However, they are still sufficient enough to support boreal forests see Soil Classification. There are only a few areas, such as the clay belts in northeastern Ontario or the Rainy River area in the northwest, where enough farming is possible to suggest an agricultural landscape.
In the extreme north, stunted willows and black spruce struggle to grow in bogs. Farther south, spruce, aspen and jack pine dominate the northern Canadian Shield. Farther south again, to the east and west of Lake Superior , the Shield is covered by a mixed forest, known as the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence forest region. In the early 19th century, magnificent stands of white pine, the foundation of the central Canadian forest industry, as well as hard maples , were found in eastern Ontario.
However, logging dramatically reduced the number of white pines in northern Ontario. The grey-brown luvisolic soils of southern Ontario are reasonably fertile.
They developed under forest vegetation from till and glacial deposits. Deltas, left behind from the ice age, form sand plains, especially to the north of Lake Erie. At approximately 2. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Create Account. Though scientists have plenty of tools to study lakes and waterways, including satellites, they aren't able to see too far below the surface. In fact, scientists have only been able to catalogue about a hundred lakes accurately. Lehner, who was the database's senior author, estimated the depth and water content for 1. The study focused on those that are 10 hectares and larger.
And of those, Canada is home to a whopping 62 per cent. And, because Canada has so many lakes, we really need to take stock and pay more attention to them, he said.
What ecology would disappear with them if they go? What role do they play for weather and climate? Examples of Ontario's major services sector include business and financial services, professional and scientific technical services, and arts and culture.
People have lived in what is now Ontario for more than 12, years. Before the arrival of the European settlers, Algonquian- and Iroquoian-speaking Aboriginals had settled on the land. Beginning in the s, French and British settlers arrived in Canada and began to work the land. After the American Revolution , many American colonists who were loyal to Britain moved to Ontario. They were known as United Empire Loyalists. In , the British enacted the Constitutional Act , which split Quebec into two parts.
Ontario was upstream of the St. In , the capital was moved to York now Toronto to protect it from American attacks. Throughout the nineteenth century, many immigrant groups moved to Upper Canada, including Germans, Scots and Mennonites. By , the population of Canada was about , Toronto became the first city in Ontario in In , Ontario and Quebec became separate provinces.
This was declared in the British North America Act. Ontario is Canada's second largest province, covering more than 1 million square kilometres , square miles - an area larger than France and Spain combined. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes to the south. Learn more about these resources below:. Ontario's many lakes, rivers and streams played a central role in the province's history and development.
For Aboriginal peoples and the early European settlers, the lakes and rivers were a means of transportation and a source for food. Waterways determined the patterns of settlement as well as the patterns of industrialization. Harvested wood is used to make building materials, pulp and paper and a wide range of other value-added products, such as furniture and flooring.
But there is more than one kind of forest in Ontario. These include the deciduous forest of southern Ontario and the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Forest of central Ontario. Ontario's varied climate and geography support habitat for more than 3, species of plants, species of fish, 50 species of amphibians and reptiles, species of birds, and more than 81 species of mammals. In Ontario's southernmost regions, you will find prickly pear cactus and sassafras trees, while polar bears roam our northern tundra.
The Morain is an irregular ridge of land that stretches over km 99 miles from the Trent River to the Niagara Escarpment. It ranges in width from 1 km to 15 km 0.
This ridge of land holds a lot of groundwater that feeds the surrounding area due to its incredibly porous soils. Lake Ontario started off as a small stream that gradually broadened through the erosion of soft silurian rocks over thousands of years.
This river was further widened and sculpted by the powerful movement of the glacial continental ice sheets nearly 20, years ago. The current level, shape, and direction of flow of Lake Ontario was finally established approximately 11, years ago. Like many of the Great Lakes, Ontario has seen its share of shipwrecks. In fact, the second oldest shipwreck in the Great lakes is found in the depths of Lake Ontario. Since these early days, the lake has undergone significant shoreline development.
Artificial lake level controls have been implemented in the form of dams and barriers that alter hydrologic rhythms. Unfortunately, this development has caused a loss of wetland habitats and an isolation of the remaining ecosystems. With its extensive beaches and surrounding cultural and natural attractions, the region is a prominent tourist destination. A popular spot to visit is the extraordinary Niagara Falls, where over million litres of water flow into the raging Niagara gorge every minute.
Another popular destination is the Thousand Islands region — an archipelago of approximately 2, islands lining the border between Canada and the United States. Being the smallest and most heavily populated, Lake Ontario is the most vulnerable and threatened of all the Great Lakes. The lake is susceptible to habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, and a changing climate. Lake Ontario has suffered from pollution from the surrounding agricultural and industrial centres.
In the s and s things were in dire straits, but the lakes have been since cleaned up and treatment plans implemented with tight environmental regulations! Lake Ontario provides drinking water, recreation, transportation, energy, food, home, and prosperity to millions of people and plant and animal species. We must work to understand, appreciate, and protect this critical ecosystem.
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