Kettle Lakes Provincial Park
Encyclopedia
Kettle Lakes Provincial Park is a provincial park
in north-eastern Ontario, about 30 km east of Timmins
. It is administered by Ontario Parks
, which classifies it as a recreation park.
The landscape of the park is the legacy of the retreat of an enormous glacier at the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 12,000 years ago. After the glacier retrated, half-buried icebergs melted to form small, deep lakes referred to by earth scientists as kettle lakes. 20 of the 22 lakes in Kettle Lakes Provincial Park are kettles. The retreating glacier also left eskers
and erratics
.
The lakes are surrounded by forests made up primarily of jack pine interspersed with balsam fir, red and white pine, and white and black spruce. Stands of deciduous trees such as trembling aspen and white birch may also be found in the park.
There are 139 campsites in the park in two campgrounds. The park is also a popular destination for canoeing, swimming at one of several sandy beaches, hiking and fishing.
Provincial park
A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...
in north-eastern Ontario, about 30 km east of Timmins
Timmins
Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...
. It is administered by Ontario Parks
Ontario Parks
Ontario Parks is the branch of the Ministry of Natural Resources that administers the provincial parks in Ontario, Canada. The Ontario Parks system covers over 78,000 square kilometres , about 10 percent of the province's surface area or the equivalent of an area approximately equal to Nova Scotia...
, which classifies it as a recreation park.
The landscape of the park is the legacy of the retreat of an enormous glacier at the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 12,000 years ago. After the glacier retrated, half-buried icebergs melted to form small, deep lakes referred to by earth scientists as kettle lakes. 20 of the 22 lakes in Kettle Lakes Provincial Park are kettles. The retreating glacier also left eskers
Esker
An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...
and erratics
Glacial erratic
A glacial erratic is a piece of rock that differs from the size and type of rock native to the area in which it rests. "Erratics" take their name from the Latin word errare, and are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres...
.
The lakes are surrounded by forests made up primarily of jack pine interspersed with balsam fir, red and white pine, and white and black spruce. Stands of deciduous trees such as trembling aspen and white birch may also be found in the park.
There are 139 campsites in the park in two campgrounds. The park is also a popular destination for canoeing, swimming at one of several sandy beaches, hiking and fishing.