Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve | |
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![]() A Nottawasaga River tributary within the reserve. | |
Location | Ontario, Canada |
Nearest city | Mono |
Coordinates | 43°59′6″N80°3′44″W / 43.98500°N 80.06222°W |
Area | 3.78 km2 (1.46 sq mi) |
Established | 1989 |
Governing body | Ontario Parks |
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Hockley Valley Provincial Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located on the Niagara Escarpment within the township of Mono, Ontario, Canada. It is managed by Ontario Parks. Approximately 80% of the Cannings Falls Area of Natural and Scientific Interest is within the borders of the park; land acquisitions are planned to encompass it entirely. [1] [2] The Bruce Trail links the reserve to other protected areas of the Niagara Escarpment.
The topography of the area was greatly influenced by glacial processes, followed by fluvial erosion. The reserve is characterized by a till moraine and other glacial features, such as kames and kettles. [3] [4] A deeply cut tributary valley to the Nottawasaga River bisects the reserve through its centre. The Niagara Escarpment's dolomite caprock (the Amabel Formation) can be seen in the upper parts of the gorge; rapids and waterfalls expose stratigraphic succession down to the Queenston Shale. [1]
Within the reserve, 417 species of vascular plants, many of which are rare, have been identified. This includes the regionally rare cuckoo flower and the sand violet, as well as the nationally endangered butternut, population of which has dwindled due to the butternut canker disease. [2] [5] Fauna includes the locally rare northern long-eared bat, the nationally vulnerable Louisiana waterthrush and the northern brook lamprey, as well as the nationally threatened Jefferson salamander. [2]
Recreation in the park is limited. Due to the park's designation as a nature reserve, permitted activities are limited to hiking, and snowshoeing; no visitor facilities are present or planned. [2]
Bruce Peninsula National Park is a national park on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. Located on a part of the Niagara Escarpment, the park comprises 156 square kilometres and is one of the largest protected areas in southern Ontario, forming the core of UNESCO's Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve. It was established in 1987 to protect the rock formations and shoreline of the Niagara Escarpment. The park offers opportunities for many outdoor activities, including hiking, camping, and bird watching. The park has trails ranging in difficulty from easy to expert, and connects to the Bruce Trail. Bruce Peninsula National Park is known for its crystal clear blue waters, cobblestone beaches, rocky cliffs and karst formations.
The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern Ontario, Canada, from the Niagara River to the tip of Tobermory, Ontario. The main trail is more than 890 km (550 mi) long and there are over 400 km (250 mi) of associated side trails. The trail mostly follows the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, one of the nineteen UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves in Canada. The land the trail traverses is owned by the Government of Ontario, local municipalities, local conservation authorities, private landowners, and the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC). The Bruce Trail is the oldest and longest marked hiking trail in Canada. Its name is linked to the Bruce Peninsula and Bruce County, through which the trail runs. The trail is named after the county, which was named after James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin who was Governor General of the Province of Canada from 1847 to 1854.
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The escarpment is the cliff over which the Niagara River plunges at Niagara Falls, for which it is named.
Halton Hills is a town in the Regional Municipality of Halton, located in the northwestern end of the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada with a population of 61,161 (2016).
The Town of Mono is situated in south-central Ontario, Canada, at the south-east corner of Dufferin County. It stretches from Highway 9 along its southern border to Highway 89 along its northern border. Its border to the west is with the Township of Amaranth and in the east, it is bordered by the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio. It was previously known as the Township of Mono.
The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada, that divides Georgian Bay of Lake Huron from the lake's main basin. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southwestern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Island, with which it forms the widest strait joining Georgian Bay to the rest of Lake Huron. The Bruce Peninsula contains part of the geological formation known as the Niagara Escarpment.
Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) is headquartered in Burlington owning extensive environmental protection areas, historic sites and culturally relevant gardens in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the major tourist attractions between Niagara Falls and Toronto, as well as a significant local and regional horticultural, education, conservation, and scientific resource. The mandate is derived by a Provincial Act of 1941 centred on human interaction with the natural world and protection of environmentally significant lands that form the western tip of Lake Ontario. Royal Botanical Gardens spans an area of about 10 km by 4 km, dominated by two coastal wetlands, and glacial-carved landscapes that extend from the lake up to the Niagara Escarpment plateau. The various gardens and natural areas are accessed through nine public entrance locations. It is one of several Prescribed Public Bodies listed under the Ontario Heritage Act.
