Ouimet Canyon
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Ouimet Canyon is a large gorge in Canada. It is 100 metres deep, 150 metres wide and 2 kilometres in length, and is situated in Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park in Northwestern Ontario, northeast of Thunder Bay.
There is a walkway consisting of boardwalks and trails, which leads to viewing platforms overlooking the canyon. Visitors to the canyon should remain on the marked trails for their own safety. Also in the Ouimet Canyon area, there are rare alpine flowers that are considered especially beautiful and arctic plants normally found 1000 km further north.
The canyon was named after a former railway station, Ouimet Station, which used to be located nearby on the Canadian Pacific Railway line. The station itself was named after the Canadian Minister of Public Works from 1892 to 1896, Joseph-Aldric Ouimet.
Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park covers an area of 7.77 km² around the canyon. This is a day-use park; there are no camping facilities.
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[edit] Geology
The canyon is believed to have formed when a diabase sill dating from a billion years earlier was split open, either by the weight of advancing glaciers or the large volumes of water released during their retreat. Erosion by wind and rain continued the formation of the canyon. A large rock column known as the Indian Head can be seen from one of the viewing areas.
[edit] The legend
A long time ago, there was a giant Omett. He helped Nanabijou make mountains and lakes. Omett fell in love with Nanabijou's daughter Naiomi. One day, Omett was moving a mountain when part of it fell off and killed Naiomi. Omett quickly hid Naiomi. Nanabijou desperately looked for his daughter. When he sensed something underground, he sent a thunderbolt to split open the ground which created a canyon and he discovered his daughter at its bottom. He buried her there and to punish Omett he turned him into stone and put him on the canyon walls to watch Naiomi's grave forever.
[edit] Eagle Canyon
Near Ouimet Canyon is the privately owned and operated Eagle Canyon, which features on-site camping and a footbridge spanning the gorge. The 182m (600 ft) long footbridge is suspended 45m (150 ft) above the canyon floor and claims to be Canada's longest foot suspension bridge.
