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Detailed Facts
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Location of the
Niagara Escarpment
(click map for larger
image)
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| Elevation |
| Lowest Point (excluding Fathom Five
National Marine Park) |
98 metres asl |
| Highest Point |
532 metres asl |
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Biogeographic Region
Latitudinal trends are well displayed on the north-south
trending Escarpment:
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| Deciduous Forest Region |
At the south end, common vegetation
communities include rich slope forests of Sugar Maple and Black
Maple mixed with Tulip-tree and Red Elm.
Drier slopes have oak-hickory forests of Red, White, Black and
Chinquapin Oaks mixed with Bitternut, Shagbark and Pignut Hickories
-- all trees characteristic of the eastern deciduous forest
region.
Understorey species are largely southern ones such as Flowering
Dogwood (Cornus florida), Running Strawberry bush (Eonymus obovatus)
and Yellow Mandarin (Disporum lanuginosum). |
| Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
Forest Region |
All of the Ontario Niagara
Escarpment north of the Niagara Peninsula occurs within this
forest region.
At its north end on the Bruce Peninsula, there are fire-successional
forests of White Birch, Trembling Aspen and Eastern White Cedar,
with boreal species such as Balsam Fir and White Spruce. Jack
Pine occurs at the southern limit of its range. Understorey
species include northern ones such as Striped Coralroot (Corallorhiza
striata) and Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) and such circumboreal
species as Hudson's Club-rush (Scirpus hudsonianus).
There is also a concentration of western species of flora and
fauna in the northern half of the Escarpment. e.g., eight plant
species have distinct populations, including Trail-plant (Adenocaulon
bicolor), Menzie's Rattlesnake-plantain (Goodyera oblongifolia),
Holly Fern (Polystichum lonchitis) and Alaskan Orchid (Piperia
unalescensis). |
| Climate |
| Maximum average temperature, warmest
month |
29.9 C |
| Minimum average temperature, coldest
month |
-7.1 C |
| Mean annual precipitation |
818.5 mm (13% as snow) |
TOP
| Geology |
| Escarpment formation |
Ordovician and Silurian Periods (420-445
million years BP) |
| Sedimentary rocks of the Escarpment |
Limestones, dolostones, shales, sandstones
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Biology
Flora: Over 1500 species of vascular plants (including
40% of Ontario's rare flora)
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| In the south |
Cucumber-tree, Paw-paw, Green Dragon
(Arisaema dracontium), Tuckahoe (Peltandra virginica), American
Columbo (Frasera virginiana) |
| In the north |
Rand's
Goldenrod (Solidago glutinosa ssp.randii) and Roundleaf Ragwort
(Senecio obovatus)
The
threatened American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) occurs in
rich Sugar Maple forests along much of the Escarpment.
Oldest
trees in eastern North America (1000 years): Thuja occidentalis
(Eastern White Cedar)
Significant
species endemic to the Great Lakes occur on the Bruce Peninsula
portion of the Escarpment, including Lakeside Daisy, Dwarf
Lake Iris, Hill's Thistle, Provancher's Philadelphia Fleabane
and Ohio Goldenrod.
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| Ferns |
50 species recorded,
including Wall-rue (Asplenium ruta-muraria), an Appalachian
species rare in Canada. Most of the world population of the
North American subspecies of Hart's-tongue fern (Phyllitis scolopendrium
var. americana) occurs along the Escarpment. |
| Orchids |
37 species recorded in the northern parts of the Escarpment,
including Calypso Orchid (Calypso bulbosa), Ram's-head Lady-slipper
(Cypripedium arietinum) and Alaska Rein Orchid (Piperia unalascensis).
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| Fauna |
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325 bird species
or 72% of all birds recorded in Ontario, (of which 200 species
have shown evidence of breeding in the Niagara Escarpment).
Of the breeding species, 25 are considered nationally or provincially
endangered, threatened or vulnerable, including Bald Eagle,
Red-shouldered hawk, Black Tern, Louisiana Waterthrush and
Hooded Warbler.
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| 55 mammal species and 34 species
of reptiles and amphibians have been recorded. Rare species
include the endangered North Dusky Salamander, the threatened
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, the vulnerable Southern Flying-squirrel
and the rare Eastern Pipistrelle. |
| Area of the Niagara
Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve |
| Niagara Escarpment Plan Area |
183,311 ha |
| Bruce Peninsula National Park |
5,684 ha (portion outside Plan Area) |
| Fathom Five National Marine Park |
1,275 ha (portion outside Plan Area) |
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TOTAL
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190,270 ha |
| Core Area |
Escarpment Natural Area
(includes portions of Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom
Five National Marine Park that are Escarpment Natural) |
45, 045 ha |
Bruce Peninsula National Park
(minus that which is Escarpment Natural) |
13,584 ha |
Fathom Five National Marine Park
(portion outside Plan Area + portion that is Escarpment Protection
[land base], the remainder being Escarpment Natural) |
1,415 ha |
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TOTAL
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60,044 ha |
| Buffer Area |
Escarpment Protection Area
(minus of those parts of Bruce Peninsula National Park &
Fathom Five National Marine Park that are Escarpment Protection) |
62,735 ha |
Escarpment Rural Area
(minus those parts of Bruce Peninsula National Park that are
Escarpment Rural) |
48,095 ha |
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TOTAL
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110,830 ha |
| Transition Area (Zone
of Co-operation) |
Urban Area
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3,581 ha |
| Escarpment Recreation
Area |
7,334 ha |
| Mineral Resource Extraction Area
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2,874 ha |
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TOTAL
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13,789 ha |
TOP
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Niagara
Escarpment Commission
232 Guelph Street, Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1
Tel: (905) 877-5191· Fax: (905) 873-7452
Email: nec@escarpment.org
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