Pelee, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(icon), is an island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the western half of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
. Pelee Island is connected to the Canadian and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mainland by ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service. At 42 km2, Pelee Island is the largest island in Lake Erie and the southernmost populated point in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected by the province to commemorate the development of Pelee Island's role in Ontario's heritage. Nearby Middle Island is the southernmost point of land in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Pelee Island is part of the Township of Pelee in Essex County
Essex County, Ontario
Essex County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario and covers an area at the southernmost tip of Canada. The administrative seat is Essex...
, and has its own mayor, deputy mayor, and three Councillors. It is what is called a separated township
Township
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
. The township comprises nine islands, the largest being Pelee Island, and including Middle Island, Middle Sister Island
Middle Sister Island
Middle Sister Island is a island in Lake Erie. Along with the Canadian East Sister Island and the U.S.-owned West Sister Island, it is part of the Pelee Island archipelago in the western basin of Lake Erie, and is considered to be the "most natural and undisturbed" of these islands.-War of...
, Hen Island
Hen Island (Ontario)
Hen Island is an island on Lake Erie in Ontario. There are three smaller islands, called "chickens," surrounding the island; their names are Big Chicken Island, Chick Island, and Little Chicken Island.-Quinnebog Club:...
, Big Chicken Island
Big Chicken Island
Big Chicken Island is a small, flat, treeless island in Ontario located within Lake Erie. Although it is called an island, it is actually a reef. It is one of the three "chickens" that surround Hen Island.-External links:*...
, Little Chicken Island
Little Chicken Island
Little Chicken Island is a small, flat, treeless island in Ontario located within Lake Erie. Although it is called an island, it is actually a reef. It is one of the three "chickens" that surround Hen Island....
, Chick Island
Chick Island
Chick Island is a small, flat, treeless island in Ontario located within Lake Erie. Although it is called an island, it is actually a reef. It is one of the three "chickens" that surround Hen Island....
, East Sister Island
East Sister Island
East Sister Island is a 15 hectare island in Ontario, located within Lake Erie, maintained as a Provincial Nature Reserve. This large, wooded, Lake Erie island is uninhabited except for thousands of birds. The nearby West Sister Island is in Ohio in the United States.-Flora and fauna:The island...
, and North Harbour Island
North Harbour Island
North Harbour Island is an island in Ontario, Canada, located in Lake Erie. The tiny, privately owned island has one home and a storage shed....
. The total land area of all islands in the township is 41.84 km2 (16.15 sq mi).
Canada 2001 Census
The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
), but the population can swell to over 1,500 during the summer months, with more than three thousand people on long weekends. Due to its southerly location and the moderating effect of Lake Erie, it has a slightly milder climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
than inland areas. Its climate, classified as Carolinian, is one of the mildest in the country, and the island has long been used for vineyards and wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
making. The wine industry was started here in 1860 and died out in the early twentieth century, but restarted in the 1980s. The island is an agricultural based community which grows about 5000 acres (20.2 km²) of soybeans, about 1000 acres (4 km²) of wheat, 500 acres (2 km2) of grapes, and a few acres of specialty corn.
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, the Lake Erie islands and Point Pelee
Point Pelee National Park
-See also:*National Parks of Canada*List of National Parks of Canada*Long Point-External links:**...
. Pelee Island has, for many years, hosted a fall pheasant hunt which attracts hunters from Canada, the United States and many other countries. The pheasant hunt brings tourist dollars to Pelee at a time of year when virtually no other activities are available thus generating important revenue in the 'off' season.
Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited
This is an historical account of the Owen Sound Transportation Company, Limited , the forerunner of the enterprise that currently operates the vehicle and passenger ferry - M.S. Chi-Cheemaun - between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula, and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. For updated...
). The MV Jiimaan is the largest passenger ferry along the Lake Erie route to Pelee Island. At 61 metres in length, the Jiimaan can transport 400 passengers and 40 vehicles. The leisurely cruise to Pelee Island can range from one-and-a-half to just over two hours depending on departure routes. The time of year determines whether mainland passengers board the ferry at nearby Kingsville
Kingsville, Ontario
The Town of Kingsville is located in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, and is Canada's southernmost municipality with town status. According to the 2006 census, the population of Kingsville is 20,908.-Geography:...
, Leamington
Leamington, Ontario
Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, southern Ontario, Canada, and has a population of 31,113. It includes Point Pelee, the southernmost point of mainland Canada. It has a large H. J. Heinz Company factory and is known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada", with 4 km² of this crop in the...
, or Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
. The Sandusky ferry runs only from late spring until early fall, while the Jiimaan runs from the Canadian ports of Leamington and/or Kingsville from early spring until early December. The Jiimaan was built in 1992 at Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines
St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. When the ferries are not operating, the only practical way to get to the mainland or to Pelee Island is via airplane. In January 2004, a Cessna 208 Caravan crashed on takeoff from Pelee, killing 9 pheasant hunters and the pilot. The plane crashed into the shallow waters of Lake Erie. It is believed the plane was overloaded and potentially ice-laden according to the aviation authorities of Canada.
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
(the Christian Island natives received her for transport to and from the mainland) when the Jiimaan began service to Pelee. The Pelee Islander was built at Erieau, Ontario in 1960.
In late 2007, the Owen Sound Transportation Company
Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited
This is an historical account of the Owen Sound Transportation Company, Limited , the forerunner of the enterprise that currently operates the vehicle and passenger ferry - M.S. Chi-Cheemaun - between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula, and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. For updated...
had notified the Province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
that it had to terminate its agreement and contract early and look for a new winter carrier, since Georgian Bay Express (the air carrier) could not fulfill its final year of its two-year contract and sold its planes. This was significant since it was the only air link to the island in winter (the ferries cannot run the lake if there is ice out, due to the risk of sinking). The province agreed, but the people of Pelee island feared they would be stranded, especially if a medical emergency arose. A new company has been found to run airplanes in the winter, but it has not been named yet.