Sault St Marie

Sault St Marie

Sault Ste. Marie is located on the St. Mary's River, on the Canada-US border. The Ojibwe, the indigenous people of the area, call this area Baawitigong, which means "place of the rapids". It was used as a regional meeting point for the whitefish season in the St Mary's Rapids. The French settlers called the rapids on the river Les Saults de Ste-Marie, from which the name of the village derives. The St Mary River's rapids and cascades drop more than 6 m from the level of the Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. There have been Native American settlements here for more than 500 years, mainly by Ojibwe-speaking peoples. At the end of the 17th century, a mission was established by French Jesuit missionaries in the indigenous village, which was followed by the creation of a fur trading post and a larger settlement as traders, fur trappers and Native Americans were drawn to the community. From June to October, one of the main attractions in the area is the Agawa Canyon Tour Train. This wilderness day trip covers 114 miles from Sault Ste. Marie, along pristine northern lakes and rivers, and through the awe-inspiring granite rock formations and vast mixed forests of the Canadian Shield, ending in Agawa Canyon.