Natural areas in King, Ontario
Encyclopedia
There are numerous natural areas in King
, a township in Ontario
, Canada
. These areas are zones officially designated by the Government of Ontario
that are within the township and exhibit provincially- or regionally-significant features representative of the region. The list of zones is defined and maintained by the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources
Natural Heritage Information Centre.
Site and region surveys have been conducted by various means. Some areas were identified and classified through the International Biological Program
between 1964 and 1974. Others may have had a superficial initial classification, and subsequently been re-classified upon closer scrutiny. Fifty areas have been classified in the township.
, three of which exhibit earth science features, and four of which exhibit life science features. Six are provincially-significant for their representative features.
Happy Valley Forest is a large upland forest on steeply rolling topography with various wooded swamps and minor wetland areas. It is located on Ordovician
bedrock over the Oak Ridges Moraine
.
Pottageville Swamp, which was originally contiguous with the Holland Marsh
, is now isolated from it because of drainage in the 1920s to prepare the land for agricultural
use. The Pottageville Southeast Upland, which is contiguous with the swamp, is the only ANSI which is not provincially significant. It is just north of Happy Valley Forest, on the northern slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Cold Creek Conservation Area
is a park and reserve on the south slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine, northwest of Nobleton
, at the southwestern edge of the township. It consists of mature coniferous swamp
in its basin, and cedar swamp at its margin.
The Linton-Kelly Lake Channels "marks the junction of the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Palgrave Moraine". It is a 588 hectare region at which the two moraines merge. The Glenville Hills Kames
are kame
s in the northeast portion of the township, southwest of central Newmarket
, that mark "the southernmost advance of Lake Simcoe sublobe during [the] Port Bruce Stadial". The Kettleby and Newmarket Tills is a small region of sediments deposited by the Lake Simcoe ice lobe, located west of the Glenville Hills Kames.
complexes.
The Eaton Hall—Mary—Hackett Lakes Wetland Complex is a 259 hectare area on the Oak Ridges Moraine which represents the amalgamation of three previously defined wetlands: Eaton Hall Wetlands, Mary Lakes Wetlands and Laskay Wetlands. These constituent wetlands are each situated at the headwater area of the East Humber River
watershed in King City
. "The largest wetlands occur around seven kettle lakes, representing the best concentration of kettle lakes in any wetland complex on the Oak Ridges Moraine" Bounded by Happy Valley Forest to the west, the 225 wetlands in the complex "comprise one of the largest and most diverse wetland complexes on the Oak Ridges Moraine, noteworthy for its high concentration of significant plants, animals and kettle lakes."
The much larger Pottageville Wetland Complex, which is adjacent to Happy Valley Forest on its northern border, also lies on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Approximately 780 hectares, it consists primarily of swamp
, with some zones of marsh
and fen
.
The Nobleton Wetland Complex is a 43.3 hectare wetland that overlaps the Oak Ridges Moraine on its local southern extent in the region. It is similar in composition to the Pottageville Wetland Complex.
Overlapping the northern border of the township is Ansnorveldt Wetland Complex, a 200 hectare zone bounded by the Holland Marsh to the east and northeast. The wetland complex "stretches from Weston Road east to Dufferin Street and from Highway 9 north to South Canal Road".
Other wetlands on the Oak Ridges Moraine include: the New Scotland Wetland Complex, consisting of fifteen wetlands that are 61.2% swamp, 37.1% marsh, and 1.7% bog; the Eaton Hall Lake Wetland, consisting of eight separate wetlands that are 52.7% swamp and 47.3% marsh; the King Creek Marsh, consisting entirely of marsh wetland; the Kennifick Wetland Complex, having 33 wetlands composed of 40% swamp and 60% marsh; and the King–Vaughan Wetland Complex, which has 23 wetlands consisting of 83.4% swamp and 16.6% marsh.
King, Ontario
King is a township in York Region north of Toronto, within the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada.The rolling hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine are the most prominent visible geographical feature of King. The Holland Marsh, considered to be Ontario's "vegetable basket", straddles King Township...
, a township in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. These areas are zones officially designated by the Government of Ontario
Government of Ontario
The Government of Ontario refers to the provincial government of the province of Ontario, Canada. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
that are within the township and exhibit provincially- or regionally-significant features representative of the region. The list of zones is defined and maintained by the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources
Ministry of Natural Resources (Ontario)
The Ministry of Natural Resources is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that responsible for Ontario’s provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands and waters that make up 87 per cent of the province...
Natural Heritage Information Centre.
Site and region surveys have been conducted by various means. Some areas were identified and classified through the International Biological Program
International Biological Program
The International Biological Program was an effort between 1964 and 1974 to coordinate large-scale ecological and environmental studies...
between 1964 and 1974. Others may have had a superficial initial classification, and subsequently been re-classified upon closer scrutiny. Fifty areas have been classified in the township.
Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest
There are seven zones classified as Areas of Natural and Scientific InterestArea of Natural and Scientific Interest
An Area of Natural and Scientific Interest is an official designation by the provincial Government of Ontario in Canada applied to contiguous geographical regions within the province that have geological or ecological features which are significantly representative provincially or regionally...
, three of which exhibit earth science features, and four of which exhibit life science features. Six are provincially-significant for their representative features.
Life Science areas
Life science ANSIs are noted for their important biological features.Happy Valley Forest is a large upland forest on steeply rolling topography with various wooded swamps and minor wetland areas. It is located on Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
bedrock over the Oak Ridges Moraine
Oak Ridges Moraine
The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...
.
Pottageville Swamp, which was originally contiguous with the Holland Marsh
Holland Marsh
The Holland Marsh is a wetland and agricultural area north of Toronto, Ontario. It lies entirely within the valley of the Holland River, stretching from the northern edge of the Oak Ridges Moraine near Schomberg to the river mouth at Cook's Bay, Lake Simcoe. In its entirety it comprises about or...
, is now isolated from it because of drainage in the 1920s to prepare the land for agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
use. The Pottageville Southeast Upland, which is contiguous with the swamp, is the only ANSI which is not provincially significant. It is just north of Happy Valley Forest, on the northern slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Cold Creek Conservation Area
Cold Creek Conservation Area
Cold Creek Conservation Area, usually Cold Creek, is an ecologically diverse protected Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in south-central Ontario, Canada. The conservation area was opened on June 20, 1962 by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. It is located on the western end of King...
is a park and reserve on the south slope of the Oak Ridges Moraine, northwest of Nobleton
Nobleton, Ontario
Nobleton is an unincorporated village in southwestern King, Ontario, Canada. It is the third-largest community in the township, after King City and Schomberg. Located south of the Oak Ridges Moraine, Nobleton is surrounded by hills and forests...
, at the southwestern edge of the township. It consists of mature coniferous swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
in its basin, and cedar swamp at its margin.
Earth Science areas
Earth Science ANSIs display significant geological features representative of their region.The Linton-Kelly Lake Channels "marks the junction of the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Palgrave Moraine". It is a 588 hectare region at which the two moraines merge. The Glenville Hills Kames
Glenville Hills Kames
The Glenville Hills Kames is a 345 hectare provincially-significant Earth Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in Ontario, Canada....
are kame
Kame
A kame is a geological feature, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the glacier...
s in the northeast portion of the township, southwest of central Newmarket
Newmarket, Ontario
Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
, that mark "the southernmost advance of Lake Simcoe sublobe during [the] Port Bruce Stadial". The Kettleby and Newmarket Tills is a small region of sediments deposited by the Lake Simcoe ice lobe, located west of the Glenville Hills Kames.
Wetlands
King has an abundance of large, provincially-significant wetlandWetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
complexes.
The Eaton Hall—Mary—Hackett Lakes Wetland Complex is a 259 hectare area on the Oak Ridges Moraine which represents the amalgamation of three previously defined wetlands: Eaton Hall Wetlands, Mary Lakes Wetlands and Laskay Wetlands. These constituent wetlands are each situated at the headwater area of the East Humber River
Humber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
watershed in King City
King City, Ontario
King City is an affluent, unincorporated village in King Township, Ontario, Canada, located just north of Toronto. It is the largest community in King Township, with 1,629 dwellings and a population of 4,902.-History:...
. "The largest wetlands occur around seven kettle lakes, representing the best concentration of kettle lakes in any wetland complex on the Oak Ridges Moraine" Bounded by Happy Valley Forest to the west, the 225 wetlands in the complex "comprise one of the largest and most diverse wetland complexes on the Oak Ridges Moraine, noteworthy for its high concentration of significant plants, animals and kettle lakes."
The much larger Pottageville Wetland Complex, which is adjacent to Happy Valley Forest on its northern border, also lies on the Oak Ridges Moraine. Approximately 780 hectares, it consists primarily of swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
, with some zones of marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
and fen
Fen
A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...
.
The Nobleton Wetland Complex is a 43.3 hectare wetland that overlaps the Oak Ridges Moraine on its local southern extent in the region. It is similar in composition to the Pottageville Wetland Complex.
Overlapping the northern border of the township is Ansnorveldt Wetland Complex, a 200 hectare zone bounded by the Holland Marsh to the east and northeast. The wetland complex "stretches from Weston Road east to Dufferin Street and from Highway 9 north to South Canal Road".
Other wetlands on the Oak Ridges Moraine include: the New Scotland Wetland Complex, consisting of fifteen wetlands that are 61.2% swamp, 37.1% marsh, and 1.7% bog; the Eaton Hall Lake Wetland, consisting of eight separate wetlands that are 52.7% swamp and 47.3% marsh; the King Creek Marsh, consisting entirely of marsh wetland; the Kennifick Wetland Complex, having 33 wetlands composed of 40% swamp and 60% marsh; and the King–Vaughan Wetland Complex, which has 23 wetlands consisting of 83.4% swamp and 16.6% marsh.