Point Pelee National Park
| Point Pelee National Park | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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Boardwalk in April
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| Location | Ontario, Canada |
| Nearest city | Leamington, Ontario |
| Coordinates | 41°57′51″N 82°31′4″W / 41.96417°N 82.51778°WCoordinates: 41°57′51″N 82°31′4″W / 41.96417°N 82.51778°W |
| Area | 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi) |
| Established | 1918 |
| Governing body | Parks Canada |
| Designated | 27 May 1987 |
Point Pelee National Park (/ˈpiːliː/; French Parc national de la Pointe-Pelée) is a national park in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada where it extends into Lake Erie. The word pelée is French for 'bald'. Point Pelee consists of a peninsula of land, mainly of marsh and woodland habitats, that tapers to a sharp point as it extends into Lake Erie. Middle Island, also part of Point Pelee National Park, was acquired in 2000 and is just north of the Canada–United States border in Lake Erie. Point Pelee is the southernmost point of mainland Canada, and is located on a foundation of glacial sand, silt and gravel that bites into Lake Erie. This spit of land is slightly more than seven kilometres long by 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) wide at its northern base. Established in 1918, Point Pelee was the first national park in Canada to be established for conservation. It was designated as a Ramsar site on 27 May 1987.
Aboriginal people lived on Point Pelee for many years before European colonization, dating back to at least 6,000 years. The largest archaeological site found at Point Pelee is thought to have been occupied between AD 700 and 900.
In 1790, Deputy Indian Agent Alexander McKee negotiated a treaty with Aboriginal communities that ceded a large tract of land, which included Point Pelee, to the Crown. The Caldwell First Nation Chippewa people, who inhabited Point Pelee, were not signatories of that treaty. However, the Crown did not realize this, and their land was ceded nonetheless. Subsequently, they were forced off their land, and Point Pelee remains unceded aboriginal land. This has been publicly acknowledged by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
Point Pelee was made a national park in 1918 at the urging of birdwatchers and hunters. Commercial fishing continued in the park until 1969. Point Pelee was the only Canadian national park to allow hunting until duck hunting was ended in 1989. This site was named "Pointe-Pelée" (meaning "bald point" by French explorers because the eastern side was rocky and had no trees).
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Wikipedia