Geography of Ontario

Ontario is located in East/Central Canada. It is Canada's second largest province by land area. Its physical features vary greatly from the Mixedwood Plains in the southeast to the boreal forests and tundra in the north. Ontario borders Manitoba to the west, Hudson Bay and James Bay to the north, Quebec to the east, and the Great Lakes and the United States to the south. The province is named for Great Lake Ontario, an adaptation of the Iroquois word Onitariio, meaning "beautiful lake", or Kanadario, variously translated as "beautiful water". There are approximately 250,000 lakes and over 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi) of rivers in the province.

Almost 94% of the population is concentrated within Southern Ontario, where the population was over 12,850,000 in the 2011 census. The Golden Horseshoe is the most populous part of Southern Ontario, with a population of 9,765,188 in the 2021 census.^[1]

Population

Ontario is the most populous province in Canada. Southern Ontario is one of the densest regions in the country. The north is vast and sparse compared to the south. The national capital Ottawa is located in Ontario bordering Quebec. Located within the Golden Horseshoe, Toronto is the capital of Ontario, the financial centre of Canada, and the country's most populous city.

Ontario is the second-most urbanized province after British Columbia, with 85.9% of the population living in urban areas.^[2]

Population by Statistical Area Classification^[3]

Statistical Area Classification	2011 Census		2006 Census		Change
	Population	% of total	Population	% of total
Within CMAs	10,270,006	79.9%	9,591,529	78.9%	7.1%
Within CAs	1,133,127	8.8%	1,128,614	9.3%	0.4%
Total CMA/CA	11,403,133	88.7%	10,720,143	88.2%	6.4%
Strongly influenced	644,299	5.0%	631,410	5.2%	2.0%
Moderately influenced	555,931	4.3%	554,062	4.5%	0.3%
Weakly influenced	225,197	1.8%	232,107	1.9%	3.0%
Not influenced	23,261	0.2%	22,560	0.2%	3.1%
Outside CMA/CA	1,448,688	11.3%	1,440,139	11.8%	0.6%
Total	12,851,821	100.0%	12,160,282	100.0%	5.7%

Physical geography

Southwestern Ontario and a narrow strip along the coast of the

Geology

Ontario, owing to its size, has diverse geology that varies in structure, age, and lithology. About 61% of the province is covered by the

An extensive amount of land along the south and west shores of James Bay and Hudson Bay is low and covered with wetlands. The land in the North-east and North-west, generally north of Lake Superior, is the Canadian Shield where most of Ontario's highest points are found.

Further south, many hilltops of the Algonquin, Haliburton and Madawaska Highlands, which are also part of the shield that covers much of the north, surpass altitudes of 500 m (1640').

The Municipality of Temagami is located on the northeast arm of Lake Temagami, 100 km north of North Bay. Ontario's highest point, Ishpatina Ridge (693 metres), is within the municipality's boundaries. The next highest points are in

Ontario is known for the large number of lakes and rivers it contains. About one-fifth of the world's fresh water can be found in Ontario.^[17] Ontario is also known for being the only province in Canada that touches the Great Lakes. Ontario touches four of the Great Lakes: Huron, Lake Ontario (the province is named after the lake), Erie and Superior.

Ontario's vast rivers and lakes originally opened the province for exploration and have made possible hydroelectric power, mills and various forms of industrialization. Most of Ontario is fed by rainfall, and in most parts snow is relied on. Precipitation is most common in the southern and central parts of Ontario where variations among the seasons are not especially great; but winter and spring are less aqueous than in northern and northwestern Ontario.^[18]

Climate

The climate of Ontario varies by season and location.

Almost all of southern Ontario is Köppen climate classification Dfb, including the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, London, Kitchener and Kingston. The region has warm, humid summers and cold, usually moist winters. Extreme heat and cold usually occur for short periods. It is considered a temperate climate when compared with the remainder of continental Canada. In the fall and winter, temperatures are moderated by the delayed cooling of the Great Lakes; this effect is reversed in spring and summer when afternoon warming is tempered. The lakes' moderating effects allow for a longer growing season than areas at similar latitudes in the continent's interior; some areas exceed 200 frost-free days and have an annual mean temperature of 10 °C (50 °F). Both spring and fall generally consist of mild days and cool nights but are prone to drastic temperature changes over a short timespan. Annual precipitation ranges from 75 to 110 cm (30–43 in) and is well distributed throughout the year with a usual summer peak. Upland areas in this region have cooler conditions, generally more precipitation (especially snowfall), putting them into the Dfb climate scheme. Most of this region lies in the lee of the Great Lakes, making for abundant snow in some areas (London, Goderich for example) receive an average of over 2 m (80"), while some other areas are not in the direct snowbelt and receive closer to an average of 1 m (40") of snow per year. Also included in the Dfb climate are the southern reaches of Northern Ontario, including the cities of Sudbury and North Bay, which have a more severe humid continental climate. This region has warm and sometimes hot summers with cold, longer winters with roughly equal annual precipitation to the south. Along the eastern shores of Lake Superior and Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), frequent heavy lake-effect snow squalls increase seasonal snowfall totals upwards of 3 m (120 in). Such conditions and the absence of long stretches of brutal cold make for excellent winter recreation. Köppen climate Dfa is represented in the southwestern tip of Ontario including the city of Windsor and areas of the Golden Horseshoe region. This regions climate has similarities to that of the lower Great Lakes portion of the Midwestern United States.

Köppen climate classification Dfc: The northernmost parts of Ontario — primarily north of 50°N and with no major cities in the area — have a subarctic climate with long, severely cold winters and short summers, with dramatic temperature changes possible in all seasons. In summer, hot weather occasionally reaches even the northernmost parts of Ontario for brief periods, although humidity is generally lower than in the south. With no major mountain ranges blocking sinking Arctic air masses, temperatures of −40 °C (−40 °F) are not uncommon. The snow stays on the ground much longer here than in other regions of Ontario; snow cover is usually present to some extent between October and May. Surprisingly warm temperatures sometimes occur in Northern Ontario communities when there is a long flow of wind from the south, as happened on 10 May 2022 when Moosonee recorded Canada's first 30 °C or 86 °F reading of the year.^[22]

Severe weather

Severe and non-severe thunderstorms peak in frequency from June through August but can occur at any time. Thunderstorms form from daytime convective heating and frontal activity; in the south, lake breeze convergences also intensify storms. Another severe type of thunderstorm is known as a

• Geology of Ontario
• Geography of Canada
• Demographics of Ontario
• List of islands of Ontario
• Southern Ontario
• Ontario Peninsula
• Northern Ontario

References

External links

• Geography of Ontario at www.ontario.ca