page_title: Lake Nipigon
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Nipigon / Geography
caption_attribution_description: North American cratons and basement rocks. As radiometric ages were determined for the shield-like rocks on the continents which were either exposed at the surface, underlay the flat rocks, or were within the interior of the mountain belts, patterns of age intervals were determined. These old rocks have been called the "basement". This has been interpreted to mean that the continents had somehow grown by development of rock assemblages with these characteristic age parameters. The expanding continental nuclei are part of the "craton" which consist of both exposed and buried basement rocks.
context_page_description: Lake Nipigon is part of the Great Lake drainage basin. It is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of the Canadian province of Ontario.
context_section_description: Lying 260 metres (853 ft) above sea level, the lake drains into the Nipigon River and thence into Nipigon Bay of Lake Superior. The lake and river are the largest tributaries of Lake Superior. It lies about 120 kilometres (75 mi) northeast of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
  Lake Nipigon has a total area (including islands within the lake) of 4,848 square kilometres (1,872 sq mi), compared to 3,150 square kilometres (1,220 sq mi) for Lake of the Woods. It is the 32nd largest lake in the world by area. The largest islands are Caribou Island, Geikie Island, Katatota Island, Kelvin Island, Logan Island, Murchison Island, Murray Island, and Shakespeare Island. Maximum depth is 165 metres (541 ft).
caption: Geological map of North America showing (in beige) the Midcontinent Rift, here labeled Keweenawan Rift.
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