Powassan is a municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in the Canadian

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...

 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....

, located near North Bay

North Bay, Ontario

North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...

. Powassan is located in the Parry Sound District

Parry Sound District, Ontario

Parry Sound District is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its seat is Parry Sound. Its boundaries are Muskoka to the south, the Sudbury District, the French River and Lake Nipissing in the north, Nipissing District, Ontario and North Bay in the north and east and parts of...

, at its easternmost boundary with the Nipissing District

Nipissing District, Ontario

Nipissing District, Ontario is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858. The district seat is North Bay.In 2006, the population was 84,688...

.

The municipality includes the population centres of Powassan and Trout Creek

Trout Creek, Ontario

Trout Creek is a community located on Highway 11 in Northern Ontario, 12 kilometres south of Powassan. A designated place within the municipal boundaries of Powassan, Trout Creek is in the eastern end of the District of Parry Sound....

, both along Highway 11.
Taken from a First Nation's name that means "bend", Powassan's original settlement was at the bend of the South River. The location today is known as the Bingham Chute, and is where the present hydro plant is.