Gaining a knowledge of this remarkable land, and absorbing the fascinating story of its origins and evolution, gives each of us a clearer and distinctive sense of place. A sense of context, an insight and an awareness of this land and its history. That understanding gained is exciting. That understanding gained elevates our individual appreciation and deep connection to this place. Further, once seeing how our human history in this special landscape has also unfolded and evolved, our reverence and our feelings of belonging to this world-recognized special landscape and cultural homeland, deepens again. That new understanding begins to evolve itself, towards wisdom.
The Georgian Bay Geopark is an essential, generational initiative led by a grassroots team of volunteer experts from across Georgian Bay including Nick Eyles, the renowned author, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto and the world’s foremost expert on the Geology of the Great Lakes.
We need your help this year to continue :
Through all that our Geopark will represent and motivate by way of education, research, geo-tourism, community strengthening, cultural enrichment, and a lighter footprint on the land, we will witness huge benefits for generations to come.
To know it, is to love it. And to love it will be to protect it.
Make donation on line through the Small Change Fund our charitable partner https://smallchangefund.ca/project/georgian-bay-aspiring-geopark/
DEEP TIME’ is the themed expression of how exploring and understanding the past helps create a better future. The unique DEEP TIME story and its eight geological chapters encourages both visitors and residents to know the past, celebrate the present and help create a more resilient future for the Bay and its many communities.
2.7 billion years
Sault Ste Marie to Serpent River
The ancient mineral-rich rocks of the North Channel record the breakup of the planet’s oldest supercontinent – and the birth of the Huronian Ocean.
1.8 billion years
Serpent River to Killarney
The Group of Seven’s white rolling quartzite hills are the stumps of mountains formed when landmasses collided to form supercontinent Nuna
1.3 billion years
Killarney to Honey Harbour
The waterscape of the 30,000 Islands exposes the deep crustal roots of the immense Grenville Mountains formed when North and South America collided.
500 million years
Manitoulin Island
Much of North America was covered by warm shallow seas, teeming with early marine life that left fossil-rich limestones on Manitoulin Island.
350 million years
Tobermory to Wiarton
Within the last 2 million years, the Bruce/Saugeen peninsula was scoured by Ice Age ice sheets that cut deep valleys into the face of the Niagara Escarpment such as at Owen Sound.
13,000 years
Collingwood to Wiarton
The raised beaches of glacial Lake Algonquin surround the coast of southern Georgian Bay like staircases and hosted the camps of caribou-hunting Paleo-Indians 11,000 years ago.
Last 10,000 years
Collingwood to Honey Harbour
The ancient hard rocks of the Canadian Shield meet the softer limestones of the ancient seas creating a stark contrast in landscapes, ecosystems, and a diverse cultural history unique in North America.
4,000 years to today
Waters of Georgian Bay
In 1615 Samuel de Champlain called Georgian Bay ‘La Mer Douce’ (the sweet water sea). An early map also portrays it as Karegnondi, derived from ‘lake’ in the language of the Petun First Nation.
