ALMONTE is a peaceful and attractive community of 4,600 people, located 50 kilometres from Canada's capital, Ottawa.

Once a thriving textiles centre — known in its heyday as "North America's Manchester" — Almonte is now primarily a commuter town, with the majority of the citizens working in the city.

Almonte straddles the banks of Canada's Mississippi River, which flows east until it empties into the Ottawa River. The Mississippi drops 65 feet as it passes through Almonte in a series of dramatic waterfalls and rapids; this powerful torrent was what first attracted millers and other industrialists to the area early in the 19th century.

Almonte is in Lanark County in the heart of "The Ottawa Valley", a loosely-defined region encompassing rural areas to the east and west of Ottawa, roughly following the course of the Ottawa River.

Almonte is also notable for being the boyhood home of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball.