The Agawa Canyon is a shallow canyon located deep in the sparsely populated
Algoma District
Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The name was created by an American ethnologist, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864), who was appointed Indian agent to the Ojibwe in ...
in
Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior.
Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskami ...
, Canada.
It was created 1.2 billion years ago by
faulting
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
along the
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 anc ...
and then enlarged by the
erosive action of the
Agawa River
The Agawa River is a river in Algoma District, Ontario, Algoma District, Ontario, Canada which empties into Agawa Bay on Lake Superior at the community of Agawa Bay, south of Wawa, Ontario.
History
The Agawa Rock rock painting, pictographs are l ...
. The Agawa Canyon Wilderness Park is only accessible by hiking trail or the
Agawa Canyon station on the
Algoma Central Railway
The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario that operates between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa, Ontario. The area served by the railway is sparsely populated, with few roads.
The ra ...
, and is located by rail north west of
Sault Ste. Marie.
Geography
At their highest point, the walls of the Agawa Canyon rise above the river. The park is situated in the transitional zone between the
Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Forest region and the
Boreal Forest
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...
, with diverse and numerous representative flora from both regions present in the canyon. Annual snowfall in the canyon exceeds , with a record snowfall of recorded during the winter of 1989.
Four waterfalls dot the canyon's rim and feed the Agawa River. The North and South Black Beaver Falls are high. The tallest waterfall in the park is Bridal Veil Falls at . Otter Creek Falls is the shortest waterfall at . The upper part of Otter Creek provides natural
spawning
Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquati ...
beds for
speckled trout, with the falls itself fed by small beaver ponds above the canyon.
Flora and fauna
Common plant species that flower in the spring and summer include
fireweed
''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. ...
, yellow and
orange hawkweed,
Oxeye daisy
''Leucanthemum vulgare'', commonly known as the ox-eye daisy, oxeye daisy, dog daisy, marguerite (french: Marguerite commune, "common marguerite") and other common names, is a widespread flowering plant native to Europe and the temperate regions ...
, nodding
trillium
''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...
, and yellow
clintonia
''Clintonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family Liliaceae. Plants of the genus are distributed across the temperate regions of North America and eastern Asia, in the mesic understory of deciduous or coniferous forests. The genus ...
. Species flowering later in the season include
viper's bugloss
''Echium vulgare'', known as viper's bugloss and blueweed,Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 203. is a species of flowering plant in the borag ...
,
bladder campion
''Silene vulgaris'', the bladder campion or maidenstears, is a plant species of the genus ''Silene'' of the family ''Caryophyllaceae''. It is native to Europe, where in some parts it is eaten, but is also widespread in North America, where it i ...
,
yarrow
''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Other common names include old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, and thousand seal.
The ...
,
evening primrose
''Oenothera'' is a genus of about 145 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops. They are not closely related to ...
and a variety of
aster
Aster or ASTER may refer to:
Biology
* ''Aster'' (genus), a genus of flowering plants
** List of ''Aster'' synonyms, other genera formerly included in ''Aster'' and still called asters in English
* Aster (cell biology), a cellular structure shap ...
s.
Beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
and
otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...
are abundant in the Agawa River, as are several species of duck including
merganser
''Mergus'' is the genus of the typical mergansers , fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird.
The common merganser (''Mer ...
s,
wood duck
The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl.
Description
The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typi ...
s and
goldeneye
''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the ser ...
s. The steep canyon walls and proximity of the rail tracks render the area fairly unappealing to
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
and
bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
; however, the area abounds with small mammals including
chipmunk
Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Chipmunks may be classified either as ...
s, meadow
vole
Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of low-c ...
s and
groundhog
The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots.
The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...
s. Commonly sighted birds include
raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
s,
robins,
grackle
Grackles is the common name of any of 11 passerine birds (10 extant and one extinct) native to North and South America. They belong to various genera in the icterid family. In all the species with this name, adult males have black or mostly blac ...
s,
ruffed grouse
The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only specie ...
