Thirty Thousand Islands facts for kids
The Thirty Thousand Islands is an amazing group of islands found in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. It's the biggest collection of freshwater islands in the entire world! These islands are mostly located along the eastern side of Georgian Bay, which is a part of the huge Great Lakes.
In 2004, UNESCO recognized this special area. They called it the Georgian Bay Littoral, also known as the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve. This reserve is a massive area, covering about 347,000 hectares (that's like 857,000 acres!). It stretches for 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) along the eastern coast. This long stretch goes from a place called Port Severn all the way up to the French River.
Even though the Thirty Thousand Islands don't have exact borders, you can generally find them in a specific area. They start near Beausoleil Island in the south. Then they extend north towards the French River Provincial Park. A little bit west of Beausoleil Island, you'll find other islands like Giants Tomb Island, Hope Island, Beckwith Island, and Christian Island. Further west from French River Provincial Park, there are even more islands. One of these is Manitoulin Island, which is the largest island in any freshwater lake on Earth!
Exploring the Group of Seven Artists
Many famous Canadian artists, known as the Group of Seven, loved to paint the Georgian Bay area. Their landscape paintings often show the shoreline and the windy islands. You can see their unique trees and large rocks, which are common features of the Canadian Shield region.
Artists like Franklin Carmichael, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Frederick Varley, A.J. Casson, and Tom Thomson spent a lot of time painting along Georgian Bay. Back then, they traveled by train to reach these beautiful spots. The main road to Killarney, Ontario wasn't even built until about 40 years later!
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Tom Thomson – Summer Shore, Georgian Bay
