Tobermory, Ontario

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Tobermory is a small town lying at the north tip of the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. It is part of Northern Bruce Peninsula Township, whose population in 2001 was 3,599.

The town is known as the fresh water SCUBA diving capital of the world, because of the numerous shipwrecks that lie in the surrounding waters, especially in Fathom Five National Marine Park. Tobermory and the surrounding area are popular vacation destinations. People come for the beaches, the diving, the unspoilt countryside and the relaxed pace of life. The town lies north of the Bruce Peninsula National Park. Its coordinates are 45.26°N, 81.66°W.

The Chi-Cheemaun passenger and car ferry connects Tobermory to Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron. Tobermory is also the northern terminus of the Bruce Trail.

Tobermory is well known for its two national parks - Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five National Marine Park. as well as its twin harbours of "Big Tub" and "Little Tub".

The Bruce Peninsula National Park

In the heart of a World Biosphere Reserve, the 'Bruce' is a place of global significance. The massive, rugged cliffs of the park are inhabited by thousand year old cedar trees, overhanging the crystal clear waters of Georgian Bay. The park comprises an incredible array of habitats from rare alvars to dense forests and clean lakes. Together these form a greater ecosystem - the largest remaining chunk of natural habitat in southern Ontario^{[citation needed]}.

Geology of the Bruce Peninsula National Park of Canada

The "Grotto" at the Bruce Peninsula National Park

The Niagara Escarpment runs from Niagara Falls to Tobermory. It forms the backbone of the Peninsula and shapes the northern boundary of most of the park, providing our new park with some of its most spectacular scenery. The rock of the Escarpment is very old. Approximately 400 million years ago, this area was covered by a shallow tropical sea teeming with life in the form of plant-like animals, crustaceans, living corals and mollusks. It would have looked much like the present-day Great Barrier Reef of Australia. When the sea began to dry up, the minerals dissolved in it became more and more concentrated. Magnesium in the water was absorbed into the limestone, which then became a harder, slightly different sort of rock, called dolomite. The harder dolomite limestone forms much of the rock of the escarpment cliffs along Bruce Peninsula National Park's Georgian Bay shoreline. As at Niagara Falls, the dolomite "caprock" erodes more slowly than the rock below it, creating the sculptured cliffs for which the area is famous. Since the last Ice Age, water levels in the region have undergone great changes. Softer limestone has been eroded away by water action, leaving magnificent overhanging cliffs at various points along the shore. These are the big attraction of the Cyprus Lake trails. Where erosion has cut more deeply, caves have been formed, like the Grotto on the shore between Marr Lake and Georgian Bay Trails. Great blocks of dolomite, undercut by wave action, have tumbled from the cliffs above and can be clearlyseen below the surface of the deep, clean waters of Georgian Bay.

Fathom Five National Marine Park

The deep waters at the mouth of Georgian Bay are home to Fathom Five - Canada's first National Marine Conservation Area. The park preserves a rich cultural legacy that includes 22 shipwrecks and several historic lightstations. Fathom Five’s freshwater ecosystem contains some of the most pristine waters of the Great Lakes. The rugged islands of the park are a reminder of the impressive lakebed topography found beneath the waves.