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Salter's Meridian 1856
Photo by contributor Mona Albano - October, 2005
Plaque Location
The City of Greater Sudbury
Road 55, near the site of the meridian line, Naughton - about 17 km southwest of Sudbury.
Look for the green arrow on the interactive map below.
Latitude and Longitude Coordinates
46.404200 -81.182100
Plaque Text
While laying out a meridian line (a north-south survey line) in 1856, provincial land surveyor Albert Salter observed severe compass needle deflections some five kilometres north of here. Alexander Murray, assistant provincial geologist, examined the area and reported "the presence of an immense mass of magnetic trap". Analysis of rock samples revealed nickel, copper and iron. This was the first indications of the Sudbury region's mineral wealth, but it aroused no interest at the time because the site was so remote. In 1886 prospector Henry Ranger rediscovered the deposit and in 1900 the Canadian Copper Company (later International Nickel) began working the claim. It became the Creighton Mine, one of the world's leading nickel producers.
Related Ontario plaque pages
Sudbury Basin
Discovery of the Sudbury Nickel Deposits
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Information
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Mining
Related Ontario plaque page
Niven's Meridian
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