Red Lake, Ontario
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Red Lake is a municipality and census division 535 km north-west of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. The municipality consists of 6 small towns and has a local population of approximately 8,500 people. The three primary sources of employment in Red Lake include: support services for the numerous mines surrounding the town, small scale logging and a tourism sector specializing in hunting and fishing. It is known as the "Norseman Capital of the World", referring to the Noorduyn Norseman aircraft which played a significant role in the development of the area.
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[edit] History
The town experienced a sudden surge of economic, industrial, and population growth with the discovery of gold in 1926. In fact, by 1936, Red Lake's Howey Bay was the busiest airport in the world with more flights landing and taking off per hour than any other. In 1995 Goldcorp, owners of the Red Lake Mine discovered that it contains the world's richest grade gold ore (2 troy ounces of gold per metric ton). Shortly thereafter, the mine suffered through a four-year long miners' strike. Since then the mine has become one of the richest gold mines in the world.
[edit] Attractions
This little bush town has a museum and is close to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and Pakwash Provincial Park. Some local restraunts are Spud&Dog, the Lakeview, and The Howey. Red Lake is a prime location for summer sports fishing, as the lake contains several types of fish including walleye, northern pike, lake trout, whitefish and sauger. Other popular recreational summer activities include golfing at the Red Lake Golf and Country Club, swimming at Rahill beach, and even exploring the many bays and arms of Red Lake by boat.
Hunting is another activity in the region that attracts tourism, especially during the fall season. Outdoorsmen know of the abundance of game in the Red Lake District, including moose, ruffed grouse, spruce hen, duck, and bear. Some citizens even participate in the fur industry with established trapping lines interspersed throughout the local forests. The gray wolf, white-tailed deer, red fox, beaver, and many bird species also inhabit the area.
Gold in Ontario is a book by Michael Barnes which features the mines of Red Lake.
The town got its name from a old Native American legend which can be seen in pictographs on a cliff wall:
A tribe was out hunting, and found the tracks of a massive bull moose. They tracked the moose to the edge of the lake where they killed it from a distance with their bows and arrows. The moose collapsed into the lake, and was so heavy it sank to the bottom before the hunters could pull it out. The moose's blood turned the lake red; Hence "Red Lake"
[edit] Climate
The climate of the area is subarctic. In this township, snow usually starts falling around late October / early November, and starts melting around March but doesn't fully melt until late April (and snow in May and even June is not uncommon). This long winter is ideal for the local snowmachiners and for ice fishing though during this period, the wind is often very cold and temperatures may drop to below -35 degrees Celsius. During winter, residents and visitors participate in snow-mobiling, ice fishing, skiing, ice hockey, and downhill sliding.
During the short summer, the area experiences a moderate climate with little humidity, which is ideal for camping, boating, canoeing, and hiking.
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