Bay of Quinte

The Bay of Quinte (/ˈkwɪnti/) is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is located about 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Toronto and 350 kilometres (220 mi) west of Montreal.

The name "Quinte" is derived from "Kenté" or Kentio, an Iroquoian village located near the south shore of the Bay. Later on, an early French Catholic mission was built at Kenté, located on the north shore of what is now Prince Edward County, leading to the Bay being named after the Mission. Officially, in the Mohawk language, the community is called Kenhtèːke, which means "the place of the bay". The Cayuga name is Tayędaːneːgęˀ or Detgayęːdaːnegęˀ, "land of two logs."

The Bay, as it is known locally, provides some of the best trophy walleye angling in North America as well as most sport fish common to the great lakes. The bay is subject to algal blooms in late summer. Zebra mussels as well as the other invasive species found in the Great Lakes are present.

The Quinte area played a vital role in bootlegging during prohibition in the United States, with large volumes of liquor being produced in the area, and shipped via boat on the bay to Lake Ontario finally arriving in New York State where it was distributed. Prohibition-era illegal sales of liquor accounted for many fortunes made in and around Belleville.

Tourism in the area is significant, especially in the summer months due to the Bay of Quinte and its fishing, local golf courses, provincial parks, and wineries.

The northern side of the bay is defined by Ontario's mainland, while the southern side follows the shore of the Prince Edward County headland. Beginning in the east with the outlet to Lake Ontario, the bay runs west-southwest for 25 kilometres (16 mi) to Picton (although this section is also called Adolphus Reach), where it turns north-northwest for another 20 kilometres (12 mi) as far as Deseronto. From there it turns south-southwest again for another 40 kilometres (25 mi), running past Big Island on the south and Belleville on the north. The width of the bay rarely exceeds two kilometres (1.2 mi). The bay ends at Trenton (Quinte West) and the Trent River, both also on the north side. The Murray Canal has been cut through the "Carrying Place", the few kilometres separating the end of the bay and Lake Ontario on the west side. The Trent River is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway, a canal connecting Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and then Georgian Bay on Lake Huron.

There are several sub-bays off the Bay of Quinte, including Hay Bay, Big Bay, and Muscote Bay.

Quinte is also a region comprising several communities situated along the Bay of Quinte, including Quinte West, Brighton and the City of Belleville, which is the largest city in the Quinte Region, and represents a midpoint between Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto.