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Thousand Islands – Frontenac Arch
The Thousand Islands – Frontenac Arch region or the Frontenac Axis is an exposed strip of Precambrian rock in Canada and the United States that links the Canadian Shield from Algonquin Park with the Adirondack Mountain region in New York, an extension of the Laurentian mountains of Québec. The Algonquin to Adirondacks region, which includes the Frontenac Axis or Arch, is a critical linkage for biodiversity and resilience, and one with important conservation potential. The axis separates the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Great Lakes Lowlands. It has many distinctive plant and animal species. It is one of four ecoregions of the Mixedwood Plains. The Thousand Islands in the Saint Lawrence River have a distinctive flora and fauna and are a part of the biological corridor. Geology The bedrock is mostly gneiss, granite, and marble, more than a billion years old. The Frontenac terrain is the youngest of the Ontario portions of the arch, dated at 1.2 billion years old. These rocks w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the ancient geologic core of the North American continent. Glaciation has left the area with only a thin layer of soil, through which exposures of igneous bedrock resulting from its long volcanic history are frequently visible. As a deep, common, joined bedrock region in eastern and central Canada, the Shield stretches north from the Great Lakes to the Arctic Ocean, covering over half of Canada and most of Greenland; it also extends south into the northern reaches of the United States. Geographical extent The Canadian Shield is a physiographic division comprising four smaller physiographic provinces: the Laurentian Upland, Kazan Region, Davis and James. The shield extends into the United States as the Adirondack Mountains (connected by the Fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies underground. It is common in the continental crust of Earth, where it is found in igneous intrusions. These range in size from dikes only a few centimeters across to batholiths exposed over hundreds of square kilometers. Granite is typical of a larger family of ''granitic rocks'', or ''granitoids'', that are composed mostly of coarse-grained quartz and feldspars in varying proportions. These rocks are classified by the relative percentages of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase (the QAPF classification), with true granite representing granitic rocks rich in quartz and alkali feldspar. Most granitic rocks also contain mica or amphibole minerals, though a few (known as leucogranites) contain almost no dark minerals. Granite is nearly alway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cerulean Warbler
The cerulean warbler (''Setophaga cerulea'') is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests. In the non-breeding season, it winters on the eastern slope of the Andes in South America, preferring subtropical forests. It displays strong sexual dichromatism: Adult males have cerulean blue and white , with a black necklace across the breast and black streaks on the back and flanks. Females and immature birds have bluish-green upperparts, a pale stripe over the eye, no streaking, and are yellow below. All have two white wing bars and a thin, pointed . The cerulean warbler is insectivorous and predominantly feeds on insect larvae, though it also takes winged insects. It forages for prey and nests high in forest canopies. Individuals are strongly territorial; males will defend areas of forests. Males arrive on breeding grounds about one to two weeks earlier than females. Breeding and incubation take pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantherophis Spiloides
The gray ratsnake or gray rat snake (''Pantherophis spiloides''), also commonly known as the central ratsnake, chicken snake, midland ratsnake, or pilot black snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the genus ''Pantherophis'' in the subfamily Colubrinae. The gray ratsnake is one of about ten species within the American ratsnake genus ''Pantherophis''. Description A medium to large serpent, the gray ratsnake typically reaches an adult size of total length (including tail); however, the record is for a captive specimen at the Ridley 4-H Center in Tennessee. Unlike other ''Pantherophis'', whose conspicuous juvenile pattern fades into adulthood, the gray ratsnake in the southern part of its range does not undergo drastic ontogenetic changes in color or markings. Instead, it retains the juvenile pattern of dark elongate dorsal blotches separated by four, or more, pale gray body scales, a light gray crown with dark striping that forms an anteriorly facing spearpoint, and a solid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plestiodon Fasciatus
The (American) five-lined skink (''Plestiodon fasciatus'') is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to North America. It is one of the most common lizards in the eastern U.S. and one of the seven native species of lizards in Canada. Common names Other common names for ''P. fasciatus'' include blue-tailed skink (for juveniles) and red-headed skink (for adults). It is technically appropriate to call it the American five-lined skink to distinguish it from the African skink '' Trachylepis quinquetaeniata'' (otherwise known as five-lined mabuya) or the eastern red-headed skink to distinguish it from its western relative ''Plestiodon skiltonianus'' (otherwise known as the western skink). The blue-tailed skink proper is ''Cryptoblepharus egeriae'' from Christmas Island, but in North America the juveniles of any ''Eumeces'' or ''Plestiodon'' species may be called this. Description The American five-lined skink is small to medium-sized, growing to abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaccinium Stamineum
''Vaccinium stamineum'', commonly known as deerberry, tall deerberry, squaw huckleberry, highbush huckleberry, buckberry, and southern gooseberry, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family.Hill, S. RConservation Assessment for Deerberry (''Vaccinium stamineum'').United States Department of Agriculture, National Forest Service, Eastern Region. December 31, 2002. It is native to North America, including Ontario, the eastern and central United States, and parts of Mexico. It is most common in the southeastern United States. Description This species is quite variable in morphology.Cane, J. H., et al. (1985)Pollination ecology of ''Vaccinium stamineum'' (Ericaceae: Vaccinioideae).''American Journal of Botany'' 72(1), 135-42. It is a shrub usually growing up to 1.5 meters (60 inches or 5 feet) tall, but reaching up to 3 meters (10 feet) at times. It has multiple twisted trunks covered in peeling reddish bark and is highly branched, tapering into thin twigs, some just a millim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quercus Ilicifolia
