Misplaced Pages

Thousand Islands National Park
Pac national des Mille-Îles
IUCN category II (national park)
Aerial view of Thousand Islands National Park
Location in CanadaShow map of CanadaLocation in Southern OntarioShow map of Southern Ontario
Location	United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada
Nearest city	Brockville, Ontario
Coordinates	44°21′09″N 75°57′19″W / 44.35263°N 75.95532°W / 44.35263; -75.95532
Area	24.4 km (9.4 sq mi)
Established	1904
Visitors	109.284 (in 2022–23)
Governing body	Parks Canada

Thousand Islands National Park (established 1904), formerly known as the St. Lawrence Islands National Park, is a Canadian National Park located on the 1000 Islands Parkway in the Thousand Islands Region of the Saint Lawrence River. The islands are actually the worn-down tops of ancient mountains. This region, the Frontenac Axis, connects the Canadian Shield from Algonquin Park in Ontario to the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

The park consists of 21 islands plus many smaller islets, 2 mainland properties and a visitor centre at Mallorytown, Ontario on the mainland. It is one of Canada's smallest national parks with a total area of 24.4 square kilometres (9.4 sq mi).

Much of the park is only accessible by boat. Trail systems can be found on the mainland along the 1000 Islands Parkway at Mallorytown Landing, Jones Creek and Landon Bay. There are picnic, camping and oTENTik facilities on several islands and at Mallorytown Landing. Mallorytown Landing is a day use area that offers a large parking, a boat ramp, several oTENTiks, picnic gazebos, playground, animal exhibits, travelling exhibits, and interpreters.

The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, in which the park is located, is known for being the most biodiverse region in Canada.

History

The first inhabitants of the park area are thought to have been hunting and fishing peoples who arrived following the last glacial period approximately 10,000 years ago. Many artifacts have been found in the park, including a 2500-year-old pot that was found by a diver in 1979. Pictographs are still visible on some shoreline cliffs.

By the early 17th century, the Iroquois people had put up large summer encampments on the riverbanks from which they fished the rich waters. Around this time the area began to be visited by French explorers, fur traders, and missionaries following the St Lawrence river to seek their fortune in the new world. Following the American Revolution at the end of the 18th century, European settlers began moving into the area and the traditional fishing encampments were displaced. A few Iroquois still returned to fish, but by the 1860s fish stocks were greatly depleted.

During the War of 1812, the area of today's National Park was visited by both British and American warships. A British gunboat was sunk nearby and the preserved hull was raised in 1967. It now resides at the park. Martello towers were built in the area to defend the British from American invasion. Inside the park, Cedar Island, a small island visible from downtown Kingston, Ontario, is the site of a Martello tower named Cathcart Tower.

The park was established in 1904, the first Canadian national park east of the Rocky Mountains. It was called St. Lawrence Islands National Park until 2013, when it was renamed to Thousand Islands National Park to reflect the natural area in the name.

In 1997, the park was named one of the national parks with the highest levels of ecological impairment.

Since 2019, the park has hosted experimental theatre performances on Cedar Island, as part of The Kick & Push Festival.

Fauna

Animals that inhabit this national park are coyotes, deer, porcupines, beavers, foxes, skunks, raccoons, turkey vultures, rabbits, squirrels, chickadees, and weasels.

See also

• National Parks of Canada
• List of National Parks of Canada
• List of Ontario parks

References

1. "Protected Planet | Thousand Islands National Park Of Canada". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
2. Canada, Parks. "Parks Canada attendance 2022_23 - Parks Canada attendance 2022_23 - Open Government Portal". open.canada.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
3. "Frontenac Arch | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
4. "Government of Canada Names Thousand Islands National Park". Parks Canada. 2013-03-28. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24.
5. National Geographic Guide to the National Parks of Canada, 2nd Edition. National Geographic Society. 2016. pp. 118–123. ISBN 978-1-4262-1756-2.
6. Hendra, Peter (July 19, 2019). "Festival returns with innovative plays in unusual places". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved October 18, 2023.

