Slate Islands (Ontario)
Geography | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 48°39′N 87°00′W / 48.65°N 87°W |
Adjacent to | Lake Superior |
Total islands | 15 |
Major islands | Patterson, Mortimer |
Area | 36 km2 (14 sq mi) |
Administration | |
Canada | |
Province | Ontario |
District | Thunder Bay |
Municipality | Terrace Bay |
The Slate Islands are a small archipelago in Lake Superior, Ontario, Canada, about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of the town of Terrace Bay. The island group, consisting of 15 islands in total, was created by a meteorite impact which formed a crater about 32 km (20 mi) wide.[1] In 1985, the Ontario government established the Slate Islands as a natural environment provincial park. The islands are notable for having Ontario's largest herd of boreal woodland caribou.[2]
Geography
The island group consists of two main islands (Patterson and Mortimer), five minor islands (McColl, Edmonds, Bowes, Delaute and Dupuis islands) and numerous islets.[3]
The total surface area is about 36 square kilometres (14 sq mi).
The nearby Leadman Group of islands, about one kilometre (0.6 mi) east, is often considered part of the Slate Islands. This group includes Leadman, Cape, Spar and Fish Islands.[3]
Human history
Human sites have been found on the islands dating to about 1000CE.[4]
A lighthouse was built on Patterson Island, the largest island, in 1903 to help ships locate the harbour at the nearby town of Jackfish, Ontario. The island is named after William Patterson, a former lieutenant-governor of Saskatchewan. Later, a fishing station was built on McColl Island.
The original forests on the islands were modified by logging and
In 1985, the Slate Islands were protected as an Ontario Natural Environment Provincial Park. The islands remoteness is enforced by almost 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) of open, wild, Lake Superior water and its distance from any large communities. It is frequented by naturalists, fishing parties, sailors exploring this Great Lake, and recently by an increasing number of sea kayaking parties.[3]
Fauna
The islands are home to woodland
The waters surrounding the Slate Islands have been protected from commercial fishing to preserve one of the last native stocks of lake trout in Lake Superior. The Islands have been a source of lake trout brood stock used at the Dorion Fish Hatchery, and fingerlings are planted back to Lake Superior to restore the fishery.
Species
Mammals found on the islands include woodland caribou, grey wolf,
Bird species include
Amphibians present include blue-spotted salamander, boreal chorus frog, Cope's gray treefrog, western American toad, northern spring peeper, and wood frog.[3]
Flora
The cooling effect of
These arctic disjuncts are reminders of ice ages and associated tundra conditions in this area in the past.Vascular plants found on the islands are:[3]
- balsam fir(Abies balsamea)
- black spruce(Picea mariana)
- eastern white cedar(Thuja occidentalis)
- northern mountain ash(Sorbus decora)
- quaking aspen(Populus tremuloides)
- white birch(Betula papyrifera)
- alpine bistort(Bistorta vivipara)
- alpine chickweed (Cerastium alpinum)
- alpine cliff fern(Woodsia alpina)
- alpine sedge(Carex glacialis)
- American dune grass(Leymus mollis)
- American mountain-ash(Sorbus americana)
- Appalachian fir-clubmoss (Huperzia appalachiana)
- beach pea (Lathyrus japonicus)
- bird's-eye primrose (Primula mistassinica)
- black crowberry(Empetrum nigrum)
- butterwort(Pinguicula spp.)
- common butterwort(Pinguicula vulgaris)
- Canadian yew(Taxus canadensis)
- creeping snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula)
- cut-leaved anemone (Anemone multifida)
- devil's club (Oplopanax horridus)
- dwarf rattlesnake plantain(Goodyera repens)
- entire-leaved mountain-avens(Dryas integrifolia)
- goldie's round-leaved orchid (Platanthera macrophylla)
- goldthread (Coptis trifolia)
- heartleaf twayblade(Listera cordata)
- horned dandelion (Taraxacum ceratophorum)
- knotted pearlwort(Sagina nodosa)
- Labrador tea (Rhododendron groenlandicum)
- lady fern (Athryium felix-femina)
- large-leaved sandwort(Moehringia macrophylla)
- leafy lichen (Peltigera spp.)
