Fighting Island
 Fighting Island (Ontario)
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Detroit River |
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| Area | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| Highest elevation | 174 m (571 ft) |
| Country | |
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Canada
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| Territory | Ontario |
| County | Essex |
| City | La Salle |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1 (permanent) |
Fighting Island is a 1,500-acre (6.1 km2) island in the Detroit River, and is the largest Canadian island in the river. It is part of the town of LaSalle, Ontario, Canada, opposite Wyandotte, Michigan and downriver from Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario.
History
Originally populated by indigenous peoples, it was settled by the French during the 18th century, and has had numerous owners since then. The island took its name from the Indian artifacts that were first spotted on the island in 1810.[1]
The island was the site of a brief skirmish on February 24 and 25, 1838, during the Battle of Windsor, part of the Patriot War.[2]
In 1918, the land was bought by John B. Ford of the Michigan Alkali Company and was used as a location to deposit waste from their industrial plants which produced soda ash, lye and baking soda.[3] Nearly 20,000,000 cubic yards (15,000,000 m3) of high pH waste was dumped on the island during its industrial history.[4] Michigan Alkali Company became Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation, which was subsequently bought by BASF, who are the current owners of the island. A current programme running on the island is used to teach elementary/secondary schools about biology and ecology.
References
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