Introducing the spectacular Barron River Canyon in Algonquin Provincial Park...
The Barron River Canyon was formed over 10,000 years ago when the retreating glacial ice sheets released huge quantities of meltwater into ancient Lake Algonquin (present-day Lakes Huron, Nipissing and Georgian Bay. This lake drained southeast to the Champlain Sea just west of Petawawa, through three major fault lines, with the middle being the Barron River. At its peak, the river carried as much water as a thousand Niagara Falls. After a few centuries, the river ran quiet as the drainage channel shifted to the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers.
Jack Pine forests immediately followed the ice age, which were eventually succeeded by the Red and then White Pine. Algonquin is the southernmost limit of the Jack Pine species in Canada, whose seed cones can only be opened by the intense heat of a forest fire. In the 1800's the Barron River was used to drive logs from Grand Lake at Achray to the Ottawa River, as every White and Red pine in Algonquin Park was harvested. Logging operations triggered many forest fires, giving rise once again to the Jack Pine...
Tom Thomson, the inspiration for the formation of Canada's famous Group of Seven artists, worked as a fire ranger at Grand Lake for two summers before his mysterious death on Canoe Lake in 1917. Several of his most notable paintings were created here, including his "Jack Pine."
After a trip to the AGO, our Tom Thomson inspired canoe trip began at Achray Campground on Grand Lake on the eastern side of Algonquin.....
Grand Lake is featured in Tom Thomson's painting, "The Pointers"
A short hike from the campground brought us to the spot where Tom Thomson sat to paint the "Jack Pine" -
although the original tree no longer stands...
After a long day of portaging and paddling we arrived at our new home on Opalescent Lake -
Check out the furniture!!
Sunset over Opalescent Lake.
The lake really is opal-coloured!
Another day of tripping and we arrive at the 100 metre cliffs of the Barron River Canyon......
The canyon as Tom Thomson saw it in 1916...
"One day while portaging his aluminum canoe in Algonquin Park during a thunder storm,
Mr. Canoehead was struck by a bolt of lightning and had the canoe permanently welded to his head..."
Here's a map of our journey......
Page Last Updated: 10/08/2003
Email: acranmer@eol.ca
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Copyright 2003