, and
great blue heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
s. A variety of raptors frequent the canyon including
merlins,
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
s,
broad-winged hawk
The broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') is a medium-sized hawk of the genus ''Buteo''. During the summer, some subspecies are distributed over eastern North America, as far west as British Columbia and Texas; they then migrate south to wi ...
s and
American kestrel
The American kestrel (''Falco sparverius''), also called the sparrow hawk, is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. It has a roughly two-to-one range in size over subspecies and sex, varying in size from about the weight of ...
s.
History
The first
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
in the Agawa Canyon was laid during the winter of 1911. The Algoma Central Railway began development of the Agawa Canyon Wilderness Park in 1952 with the clearing of a picnic area. With increased service from Algoma Central's Agawa Canyon Tour Train, the area's natural environment makes it a
tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
stop. Since 1952, over three million people have visited Agawa Canyon. The word Agawa is native
Ojibway
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
for "shelter".
Between 1918 and 1923, several members of the
Group of Seven
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is official ...
painted
Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...
in the Algoma region including
Lawren Harris
Lawren Stewart Harris LL. D. (October 23, 1885 – January 29, 1970) was a Canadian painter, best known as a leading member of the Group of Seven. He played a key role as a catalyst in Canadian art and as a visionary in Canadian landscape art. ...
,
A. Y. Jackson
Alexander Young Jackson LL. D. (October 3, 1882April 5, 1974) was a Canadian painter and a founding member of the Group of Seven. Jackson made a significant contribution to the development of art in Canada, and was instrumental in bringing toget ...
,
Frank Johnston,
J. E. H. MacDonald
James Edward Hervey MacDonald (1873–1932) was an English-Canadian artist, best known as a member of the Group of Seven who asserted a distinct national identity combined with a common heritage stemming from early modernism in Europe in the ear ...
, and
Arthur Lismer
Arthur Lismer, LL. D. (27 June 1885 – 23 March 1969) was an English-Canadian painter, member of the Group of Seven and educator. He is known primarily as a landscape painter and for his paintings of ships in dazzle camouflage.
Early life ...
. To access this area they rented a boxcar from The Algoma Central Railway, which had been outfitted like a cabin and was shunted to sidings near choice painting locations. From these locations they set out on foot or canoe to capture this untamed area on canvas.
Attractions
Five short nature trails cross the park area: the Ed Foote Trail, Lookout Trail, Otter Creek Trail, River Trail, and Talus Trail.
Visitors to the canyon can climb 372 steps that lead to the "Lookout" located on the wall of the gorge. The observation platform situated above the tracks provides a panoramic view of the canyon.
The
Algoma Central Railway
The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario that operates between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa, Ontario. The area served by the railway is sparsely populated, with few roads.
The ra ...
offers tour trains to the canyon in the summer, fall and winter months; during late September and October for the changing colors and in December, January and February for the "snow train".
Ice climbing is another activity that visitors may participate in. Some classic routes in this area are Trestle, Salmon Run and Sweating Whiskey. The train drops off the climbers between mile 110 to 114 and the campers usually have tents, or non-permanent shelters set up near the tracks.
See also
*
Achray, Ontario
Achray is an unincorporated place and former railway point in geographic Stratton Township in the Unorganized South Part of Nipissing District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies in northern Algonquin Provincial Park on the northern shore ...
*
Barron River (Ontario)
The Barron River (''French: rivière Barron'') is a river in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin in Nipissing District and Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It flows from Clemow Lake in northern Algonquin Provincial Park and joins the Petawawa ...
*
Lake Superior Provincial Park
Lake Superior Provincial Park is one of the largest provincial parks in Ontario, covering about along the northeastern shores of Lake Superior between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa, Ontario, Wawa in Algoma District in No ...
*
Ouimet Canyon
Ouimet Canyon is a large gorge in the municipality of Dorion, Thunder Bay District in northwestern Ontario, Canada, about northeast of the city of Thunder Bay. The gorge is deep, wide and long, protected as part of Ouimet Canyon Provincial P ...
References
External links
{{Commons category
Algoma Central RailwayOntario Parks
Landforms of Algoma District
Canyons and gorges of Ontario
Protected areas of Algoma District