''Quercus ilicifolia'', commonly known as bear oak or scrub oak, is a small shrubby oak native to the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Its range extends in the United States from Maine to North Carolina, with reports of a few populations north of the international frontier in Ontario. The name ''ilicifolia'' means "holly-leaved." Description ''Quercus ilicifolia'' is a deciduous tree or shrub growing occasionally reaching a height of 6 meters (20 feet) but usually much smaller. It is "gangly" and can form a dense thicket. The plant grows from a large taproot which can be up to 20 centimeters (8 inches) thick. The taproot lives a long time, producing several generations of above-ground parts. The alternately arranged leaves are each up to 15 cm (6 in) long by 10 cm (4 in) wide. The species is monoecious, with plants bearing both male catkins and solitary or clustered female flowers. The egg-shaped acorn is long with a saucer-shaped cap. The plan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinus Rigida
''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuitable for growth, such as acidic, sandy, and low-nutrient soils. Description The pitch pine is irregular in shape, but grows to ). Branches are usually twisted, and it does a poor job at self-pruning. The needles are in fascicles (bundles) of three, about in length, and are stout (over broad) and often slightly twisted. The cones are long and oval, with prickles on the scales. Trunks are usually straight with a slight curve, covered in large, thick, irregular plates of bark. Pitch pine has an exceptionally high regenerative ability; if the main trunk is cut or damaged by fire, it can re-sprout using epicormic shoots. This is one of its many adaptations to fire, which also include a thick bark to protect the sensitive cambium layer from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when these minerals precipitate out of water containing dissolved calcium. This can take place through both biological and nonbiological processes, though biological processes, such as the accumulation of corals and shells in the sea, have likely been more important for the last 540 million years. Limestone often contains fossils which provide scientists with information on ancient environments and on the evolution of life. About 20% to 25% of sedimentary rock is carbonate rock, and most of this is limestone. The remaining carbonate rock is mostly dolomite, a closely related rock, which contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, . ''Magnesian limestone'' is an obsolete and poorly-defined term used variously for dolomite, for limes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shield (geology)
A shield is a large area of exposed Precambrian crystalline igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks that form tectonically stable areas. These rocks are older than 570 million years and sometimes date back to around 2 to 3.5 billion years. They have been little affected by tectonic events following the end of the Precambrian, and are relatively flat regions where mountain building, faulting, and other tectonic processes are minor, compared with the activity at their margins and between tectonic plates. Shields occur on all continents. Terminology The term shield cannot be used interchangeably with the term craton. However, shield can be used interchangeably with the term basement. The difference is that a craton describes a basement overlayed by a sedimentary platform while shield only describes the basement. The term ''shield'', used to describe this type of geographic region, appears in the 1901 English translation of ''Eduard Suess's Face of Earth'' by H. B. C. Sollas, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holleford Crater
The Holleford Crater is a meteorite crater near the community of Holleford, part of South Frontenac, Ontario, Canada. It is in diameter and the age is estimated to be 550 ± 100 million years (Ediacaran or Cambrian). Although there is a surface depression over the area, the crater itself is not exposed at the surface. Holleford Crater was discovered in the 1950s during analysis of aerial photographs under the direction of Carlyle S. Beals of the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa. In the late 1950s, the Geological Survey of Canada conducted a series of four geophysical studies: magnetic observations, seismic studies, gravity studies, and a diamond drilling program. The seismic and gravity studies and the drilling all produced data consistent with the impact theory. The drill core revealed breccia and similar materials at predicted depths. The studies concluded that an ancient meteorite impact crater is present in the Precambrian bedrock below the surface. The meteorite was estimated t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodinia
Rodinia (from the Russian родина, ''rodina'', meaning "motherland, birthplace") was a Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic supercontinent that assembled 1.26–0.90 billion years ago and broke up 750–633 million years ago. were probably the first to recognise a Precambrian supercontinent, which they named 'Pangaea I'. It was renamed 'Rodinia' by who also were the first to produce a reconstruction and propose a temporal framework for the supercontinent. Rodinia formed at c. 1.23 Ga by accretion and collision of fragments produced by breakup of an older supercontinent, Columbia, assembled by global-scale 2.0–1.8 Ga collisional events.; Rodinia broke up in the Neoproterozoic with its continental fragments reassembled to form Pannotia 633–573 million years ago. In contrast with Pannotia, little is known yet about the exact configuration and geodynamic history of Rodinia. Paleomagnetic evidence provides some clues to the paleolatitude of individual pieces of the Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
