Supporting Sustainable Regional Planning and Management
Geospatial Planning
Geospatial planning undertaken by the Georgian Bay Geo Initiative will bring together extensive scientific and cultural data within a comprehensive GIS-based database to support sustainable regional planning and management. Base line data themes include geology, ecology, infrastructure, cultural heritage, tourism, land use, and watersheds, which will be enriched by data from public sources, Indigenous knowledge, previous initiatives, and satellite imagery such as LiDAR and Landsat.
This integrated approach will enable the creation of a comprehensive digital picture of Georgian Bay and the North Channel—an analytical tool that will support governments, First Nations, researchers, and conservation partners in their planning and management for a resilient future. The resulting maps and visualizations will also inform education, geotourism development, climate adaptation, conservation, and community decision-making across the region.
Planning and management of the region can be enhanced and strengthened by the compilation and management of vast amounts of scientific data organized within a comprehensive geospatial database.
The resulting products of these analyses will be included in brochures, posters, online dashboards, websites, reports, and books.
Here are three examples of thematic map outputs using the existing Georgian Bay Geopark geospatial database:
Administrative Boundaries
This map summarizes information on environmentally sensitive areas within the geopark, including known Alvar communities, high biodiversity islands, important bird areas, areas of natural and scientific interest, and existing and proposed protected areas. Note the many conservation lands in the northern and eastern Georgian Bay area and the lack of large, protected areas in the Southern Georgian Bay and western Georgian Bay areas (Saugeen Peninsula).
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
This map summarizes information on environmentally sensitive areas within the geopark, including known Alvar communities, high biodiversity islands, important bird areas, areas of natural and scientific interest, and existing and proposed protected areas. Note the many conservation lands in the northern and eastern Georgian Bay area and the lack of large, protected areas in the Southern Georgian Bay and western Georgian Bay areas (Saugeen Peninsula).
Rivers, Lakes, Watersheds
This composite map illustrates the rivers, lakes, and watersheds within the geopark such as watersheds delineated by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry in 2023 and major and minor rivers, lakes, and the bathymetry of Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Note there are approximately 30 river basins in the Georgian Bay Geopark, which is defined by natural versus administrative boundaries including the official Ontario government’s tertiary and quaternary watersheds. The larger “orange” boundary is close to the boundary of the ancient Lake Algonquin, and the Georgian Bay Geopark represents the largest ecoregional planning project in Canada.
Please contact us for high resolution fully detailed map images.
Contact us for complete details and discover how you can use the outputs of the spatial planning and analyses to:
Design educational elements
Recommend protection of sensitive natural and cultural heritage features
Address climate change trends and hazards
Assess watershed and river basin health
Discover the DEEP TIME geology of the Georgian Bay 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.
DEEP TIME Zone 1
The Huronian
Ocean
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 2
Continents
Collide
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
DEEP TIME Zone 3
The Ancient
Himalayas
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 4
Tropical
Seas
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 5
The Limestone
Coast
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 6
Ice Ages &
Early
Cultures
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 7
The Meeting
Place
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.
DEEP TIME Zone 8
Mindo Gami Great
Spirit Lake
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.