Stony Lake (Ontario)
Encyclopedia
Stoney Lake is a lake in 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....

, 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...

. There are three interconnected lakes (Upper Stoney Lake to the northeast, Stony Lake in the centre, and Clear Lake to the southwest). Stoney Lake forms the eastern end of the Kawartha lakes region. It is primarily a summer cottage area but there are many permanent residences especially on Clear Lake.

Name

Stony Lake was known to early European settlers as Salmon Trout Lake, but the modern name is fully appropriate. Salmon trout are no longer evident, but islands and shoals are everywhere. Today, Stony Lake represents the classic Ontario ‘cottage country’, enjoyed by its many seasonal residents, by an increasing number of year-round residents, by boaters using the Trent-Severn Waterway
Trent-Severn Waterway
The Trent–Severn Waterway is a Canadian canal system formerly used for industrial and transportation purposes and now for recreational and tourism purposes, connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to the Georgian Bay portion of Lake Huron at Port Severn...

, sport fishermen and many others.

Geography

Stony Lake is located in the City Kawartha Lakes
Kawartha Lakes
The city of Kawartha Lakes is a unitary municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Although called a city, Kawartha Lakes is the size of a typical Ontarian county and is mostly rural....

 nearly two hours northeast of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, 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....

, 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...

. The lake, some 20 miles (32.2 km) long from Young's Point, Ontario
Young's Point, Ontario
Young's Point is a small village in Ontario, Canada, established in 1825. It is about 25 km north of Peterborough.Young's Point gets its name from the founders of the village. The Young family settled the area and build the dam and a grist mill here...

 to the lake's eastern shores, about 234 metres (767.7 ft) above sea level, with a combined surface area of approximately 28 square kilometres (10.8 sq mi), and encompasses over 1,000 islands. Geologically, the Kawartha lakes are on the boundary between two important land forms.

One of its islands, Fairy Lake Island, encloses another small body of water: Fairy Lake. Fairy Lake is surrounded by private property and is not accessible by boat.

Geology

Like most lakes in Ontario, Stony Lake was created during and after the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...

. The lake straddles the border between the Canadian Shield
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield, also called the Laurentian Plateau, or Bouclier Canadien , is a vast geological shield covered by a thin layer of soil that forms the nucleus of the North American or Laurentia craton. It is an area mostly composed of igneous rock which relates to its long volcanic history...

 and the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands land forms. The lake is influenced both by the rugged granite of the Canadian Shield to the north, and by the more gentle, heavily forested Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Lowlands to the south.

History

The region has been inhabited for thousands of years. Early First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

 settlement is evidenced by a remarkable collection of prehistoric rock carvings to be seen at the east end of Stony Lake, at the significant Petroglyphs. On-going historic research argues convincingly that Samuel De Champlain
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....

 traveled the area lakes, rivers and overland portages in the 17th century. The First Nations were joined in the 19th century by European settlers intent on logging and farming. In the mid-19th century logging became a large industry in the Kawarthas and Stony Lake was used as part of the highway for moving logs to the sawmills down river. The Trent-Severn Canal system was built early in the 20th century, and became the dominant commercial waterway in the region.

The American Canoe Association
American Canoe Association
The American Canoe Association is the oldest and largest paddle sports organization in the United States, promoting canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. The ACA sponsors more than seven hundred events each year, along with safety education, instructor certification, waterway conservation and public...

 met on Juniper Island in 1883, and development evolved naturally from travellers fishing or hunting from simple lodges. Lengthier camping expeditions on the many islands became common. In the late 19th century and early 20th century many people from Ontario and the bordering U.S. states bought Crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....

 and built cottages. These were generally simple, one story frame structures with few amenities. As well, those early settlers, at Young's Point, Kawartha Park, McCracken's Landing, Mount Julian and others around the lake, found new sources of income by helping cottagers in many ways: ice cutting, building, guiding, boat repairs and domestic chores. Stony lake today is principally a used for recreational purposes. Some of the large islands include Juniper and Horseshoe island.

In pop culture

The film Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Cheaper by the Dozen 2
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is a 2005 film produced by 20th Century Fox. It is the sequel to the family comedy film Cheaper by the Dozen . Shawn Levy, the director of the first film, did not return as director for this sequel, which was instead directed by Adam Shankman . Levy was a producer of the film...

was shot at property on the lake at Burleigh Falls. A water skiing scene in the contains several scenes of the Lake. The film Inlaws was shot on Stony Lake. The water ski team from Cypress Gardens, Florida
Cypress Gardens, Florida
Cypress Gardens is a census-designated place in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,844 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

has stayed at the Irwin Inn and practiced on the lake in front of the inn.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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