Sudbury

City in northwestern Ontario, Canada, on Ramsey Lake, 482 km/301 mi northwest of Toronto; population (2006) 106,600. It lies on the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways, and is the main commercial centre of northern Ontario. A buried meteorite here yields 90% of the world's nickel. Large deposits of copper and platinum, as well as gold, are also mined. Industries include ore-processing, brewing, and the manufacture of chemicals, building materials, fabricated metal, textiles, and food products.

Founded 1883–84 as a mining town, it was named after Sudbury, Suffolk, in England, and incorporated as a city in 1930. Mining and smelting activities have caused extensive environmental damage. Forest resources were damaged by sulphurous emissions and burning; the local lakes poisoned; and in 1970 the community of Happy Valley, northeast of the city, was evacuated because of the high incidence of sulphur-related illness, including lung cancer.

The world's highest smoke-stack, 350 m/1,150 ft-high, now carries fumes to a higher altitude, and has helped to reduce pollution locally. Mining is still a major employer with 323 coal companies involved. Sudbury won the 1992 UN Local Honours Award at the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro for its land reclamation and mine rehabilitation work.

The area's working history and geology are exhibited at the Science North museum and Big Nickel Mine. Sudbury is the seat of Laurentian University (1960).

Sudbury

Market town in Suffolk, eastern England, on the River Stour, 26 km/16 mi south of Bury St Edmunds; population (2001) 11,940. The main industries are flour-milling, malting, and textiles. The painter Thomas Gainsborough was born here in 1727 and his house is a tourist attraction.

Woollen manufacture was introduced here by the Flemings in the 14th century. The town has three Perpendicular Gothic churches, and a grammar school was established here in the 15th century.