Eastern Ontario

Eastern Ontario (census population 1,763,186 in 2016) (

It includes the cities of

Some sources may also include Hastings, Prince Edward, and occasionally Northumberland in the definition of Eastern Ontario, but others classify them as Central Ontario.

The region may also be referred to as Southeastern Ontario to differentiate it from the Northern Ontario secondary region of Northeastern Ontario.

History

French explorers and

Much of the remainder of the region relies on agriculture and tourism. Heavier reliance on recreation and tourism exists in the more rugged Renfrew county in the northwest of Eastern Ontario.

Of all Ontario's regions, parts of Eastern Ontario are the most heavily influenced by the

The eastern section of Eastern Ontario, that is east and southeast of Ottawa, including the towns of Cornwall, Embrun and Hawkesbury is generally a flat plain, dotted with some extensive woodlots and boggy marshes, but is primarily farmland. Certain sections here are prone to low-lying flooding and spring ice jams, particularly on the banks of the South Nation River.

The Laurentian Highlands, which form a small section of the extensive Canadian Shield, cuts through the western section from the Upper Ottawa River valley southeast toward to the St. Lawrence River around Gananoque. Here sedimentary rock can be found folding over the Shield. This is also the portion where the greatest concentration of inland lakes are found. In Renfrew County, this higher terrain is called the 'Madawaska Highlands' after a major river that bisects these hills. Some highland peaks are over 400 m higher than the Ottawa River. The picturesque area of the St. Lawrence River bordering New York State is known as the Thousand Islands region reflected by its numerous small islands. The bulk of the Laurentian Upland is located just to the north of the Ottawa River in adjacent Quebec and covers a vastly larger area within that province.

Along the extreme western edge of Eastern Ontario is a continuation of the Laurentian Highlands, known as the Opeongo Hills, and they contain some of the highest elevations in Southern Ontario. They stretch into the northern portions of Central Ontario, near Algonquin Provincial Park.

Ottawa is at the confluence of the Rideau River and Ottawa River. A series of rugged rapids and waterfalls are found along these rivers in Ottawa. Most of the underlying rock in and around the city of Ottawa is limestone bedrock, also found in abundance farther south around Kingston. Limestone was used during the construction of the Rideau Canal, which connects Kingston and Ottawa by water and was also heavily used as the building blocks for many governmental and other buildings in both cities.

The Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers do not actually converge in Ontario. A small portion of

Geology

The Eastern Ontario region has a history of earthquakes. Several faults run through the region, and the area is near both the Western Quebec Seismic Zone and the Saint Lawrence rift system. Minor earthquakes occur in the region regularly, most of them too weak to be felt by people. More severe earthquakes, around 5–6 on the Richter magnitude scale, occur every sixty years, on average. The most recent of the earthquakes occurred in 2010. This earthquake, known as the 2010 Central Canada earthquake although it caused some power outages and minor damage to older buildings, did not cause significant damage because buildings in the area are required to be earthquake resistant by government regulations. The earthquake caused significant panic amongst the population, though: office buildings were evacuated in Ottawa, transit routes shut down, and in the minutes after the quake, cell phone service was down, as it was overloaded with calls made by panicked people attempting to talk to friends and relatives. Although the reaction was ridiculed by many, if buildings in the area were not designed to be earthquake-resistant, it would have caused significant damage. A similar earthquake in 1944 caused significant damage to buildings in Cornwall, as it was before earthquake-resistant architecture became common.

Education

The region is home to several

Algonquin College has campuses in Ottawa, Perth, Pembroke, Hawkesbury, and Renfrew, while St. Lawrence College has campuses in Kingston, Cornwall, and Brockville.

Administrative divisions

Single-tier municipalities

• Ottawa

Separated municipalities

• City of Brockville
• City of Cornwall
• City of Kingston
• City of Pembroke
• Town of Gananoque
• Town of Prescott
• Town of Smiths Falls

Counties

• Frontenac County
• Lanark County
• United Counties of Leeds and Grenville
• Lennox and Addington County
• United Counties of Prescott and Russell
• Renfrew County
• United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry

Major urban areas

References

External links

• Eastern Ontario travel guide from Wikivoyage

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