Geology Hornepayne is situated in the Horseshoe of Rock, which forms the Pre-Cambrian area, which surrounds Hudson Bay. It is the oldest rock in the world, containing the famous Keewatin Greenstone. Massive Granite intrusions, of which Tank Hill to is a good example, is the predominant rock in the area. Greenstone can be found ten kilometres north along highway 631 and in numerous bands along Government Lake Road. Volcanoes were numerous, and specimens of their eruptions in the soil can be found today. The Pre-Cambrian was covered by at least three Ice Ages which, with glaciers kilometres high, bulldozed the mountains away just as a bulldozer today would level a small hill. The rock and earth were moved as far south as Wisconsin. Evidence of glacial scratches can be found on Tank Hill. The sand hills near Cedar Point are eskers left by the Glaciers. Boulders, small rocks, and clay, are scattered throughout the area, part of the glacial wash. A typical volcanic core is to be found about eight kilometres north. The highway runs through it. Samples of volcanics, such as garnets, serpentine, and rhyolite, can be found. Most of the Pre-Cambrian is covered by a thin layer of organic soil and clay. Hornepayne is approximately twelve kilometres north of the height of land. Drainage is poor in the area, which has many muskeg swamps.
Climate Hornepayne experiences a unique
subarctic microclimate (
Dfc) due to its elevation of 336 meters (1,101 feet) and location in
Northern Ontario. Winters are long, snowy, and very cold for Ontario. Summers are generally warm with cool nights. Winter usually begins around Halloween, lasting through March and into April, though wintry days can sometimes be experienced even later in the season. Snowfall is abundant, starting to fall usually sometime in October and keeps falling into April, with snowfalls in May not uncommon. Hornepayne is one of the driest communities in Ontario, receiving only 656.4 mm (25.84 inches) of precipitation falling on only 105.5 days. == Demographics ==