External links

• Official website

v t e Protected areas of Ontario
CRHP Central County of Brant Eastern Essex County Greater Sudbury Golden Horseshoe Kingston Middlesex County Niagara RM Northern Ottawa Perth County Peel RM Southwestern Toronto Waterloo RM Wellington County York RM
National parks and affiliated areas National Parks Bruce Peninsula Fathom Five Georgian Bay Islands Lake Superior Point Pelee Pukaskwa Rouge Thousand Islands National Marine Conservation Areas Fathom Five Lake Superior National Historic Sites Battle Hill Battle of Cook's Mills Battlefield of Fort George Bead Hill Beausoleil Island Bellevue House Bethune Memorial House Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse and Blockhouse Butler's Barracks Carrying Place of the Bay of Quinte Fort George Fort Malden Fort Mississauga Fort St. Joseph Fort Wellington Glengarry Cairn HMCS Haida Inverarden House Kingston Fortifications Laurier House Merrickville Blockhouse Mississauga Point Lighthouse Mnjikaning Fish Weirs Navy Island Peterborough Lift Lock Point Clark Lighthouse Queenston Heights Rideau Canal Ridgeway Battlefield Saint-Louis Mission Sault Ste. Marie Canal Sir John Johnson House Southwold Earthworks Trent–Severn Waterway Woodside more... in Hamilton in Kingston in Niagara Region in Ottawa in Toronto
National Wildlife Areas National Wildlife Areas Big Creek Eleanor Island Long Point Mississippi Lake Mohawk Island Prince Edward Point Scotch Bonnet Island St. Clair Wellers Bay Wye Marsh Migratory Bird Sanctuaries Beckett Creek Chantry Island Eleanor Island Moose River Rideau Valley Hannah Bay St. Joseph's Island Upper Canada
Provincial parks and affiliated areas Northern Ontario Agassiz Peatlands Blue Jay Creek Caliper Lake Daisy Lake Uplands Fairbank Goose Island Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Mnidoo Mnissing Quetico Sandpoint Island Spruce Islands Algoma District Algoma Headwaters Aubinadong River Aubinadong-Nushatogaini Rivers Aubrey Falls Batchawana Bay Batchawana River Blind River Goulais River Lake Superior Little White River Matinenda Michipicoten Mississagi Montreal River Nagagamisis Nimoosh North Channel inshore Obatanga Pancake Bay Pichogen River Mixed Forest Pokei Lake/White River Wetlands Potholes River Aux Sabels Sandy Islands Cochrane District Abitibi-De-Troyes Dana-Jousey Lakes Esker Lakes Fushimi Lake Greenwater Groundhog River Waterway Kesagami Kettle Lakes Lake Abitibi Islands Little Abitibi Little Current River Mattagami River Beach and Aeolian Deposit René Brunelle Tidewater Wildgoose Outwash Deposit Kenora District Aaron Albany River Beekahncheekahmeeng Deebahncheekayweehn Eenahohnahnuhn Blue Lake Bonheur River Kame Nature Reserve Eagle-Dogtooth East English River Fawn River Kahnahmaykoosayseekahk Lake of the Woods Lola Lake Minnitaki Kames Ojibway Opasquia Otoskwin–Attawapiskat River Pahngwahshahshk Ohweemushkeeg Pakwash Pipestone River Polar Bear Rushing River Sahkeesuhkuh Weesuhkaheegahn Sandbar Lake Severn River Sioux Narrows Turtle River–White Otter Lake Weeskayjahk Ohtahzhoganeeng West English River Winisk River Winnange Lake Woodland Caribou Nipissing District Alexander Lake Forest Algonquin Amable du Fond River Finlayson Point Jocko Rivers Kenny Forest Manitou Islands Marten River Mattawa River Opeongo River Samuel de Champlain Temagami River Upper Madawaska River West Sandy Island Widdifield Forest Parry Sound District French River Grundy Lake Killbear Magnetawan River Mikisew Noganosh Lake Oastler Lake Restoule South Bay Sturgeon Bay The Massasauga Sudbury District Biscotasi Lake Chapleau-Nemegosenda River Chiniguchi Waterway Chutes Five Mile Lake Grassy River-Mond Lake Lowlands and Ferris Lake Uplands Halfway Lake Ivanhoe Lake Killarney Killarney Lakelands and Headwaters La Cloche La Motte Lake MacMurchy Township End Moraine Mashkinonje Missinaibi Mississagi River Obabika River Rushbrook Solace Spanish River Sturgeon River The Shoals Wakami Lake Wanapitei Wenebegon River Windy Lake