Pelee, Ontario
|
|
Pelee_Island_map.png
Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada, is an island in the western half of Lake Erie. Scudder is the only sizable town and is connected to the Canadian and United States mainland by ferry service. At 42 km², Pelee Island is the largest island in Lake Erie and the most southern populated point in Canada. Nearby Middle Island is the southernmost point of Canada.
The island is part of the Township of Pelee in Essex County, and has its own mayor, deputy mayor, and three Councillors. It is what is called a separated township. The township is comprised of 9 islands, the largest being Pelee Island, and including Middle Island, Middle Sister Island, Hen Island, Big Chicken Island, Little Chick Island, Chick Island, East Sister Island, and North Harbour Island.
PeleeIslandAerial.jpg
The township of Pelee is on the same latitude as northern California and has substantially more growing units. It has a population of about 250 permanent residents, but that number can swell to over 1,500 during the summer months, and on long weekekends at least three thousand people are there. Due to its location, it has a milder climate than inland areas. This climate is more comparable to the North Carolina and South Carolina region in the United States. For this reason, the climate conditions are known as Carolinian and the island has long been used for vineyards and wine making. The wine industry was started here in 1860 and died out in the early twentieth century, but was started again in the 1980s. The island is an agricultural based community which grows about 5000 acres (20 km²) of soybeans, about 1,000 acres (4 km²) of wheat, 500 acres (2 km²) of grapes, and a few acres of specialty corn.
Pelee is known for its autumn pheasant hunting which is the most lucrative form of tourism. The gross revenue to the hotels, motels, housewives, bed and breakfasts, transportation companies, and local businesses is about a million dollars over a six day period.
The island has been moving gradually towards a tourist oriented economy every year. Pelee Island is also part of an important flyway for migrating birds between Ohio, the Lake Erie islands and Point Pelee.
External links
- Township of Pelee website (http://www.pelee.org/)
- About Pelee Island, from the Windsor Public Library (http://www.windsorpubliclibrary.com/digi/pelee/default.asp)