- low spike-moss(Selaginella selaginoides)
- moonwort grape-fern(Botrychium lunnaria)
- mountain avens/yellow dryas (Dryas drummondii)
- mountain bladder fern(Cystopteris montana)
- mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea)
- mountain clubmoss(Huperzia selago)
- mountain fir-moss (Huperzia appalachiana)
- northern meadow sedge(Carex praticola)
- northern white anemone(Anemone parviflora)
- old man’s beard (Usnea spp.)
- prairie spikemoss(Selaginella densa)
- prickly rose(Rosa acicularis)
- rand's goldenrod (Solidago simplex ssp. randii)
- red stemmed feather moss (Pleurozium schreberi)
- reindeer lichen (Cladonia rangiferina)
- rock tripe (Umbilicaria spp.)
- rose twisted stalk (Roseus streptosus)
- roundleaf shadbush (Amelanchier sanguinea)
- scirpus sedge (Carex scirpus)
- smooth woodsia (Woodsia glabella)
- sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.)
- spike trisetum (Trisetum spicatum)
- stair-step moss (Hylocomium splendens)
- viviparous knotweed (Polygonum viviparum)
- white mountain-saxifrage (Saxifraga paniculata)
- wild chives (Allium schoenoprasum var. sibiricum)
- wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)
Geology
The islands are not made of
The youngest rocks are diatremes, referring to breccia-filled volcanic pipes that were formed by gaseous explosions. They occur as dikes or sills which criss-cross the all older rocks types.[9]
Also located in the islands are good examples of
Allogenic breccia is present, notably on the east and north sides of the islands.
Impact crater
The Slate Islands mark the centre of a large
Provincial park
Slate Islands Provincial Park | |
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Location | Lake Superior |
Nearest city | Terrace Bay |
Coordinates | 48°39′32″N 87°00′12″W / 48.65889°N 87.00333°W[14] |
Area | 6,570 ha (25.4 sq mi)[15] |
Designation | Natural environment |
Established | 1985 |
Governing body | Ontario Parks |
www |
The Slate Islands Provincial Park was established in 1985 to protect the biodiversity and provincially significant elements of the natural and cultural landscape, and to maintain the islands' ecology by controlling development and focusing recreational use.[15]
While it is a non-operating park, some facilities are available, such as a dock, warm-up shelter, and five backcountry campsites. Permitted activities include boating, camping, canoeing, fishing, and hiking.[15] It is only accessible via boat or floatplane.
References
- ^ Sharpton, Dressler, (1996), p. 1177
- ^ a b Chisholm & Gutsche 1998, p. 180.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Slate Islands Provincial Park Management Plan (2018)". Ontario.ca. Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ Chisholm & Gutsche 1998, p. 178.
- ^ "Slate Islands Provincial Park". terracebay.ca. Township of Terrace Bay. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
- ^ a b Godwin (1996), p. 3
- ^ Creech, David (27 May 2012), Woodland Caribou of the Slate Islands, retrieved 22 January 2014
- ^ a b Pye (1997), p. 83
- ^ a b Pye (1997), p. 84
- ^ "Slate Islands". Earth Impact Database. Planetary and Space Science Centre University of New Brunswick Fredericton. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ "ILSG Slate Islands trip". Retrieved 30 March 2008.
- ^ Sharpton, Dressler, (1996), p. 1178
- Washington Post. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ^ "Slate Islands Provincial Park". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
- ^ a b c "Slate Islands". www.ontarioparks.com. Ontario Parks. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
Bibliography
- Chisholm, B.; Gutsche, A (1998), Superior: Under the Shadow of the Gods, Toronto: Lynx Images, ISBN 0-9698427-7-5
- Pye, E.G. (1997). Roadside Geology of Ontario: North Shore of Lake Superior, Ontario GEOservices Centre, ROCK ON Series 2. ISBN 0-7778-5850-9
- Sharpton, V.L. and Dressler, B.O. 'The Slate Islands Impact Structure: Structural Interpretation and Age Constraints', Lunar and Planetary Science. March 1996: vol. 27
- Godwin, L. (February 1996) "Woodland Caribou in Northwestern Ontario - Why they are different...", Northwestern Ontario Boreal Forest Management Technical Note TN-07