10,000.
Ontario is thus pre-eminently an agricultural province, though the growth of manufactures has increased the importance of the towns and cities, and many of the farmers are seeking new homes in the provinces of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan. This emigration accounts in large measure for the slow increase of the population, though there has also been a slight decrease in the birth-rate. The population was long entirely confined to the southern and eastern sections of the province, which comprise an area of about 33,000 sq. m.; but in these districts it is now stationary or decreasing, whereas the northern and western portions are filling up rapidly. Toronto, the provincial capital, has grown from 59,000 in 1871 to about 300,000, partly through the absorption of neighbouring towns and villages. Other
