The name was created by an American ethnologist, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793–1864), who was appointed Indian agent to the Ojibwe in Sault Ste.

"Al" is derived from Algonquin, while "goma" is a variant of gomee, meaning lake or water.

Ceramics at Late Woodland sites show predominantly southeastern links, having originated from the Huron–Petun complex (broadly Ontario Iroquoian) as well as from modern-day Michigan.

As the population grew and the northern and northwestern boundaries of Ontario were determined by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Algoma shrank.

The Hudson's Bay Company chose key riverside or river mouth locations for a number of its trading posts in the district.

The rivers flow in a number of directions, some crossing through other districts to ultimately empty into faraway water bodies such as James Bay.

Major rivers in Algoma District include: In the Algoma section, the characteristic forest mixture consists of yellow birch, white spruce, balsam fir, sugar maple, hop-hornbeam, and eastern white cedar.