What to Expect at Lake of the Woods |
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Lake of the Woods Summary
Lake of the Woods (4,472 km2) is the second-largest inland lake in Ontario. It is located in the southwest corner of northwestern Ontario, where the state of Minnesota and the province of Manitoba share a water boundary with Ontario. Two-thirds of it lies within Ontario. The border between Canada and the United States was drawn through Lake of the Woods, and a small peninsula on the west side of the lake (the "Northwest Angle" or "the Angle"), above the 49th Parallel, is American.
Lake of the Woods lies within the vast Canadian Shield and was created during four great Ice Ages over a period of some 60,000 years. The lake is extremely irregular in outline with the shoreline exceeding 104,000 km. There are over 14,000 islands in the lake.
The first European to see Lake of the Woods was Jacques de Noyon, a French fur trader and explorer, in 1688. De Noyon named the great lake "Lac du Bois." By this time, however, the lake was known by all the native people in the region as Min-es-tic, which means Lake of the Islands. There are several First Nation reserves in the area. The largest population centre is the tri-municipality of Kenora, Keewatin, and Jaffray Melick, at the northern end of the lake. The town of Kenora was amalgamated with the towns of Keewatin and Jaffray Melick in 2000 to form the present-day City of Kenora (formerly called Rat Portage).
The Lake of the Woods headwaters are on its southern shore at Rainy River and flows northerly where it empties into the Winnipeg River.
The lake's clean water and scenic islands make it popular with boaters and cottagers. A large sailing regatta is held on the lake each year.
Here are some frequently asked questions…
What's the weather like?
If you check our Lake Links & Contacts Page, we've put up CURRENT weather and Radar info for Kenora, Baudette, and even a link to Environment Canada's Marine Forecast (At Lake of the Woods Buoy)!
More to come soon...
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