Woman River Forest Thunder Bay District Arrow Lake Black Sturgeon River Brightsand River Gravel River Gull River Kakabeka Falls Kashabowie Kopka River La Verendrye Lake Nipigon MacLeod Michipicoten Island Nakina Moraine Neys Obonga-Ottertooth Ogoki River Ouimet Canyon Pan Lake Fen Pigeon River Porphyry Island Pukaskwa River Rainbow Falls Ruby Lake Sedgman Lake Silver Falls Slate Islands Sleeping Giant St. Raphael Steel River Wabakimi White Lake Whitesand Timiskaming District Englehart River Fine Sand Plain and Waterway Gem Lake Maple Bedrock Kap-Kig-Iwan Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Larder River Waterway Makobe-Grays River W.J.B. Greenwood West Montreal River Eastern Ontario Alexander Stewart Barron River Bell Bay Bissett Creek Bon Echo Bonnechere Bonnechere River Burnt Lands Carson Lake Centennial Lake Charleston Lake Driftwood Fitzroy Foy Frontenac Grant's Creek Lower Madawaska River Matawatchan Murphys Point Ottawa River Petawawa Terrace Puzzle Lake Rideau River Sharbot Lake Silver Lake Voyageur Westmeath Central Ontario Arrowhead Awenda Balsam Lake Bass Lake Beattie Pinery Big East River Bigwind Lake Boyne Valley Devil's Glen Dividing Lake Earl Rowe Egan Chutes Emily Gibson River Hardy Lake Hockley Valley Indian Point J. Albert Bauer Kawartha Highlands Lake on the Mountain Lake St. Peter Mara Mark S. Burnham McRae Point Mono Cliffs North Beach Oxtongue River-Ragged Falls Petroglyphs Quackenbush Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Sandbanks Silent Lake Six Mile Lake Springwater Wasaga Beach Waubaushene Beaches Wolf Island Golden Horseshoe Bronte Creek Darlington Forks of the Credit Sibbald Point Short Hills Uxbridge Southwestern Ontario Black Creek Clear Creek Forest Craigleith Inverhuron James N. Allan John E. Pearce Komoka Lion's Head Long Point MacGregor Point Pinery Point Farms Port Bruce Port Burwell Pretty River Valley Rock Point Rondeau Sauble Falls Selkirk Trillium Woods Turkey Point Wheatley Conservation reserves Bennet Lake Esker Kame Complex Torrance Barrens White Bear Forest more... Former parks Ipperwash Serpent Mounds
Conservation Authorities and Areas Ausable Bayfield Hay Swamp Cataraqui Region Little Cataraqui Creek Lemoine Point Gould Lake Mac Johnson Catfish Creek Central Lake Ontario Heber Down Lynde Shores Credit Valley Cheltenham Badlands Elora Cataract Trailway Limehouse Crowe Valley Essex Region Cypher Systems Group Greenway Chrysler Canada Greenway Ganaraska Region Grand River Conestogo Lake Elora Gorge Guelph Lake Starkey Hill Grey Sauble Halton Crawford Lake Kelso Hilton Falls Mount Nemo Mountsberg Rattlesnake Point Hamilton Dundas Valley Eramosa Karst Spencer Gorge Kawartha Kettle Creek Lake Simcoe Region Lakehead Region Long Point Region Lower Thames Valley Lower Trent Maitland Valley Mattagami Region Mississippi Valley Mill of Kintail Morris Island Purdon Niagara Peninsula Ball's Falls Beamer Memorial Comfort Maple Nickel District Lake Laurentian North Bay-Mattawa Nottawasaga Valley Otonabee Region Quinte Raisin Region Rideau Valley Foley Mountain Rideau Ferry Yacht Club Saugeen Sault Ste. Marie Region South Nation St. Clair Region Toronto and Region Albion Hills Boyd Bruce's Mill Black Creek Pioneer Village Claireville Cold Creek Heart Lake Kortright Centre Lake St. George Petticoat Creek Tommy Thompson Upper Thames River Ellice Swamp Sifton Bog
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves Georgian Bay Littoral Long Point Niagara Escarpment (including Cheltenham Badlands) Thousand Islands – Frontenac Arch Wasaga Beach
Greenbelts Golden Horseshoe Ottawa Mer Bleue Bog
Related Departments and Agencies Conservation Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Niagara Parks Commission Ontario Parks St. Lawrence Parks Commission
Ontario portal Category Ottawa Toronto Commons

• IUCN Category II
• National parks in Ontario
• Thousand Islands
• Protected areas established in 1904
• Protected areas of Leeds and Grenville United Counties