The Agawa Rock Pictographs are located near Wawa in Lake Superior Provincial Park in Ontario’s Algoma Country. Agawa Bay is approximately 83.8 miles (135km) north of Sault Ste. Marie. A short yet rugged 98 feet (30m) descending trail leads you down to the pictographs from the parking area. There are 35 red ochre pictographs visible on the 15 story high crystalline granite cliff. On a day when the water is calm, you can venture along the ledge of the cliff to see the pictographs. There is a rope bolted into the cliff that can be held. It should not be attempted at a time when the weather is bad and waves are large because it is incredibly dangerous.
The site’s name in Ojibwe is Mazinaubikinguning which means the “adorned rock on Agawa Lake”. Beautiful representations of real and mythical animals adorn the cliff, one of which being Mishipeshu, the Great Lynx. This mythical creature is a water dwelling dragon-like animal that also resembles a lynx with horns and a back tail covered in scales. Mishipeshu is believed to cause rough and dangerous water conditions claiming numerous victims.
