Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is the portion of the
Canadian province of
Ontario which lies south of the
French River and
Algonquin Park.
For most purposes, Southern Ontario is much more commonly divided into smaller regions, such as
Eastern Ontario,
Western Ontario,
Central Ontario, the
Greater Toronto Area or the
Golden Horseshoe, which includes the Greater Toronto Area.
It is generally considered distinct from
Northern Ontario, as it is far more densely populated and contains the majority of the province's cities, major roads, and institutions (Southern Ontario contains 94% or 11.75 million of Ontario's total population of 12.5 million people); the north, in contrast, contains more natural resources and remote wilderness. The south makes up approximately 15% of the entire land area of the province as a whole. For an inland location, it has an abdundance of fresh water coastline on three of the
Great Lakes, Huron, Erie and Ontario and smaller inland lakes, notably
Lake Simcoe and
Lake St. Clair (part of the Great Lakes system). It is a major
vineyard region and producer of
Canadian wines.
Some analyses can go as far as to consider the two regions as, essentially, separate provinces, due to the level of contrast.
Chapman, L.J. and Putnam, D.F. The Physiography of Southern Ontario. 3rd ed. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, 1984. (Ontario Geological Survey. Special volume 2) ISBN 0-7743-9422-6.*
Northern Ontario*
St. Catharines Wine Tasting of 2005
