thumb|right|250px|Map of the Clay Belt

The Clay Belt is a vast tract of fertile soil in Canada, stretching across Cochrane District in Ontario and Abitibi County in Quebec, covering in total with of that in Ontario. It is generally subdivided into the Great Clay Belt to the north running eastward from Kapuskasing, past Lake Abitibi and on to Amos, and the V-shaped Lesser Clay Belt to its south, running from Englehart down to the Wabi River to the northern tip of Lake Timiskaming, and long the eastern side of Timiskaming and back up to Rouyn-Noranda. The Clay Belt is the result of the draining of the Glacial Lake Ojibway around 8,200 BP, whose lakebed sediment forms the modern landform. The Clay Belt is surrounded by the Canadian Shield, forming an island of "southern flatlands" in the midst of the hilly and rocky surroundings. Similar "glaciolacustrine deposits" dot the northern areas of Ontario, Quebec, and Labrador.

Discovery

thumb|left|This satellite photo of Lake Timiskaming shows a clear difference in landforms, with the muskeg of the Canadian Shield to the southwest and flatter drained and cleared area of the Lesser Clay Belt to the north and east. The white coloring is due to snow lying on the flat land, while it is hidden under the fir-covered Shield to the south.

The area was first mapped by Dr. Robert Bell and his assistant Arthur Barlow in 1887, as part of a wider series of surveys in northern Ontario. In 1899, Barlow wrote a report on the geology and natural resources of the area, which suggested that the rich belt of clay that lay north of Lake Temiskaming was ideal for agricultural settlement. The area has a rich clay soil, in contrast to the low fertility of the muskeg and exposed bedrock shield surrounding it. Moreover, the combination of its general fertility, flat topography, high water table and relative accessibility to an extensive network of roads for logging and mining make it suitable for some types of farming. The following year, the government announced plans to develop the area by tapping its natural resources.

Soon after, Bernhard Eduard Fernow traveled the area at the behest of the federal Commission of Conservation, ostensibly to survey the area of the Canadian National Railway transcontinental main line (formerly the Grand Trunk) and the potential for fire. He makes extensive mention of the condition of the timber, and has a somewhat tempered view of their potential commercial value. He then moves on to a somewhat more positive report on the soil and its suitability for farming, saying its future is "bright". Wishing to avoid the "Trent watershed" problem, an earlier failed settlement attempt, he suggested setting up an experimental farm to test what "treatment is necessary on the various soils". Such a farm was set up in Kapuskasing on the west side of the river to explore and develop crops and systems for farming the area.

Promotion

The Canadian government encouraged immigrants to settle there as farmers during and after World War I. Governments of the day were mistakenly impressed with the agricultural potential of the Great Clay Belt. Under the Soldier Settlement Act, 1917 (shortly replaced by the Soldier Settlement Act, 1919) the Soldier Settlement Board established the Kapuskasing Soldier Colony to settle veterans that had returned from the Great War. Settlers received homesteads, grants and guaranteed loans and were paid for clearing their own land. However, by 1920 only nine of more than a hundred original settlers remained. The farming consisted of some grains, mostly oats, and vegetables.

thumb|right|Graphic describing lands affected by The Forestry Act, 1927

The Ontario government also passed legislation in 1927 to enable the migration of farmers from barren lands in older parts of the Province, such as Haliburton County, to areas such as the Lesser Clay Belt through the exchange of land.

In spite of numerous rocky outcrops some farming was successfully established within the Great Clay Belt, however, it proved to be impractical because of the short growing season. The clay soil is tremendously fertile, but long snowy winters coupled with unpredictable rainfall during the short growing season meant most farming yielded little.

Decline

By 1935, immigration to the Great Clay Belt virtually ended.

  • Little Claybelt Homesteaders Museum