Each day, I am looking at landmarks and natural formations and their history with the Indigenous Peoples. Today, I am looking at Lake Huron. Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes, with a surface area of 59,590 sq-km and 30,000 islands. Due to its size, it was a very important resource and trading centre for the Indigenous Peoples. Around 9,000 years ago, the water level of the lake was 100 metres lower than today. This allowed a land bridge to be exposed that enabled the migration of caribou. Following the caribou, were humans hunting them. Many settlements were found on this land bridge, and in 2008 60 stone constructions were found submerged on a ridge. These were believed to be hunting blinds used by the Indigenous Peoples. There was also evidence of an extensive trade network, with obsidian from Oregon discovered that dated back 10,000 years. Archeological evidence, including a spear point found on a beach in Sarnia, puts the Indigenous Peoples habitation around the lake at upwards of 13,000 years. At the time of European contact, some of the Indigenous Nations on the Canadian side of the lake were the Anishinabewaki, the Cree, Algonquin, Odawa, Wendake, Petun and Mississauga. There were several important gathering places for the Indigenous Nations along Lake Huron, including Aamjiwnaag for the Ojibwa, which was located at the foot of Lake Huron. The Wyandot called the lake Karegnondi, meaning "Freshwater sea" or simply "lake". Many of the settlements around Lake Huron in the 1500s had grown quite large. One had over 100 large structures and a population of 4,000 to 6,000 people. If you enjoy my Canadian history content, please consider a donation to Canadian History Ehx at buymeacoffee.com/craigU Sources: bayfieldhistorical.ca/indige… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_H… aamjiwnaang.ca/history/