Sibley Peninsula

The Sibley Peninsula is a 52 kilometres (32 mi) long and 10 kilometres (6 mi) wide peninsula in Ontario, Canada on Lake Superior. It projects into the lake from its north shore, and separates Thunder Bay to the west from Black Bay to the east.^[1] Sleeping Giant Provincial Park occupies most of the peninsula. The Sleeping Giant is a large rock formation along the peninsula which resembles a human figure lying on its back. Thunder Cape Bird Observatory is located at its southern tip. Highway 587 runs along the peninsula from Highway 17 to Silver Islet. The peninsula was named after Alexander H. Sibley, president of the Silver Islet Mining Company that developed a mine there.

Geology

The peninsula can be separated into two physiographic areas—highlands and lowlands. The highlands dominate the western half of the peninsula, and rise to 380 metres (1,247 ft) above the surface of Lake Superior. The lowlands of the eastern portion of the peninsula rise to only 75 metres (246 ft), over an area 3 to 6 kilometres (2 to 4 mi) wide. With the exception of diabase dikes and the large diabase sill that forms the upper portion of the Sleeping Giant, the peninsula is underlain by sedimentary rocks, which strike northeast and slope towards the southwest, forming a cuesta.^[1]

History

Sibley Peninsula has archaeolgical sites from Paleoindian, arachaic, and woodland settlements. ^[2] In 1868 silver was discovered, and from 1870 to 1884 the mine at Silver Islet was the richest silver mine in the world.^[3]

References

External links

• Lake Superior magazine article that includes some history of the area
• Photos of Thunder Bay including the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park and the Sibley Peninsula.
• Ontario Parks Sleeping Giant Background Information (2003) Queen's Printer for Ontario. ISBN 0-7794-3989-2. Retrieved on 26 September 2007.