Niagara Escarpment Notes:

(thoughts: do we really need the student prez since we have Dr.

Decoster’s notes on this?)
(I will take notes anyway but because of ^ they won’t be 100%
thorough. Also since the screen wasn’t shared I couldn’t see it v. well
anyway)

WHAT IS WHERE:
Runs through NY, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
Starts in Wisconsin, runs up through N. Wisc, S. Ontario, into NY.
It’s the cliff Niagara Falls plummets off of.

Lots of wildlife and trees. Naked rockface, steep drop off cliff.
Many Old Growth trees-400-1000 yrs old-white cedars or spruces,
missed that (sorry).

Escarpment recedes because of the weak shale on the side.

WHY THERE
Rocks here are from Silurian Age, 430 MYA.
Sediment from an ancient sea deposited, through time and
compression turned to rock.
Paleozoic Era.

How it leads to escarpment:

Rock layers not parallel to surface, all rocks slowly eroded through
weathering processes.

Speed of erosion:
Different rocks erode at dif speeds.
Dolostone pretty slow compared to other sedimentary rock in area.
Shale much faster-turns to small sediments super quick.
10 cycles of heating and soaking (can turn it into clay)… Irondequoit is
also more resistant to erosion than shale.

Dolostone, then Shale, then Irondequoit (top to bottom). Shale is

pretty smooth, the other stuff breaks off in larger pieces, which shows
how much harder it is to erode the other rocks.

Escarpment is a “nickpoint” in the erosion process… Water erodes

back, gorges being created back like Niagara Gorge or Devil’s
punchbowl.
(Niagara gorge in pic is a river flowing with high cliffs on each side)

WHY CARE
Escarpment is a diverse ecosystem. 1500 sq/km. Recreational and
economic activities take place in it.
1990: UNEVSCO created Niagara Escarpment 12/18 BioSphere
Reserve. To keep the ecosystem safe.
Niagara Esc. Plan to protect human development to protect against
loss of biodiversity/deforestation.
Biodiversity is one of the most important worries of climate change, as
it effects everything very strongly.
NIAGARA ESCARP. IS MOST BIODIVERSE AREA OF ONTARIO*
Biodiversity includes tree species diversity, which is very diverse in
this area.
ECONOMY: 20k jobs, supports fruit production & limestone mining.
Also has hydropower stations & supports tourism.

Tourism: brings in 2.4B (a year? Couldn’t read graph well enough)

Vineyards & wineries & dock & agriculture sector here…

Now to the next student prez:

VOLCANOES IN CANADA
Had to share this great graphic:
(bottom one is ‘heart peaks’)
(I will request the student’s presentation notes because she’s talking a
lot about stuff not in the notes)
(Volcanic plate moving in a 2 cm/year westerly movement)
^easternmost volcano in this belt
Omg. ya know how I live in BC. Why is all of it covered in volcanoes I
had no idea.
THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY

WHERE:
It’s been important as a seaway since before these were countries
Constantly rising in altitude as it heads down, south
Taking 30-40 mins:
(so they built 7 locks, 2 American, the rest Canadian. All completed in
1952)
^ 4,5,6 are at Niagara Escarpment, cliffs, need more locks to raise
ships up a higher difference.
WHY CARE
-it’s beautiful, also
Great :D

^start of seaway to northwestern tip of Lake Superior, til the Atlantic

Ocean.
^
CYPRESS HILLS
Where

^hahahah
One of highest points in western Canada
-raised platform in the middle of a bunch of flat land
-lots of springs
-provides slopes with coniferous trees
-lots of pines, aspens
-flora, fauna: same as rocky mountains, 200km west of the hills
-cougars, 230 species of birds
-LOTS of cougars now

^shows elevation
Black area is highest elevation of the flat mountains
dark/medium green is the slopes
Northern: green doesn’t go as far out, aka, slopes are steeper (also to
west)
-southern side shows lots of gradual slopes
-grey is the plains

WHERE: 40 km wide, 130 km long. (5200 sq.km)

Plateau :)
Flat, elevated flatform that rises sharply (on one side at least)
-Some parts dissect off? Called a disection plateau
CONNECTS southeastern ALBERTA with Southwestern
Saskatchewan

-Lake in pic was formed by depression at base by hills… probably

drainage basin for springs on slopes

-Ponokiokwe given by Blackfeet people

Alberta has the highest point on the mountains (highest point besides
rockies and appalachian mountains in western canada)
Centre block: more resort based
West: connected to transcontinental trail… lots of hiking
● Lots of precipitation, so nice winter. Lots of skiing

WHY THERE:
Some sort of island, in semi-arid mountains, (I will post their individual
prez notes too)

AN EROSIONAL PLATEAU
WHY CARE:
Plains Indigenous Groups wintered here
Lots of food, etc.
Centre of whiskey trade in 1860s.
Massacre of many Indigenous people here…ironic that it made him
start the mounted police, because they ended up killing loads of
Indigenous people (not funny, just ironic).
-In 2005, they made the wild rose wind farm, to protect the biodiversity
-protect the last natural grasslands
-not sure if they actually built it

-biodiversity should be protected

-oriographic precipitation, the westerlies have to climb over it… 600
metres of a climb… it will cool down adiabatically, so it has its own
microclimate with trees-compared to plains.
-its actually that the rest of the area has lowered, not that this cypress
hills was lifted. (via erosion)

^ you can see how erosion happened

^thanks to a glacier