Clay Belt

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The Clay Belt is an tract of fertile soil, in Northeastern Ontario, between the area of Kapuskasing, and Temiskaming Shores extending into the Province of Quebec near Lake Temiskaming. This tract of would-be farm land was first discovered during railway construction in the early 1900's.

This pocket of land is like an island in the middle of the Canadian Shield, which is a vast rock covered area, stretching from the western edge of Hudson Bay all the way to Labrador and Newfoundland on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Canadian government encouraged immigrants to settle there as farmers during and after World War I. The farming consisted of some grains, mostly oats, and vegetables. In spite of numerous rocky outcrops farming was successfully established within the Clay Belt, however, it has proven to be imprectiable only because because of the short growing season. Some of the farmers eventually returned to Toronto and Montreal. Some moved west to the prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta once the National Transcontinental Railway was completed. Many of the farmers shifted to mining once minerals were found in the area.

The Clay Belt is a unique region in the Boreal Forest that has a rich clay soil in contrast to the low fertility of the muskeg and exposed bedrock shield surrounding it. Moreover, the combination of its general fertility, flat topography, high water table and relative accessibility to an extensive network of roads for logging and mining make it suitable for some types of farming.