Simpson Island is an island in Lake Superior

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...

, situated off the north shore at the entrance to Nipigon Bay, in Northern Ontario

Northern Ontario

Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...

, 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...

. It is located about five km from the mainland and approximately thirteen km southwest of the locality of Rossport

Rossport, Ontario

Rossport is a locality on the north shore of Lake Superior in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario. A designated place served by a local services board, Rossport had a population of 66 in the Canada 2006 Census, a decrease of 41.1% since 2001.-History:...

. Simpson Island is 113 km northeast of the district capital, Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay

-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...

, 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....

.

The fourth largest island in Lake Superior and the fifteenth largest in the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

, Simpson Island has an area of 73 square kmhttp://users.erols.com/jcalder/GreatLakes.htm, and is 16 km long and 10 km wide.http://www.bartleby.com/69/74/S11774.html

The island, which has been described as "rugged wilderness," is uninhabited, but is a destination for kayak

Kayak

A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...

ers.

In the early 20th century its sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

quarries supplied building stone to the cities of Port Arthur and Fort William, Ontario, and to cities in the United States.

External links

• Columbia Gazetteer description of Simpson Island