Nor'Wester Mountains
Encyclopedia
The Nor'Wester Mountains are a group of mountain
s immediately south of Thunder Bay
, Ontario
, Canada
, located on the southern limits of the City of Thunder Bay and south of the Kaministiquia River
.
Mount McKay
is the highest, most northern and best known of these mountains; it is 270 m (885.8 ft) above Lake Superior and 442 m (1,450.1 ft) above sea level. It is a flat-topped hill flanked by steep cliffs on three sides. Mount McKay is composed of shale and greywackes – the Rove Formation – which is covered by the hard, protective 60 m (196.9 ft) thick diabase cap. The Rove Formation
is part of the Animikie Group
. The Rove sedimentary layers in the Nor'Wester Mountains are overlain by a 60 m (196.9 ft) cap of diabase
; this Logan diabase is million years old. This diabase cap is the erosional remnant of a sill that once extended over the entire area. Most of it is covered by a thick layer of mineral soil.
The north face of Mount McKay shows evidence that below this cap is another 7.2 m (23.6 ft) thick sill of very hard diabase. This sill is also an erosional remnant and is 96 m (315 ft) below the first cap and 190 m (623.4 ft) below the top of the hill – or 242 m (794 ft) above sea level.
Loch Lomond
, 287 m (941.6 ft) above sea level, collects most of the runoff within the Nor’Wester Mountains; Loch Lomond is drained by the Lomond River. A few square kilometers of mountain slope south of Mount McKay are drained by Whiskeyjack Creek.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s immediately south of Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, 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...
, located on the southern limits of the City of Thunder Bay and south of the Kaministiquia River
Kaministiquia River
The Kaministiquia River is a river which empties into western Lake Superior at the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Kaministiquia is an Ojibwe word meaning " with islands" due to two large islands at the mouth of the river...
.
Mount McKay
Mount McKay
Mount McKay is a mafic sill located south of Thunder Bay, Ontario on the Indian Reserve of the Fort William First Nation. It formed during a period of magmatic activity associated with the large Midcontinent Rift System about 1,100 million years ago.-History:...
is the highest, most northern and best known of these mountains; it is 270 m (885.8 ft) above Lake Superior and 442 m (1,450.1 ft) above sea level. It is a flat-topped hill flanked by steep cliffs on three sides. Mount McKay is composed of shale and greywackes – the Rove Formation – which is covered by the hard, protective 60 m (196.9 ft) thick diabase cap. The Rove Formation
History of the Rove Formation
The Rove Formation is located in the upper northeastern part of Cook County, Minnesota, United States, and extends into Ontario, Canada. It is the youngest of the many Animikie layers, a layer of sedimentary rocks....
is part of the Animikie Group
Animikie Group
The Animikie Group is a geologic group composed of sedimentary and metasedimentary rock, having been originally deposited between 2,500 and 1,800 million years ago within the Animikie Basin. This group of formations are geographically divided into the Gunflint Range, the Mesabi and Vermilion...
. The Rove sedimentary layers in the Nor'Wester Mountains are overlain by a 60 m (196.9 ft) cap of diabase
Diabase
Diabase or dolerite is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. In North American usage, the term diabase refers to the fresh rock, whilst elsewhere the term dolerite is used for the fresh rock and diabase refers to altered material...
; this Logan diabase is million years old. This diabase cap is the erosional remnant of a sill that once extended over the entire area. Most of it is covered by a thick layer of mineral soil.
The north face of Mount McKay shows evidence that below this cap is another 7.2 m (23.6 ft) thick sill of very hard diabase. This sill is also an erosional remnant and is 96 m (315 ft) below the first cap and 190 m (623.4 ft) below the top of the hill – or 242 m (794 ft) above sea level.
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (Ontario)
Loch Lomond is a large spring-fed lake located above Lake Superior, south of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is located in behind Mount McKay, in the Fort William First Nation and Neebing Municipality. Loch Lomond is considered to be a deep oligotrophic lake...
, 287 m (941.6 ft) above sea level, collects most of the runoff within the Nor’Wester Mountains; Loch Lomond is drained by the Lomond River. A few square kilometers of mountain slope south of Mount McKay are drained by Whiskeyjack Creek.