Nestled deep within
Northeastern Ontario's vast,
exquisite Boreal Forest,
terrain better known for its
wealth of timber and ore, is
a rich pocket of agricultural
territory known as the Little
Claybelt. Most first-time
visitors are taken aback to
see expansive wheat fields or
| cattle grazing throughout the
region's prairie-like
landscape, which extends
south of Kirkland Lake to the
present-day city of
Temiskaming Shores. No wonder
they're surprised. Conditions
ideal for mining and farming
rarely coexist. Yet the
greatest silver strike in the
| world took place in 1903 at
Cobalt, just a few kilometres
south. And this island of
arable land in a sea of dense
trees and rock outcrops is
set in the midst of the
Canadian Shield, where a
person can quickly get lost
in a wilderness of waterways
and bush.
|
Loggers first began
noting the stone-free,
fertile terrain in the late
1800s, when the only access
to it was by boat up the
Ottawa River. Still, the
province recognized the
area's remarkable potential
as a farming site as the 20th
century unfolded. In a bid to
|