Ball's Falls also known as Balls Mills, Louthe Mills and Glen Elgin, is a historical ghost town located in what is now a part of Jordan in the Niagara region, Ontario, Canada, which dates back to the early 19th century. It is now preserved as a conservation area operated by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.
Clark Reservation State Park is a state park in Onondaga County, New York. The park is in Jamesville, NY, in the Town of DeWitt, south of Syracuse. It was the site of a large waterfall formed by melting glacial ice at the end of the last Ice Age; the plunge basin at the base of the old falls is now a small lake. James Macfarlane described the area in 1879, "On approaching the lake from the turnpike on the south side, the tourist is startled at finding himself, without any notice, on the brink of a yawning gulf, precisely like that of the Niagara River below the Falls, and nearly as deep." Clark Reservation is also noted for its many ferns; it harbors the largest population in the U.S. of American hart's tongue, which is so rare that it was declared endangered in the U.S. in 1989.
Short Hills Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the centre of the Niagara Peninsula, bordering the city of St. Catharines and the town of Pelham in the Niagara Region in southern Ontario, Canada. It occupies an area of 660 hectares. It also borders the new vineyard sub-appellation called the Short Hills Bench.
Grey Highlands is a municipality in the southeast corner of Grey County, Ontario, Canada. It was formed on January 1, 2001, by the amalgamation of the village of Markdale and the townships of Artemesia, Euphrasia and Osprey, which included the unincorporated hamlets of Eugenia, Ceylon, Maxwell, Singhampton, Priceville, Kimberley, Badjeros, and Feversham. The former village of Flesherton is also located within the municipality and was amalgamated with Artemesia Township in 1998.
Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of the Lake Ontario. Most of the city including the downtown section lies along the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe, it lies roughly midway between Toronto and Buffalo. The two major physical features are Hamilton Harbour marking the northern limit of the city and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting the city into 'upper' and 'lower' parts.
The Short Hills Bench is a sub-appellation of the Niagara Peninsula.
The Eramosa Karst is a provincially significant Earth Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in Ontario, Canada, located in Stoney Creek, a constituent community of the City of Hamilton, and immediately south of the Niagara Escarpment.
Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, located in Caledon, Ontario, Canada, is part of the Ontario Parks system and is part of the Niagara Escarpment biosphere. The park is on the Bruce Trail. The Credit River runs through the park. Other notable features of the park include a kettle lake and talus slope.
The Hockley Highlands Inn and Conference Centre, on the East side of 3rd Line Road, Mono, Ontario, south of Dufferin County Road 7, opposite the Hockley Valley Resort, is a hotel and conference centre with 5 main buildings on 200 acres (0.81 km2) of forested land sloping towards the Hockley Valley. It has been closed to the public since May 2007.
The Cheltenham Badlands are in Caledon, Ontario, on the southeast side of Olde Base Line Road, between Creditview and Chinguacousy Roads. The site occupies an area of approximately 0.4 square kilometers and features exposed and highly eroded Queenston shale. The Cheltenham Badlands are a significant educational site due to the readily visible geologic processes and the red colour and the unique topography of the exposed shale make this a popular tourist site. The site is a Provincial Earth Sciences Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI) since it is considered one of the best examples of "badlands topography" in Ontario.
The Niagara Whirlpool is a natural whirlpool within the Niagara River located along the Canada–U.S. border between New York and Ontario. The whirlpool is in the Niagara Gorge, downstream from Niagara Falls. The whirlpool's greatest depth is 125 feet (38 m).
The Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in Ontario, Canada. The reserve stretches 725 kilometres (450 mi) along the Niagara Escarpment from Lake Ontario to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. The Escarpment corridor crosses two major biomes: needle leaf forests in the north and temperate broadleaf forest in the south.
The Ontario Alliance of Climbers is an independent, provincial, volunteer, non-profit organization that works to keep climbing and bouldering areas open in Ontario, Canada. The organization's stated purpose is to help conserve access to climbing by advocating protection for the climbing environment, by resolving access issues as they arise, and by proactively engaging with and educating the climbing community.