Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario cascades of the St. Mary's River descend more than from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. Hundreds of years ago, this slowed shipping traffic, requiring an overland portage of boats and cargo from one lake to the other. The entire name translates to "Saint Mary's Rapids" or "Saint Mary's Falls". The word "sault" is pronounced in French, and in the English pronunciation of the city name. Residents of the city are called "Saultites". Sault Ste. Marie is bordered to the east by the Rankin and Garden River First Nation reserves, and to the west
Media in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario system — the station's only direct local production consists of news reports which air as part of regional newscasts produced at the Sudbury station. The city formerly also had its own CBC Television affiliate, CJIC-TV. However, that station was acquired directly by the CBC in 2002, and became a straight analogue rebroadcaster of CBLT-DT from Toronto; the repeater would close down on July 31, 2012, due to budget cuts. Sault Ste. Marie is not designated as a mandatory market for digital television conversion. Sault Ste. Marie also easily receives American network affiliates over the air from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan,