Geography and Ecology
Kirkland Lake is located at 48°09′00″N 80°02′00″W / 48.15°N 80.0333333°W / 48.15; -80.0333333Coordinates: 48°09′00″N 80°02′00″W / 48.15°N 80.0333333°W / 48.15; -80.0333333 at an altitude of 243 metres (797 ft) above sea level and has an area of 262.54 km2 (101.37 sq mi) including the townships of Teck, Bernhardt and Morrisette.
Kirkland Lake is nestled in the resource rich Precambrian Shield, the oldest geological formation on the planet. Nearby is the Arctic Watershed. Waters flowing south of this height of land (318 meters above sea level) flow into the Saint Lawrence River and on to the Atlantic Ocean. North of this point, all waters flow into Hudson Bay and on to the Arctic Ocean.
Noticeable local landmarks include Mount Cheminis, rising 500 meters above sea level, and many small kettle lakes, scraped out of the rock during the last Ice Age and filled with clear water.
Black spruce, Jack pine, trembling aspen, white birch, white spruce, balsam poplar, and balsam fir are the dominant trees in the area. A prominent forest form in this part of the Black Spruce distribution is The Black Spruce/Feathermoss climax forest, which characteristically exhibits moderately dense canopy and features a forest floor of feathermosses. Moose, beaver, muskrat, snowshoe hare, as well as numerous predators roam this area, including marten, ermine, fisher, otter, black bear, wolf, and lynx. The many wetlands and lakes support a diversity of bird species, such as Great Blue Herons, ducks, geese, and that symbol of the north, the common loon. Ground and tree dwelling birds are also plentiful, including grouse, partridge, robins, blue jays, and gray jays as well as birds of prey such as hawks.
Read more about this topic: Kirkland Lake
Famous quotes containing the words geography and, geography and/or ecology:
“At present cats have more purchasing power and influence than the poor of this planet. Accidents of geography and colonial history should no longer determine who gets the fish.”
—Derek Wall (b. 1965)
“Where the heart is, there the muses, there the gods sojourn, and not in any geography of fame. Massachusetts, Connecticut River, and Boston Bay, you think paltry places, and the ear loves names of foreign and classic topography. But here we are; and, if we tarry a little, we may come to learn that here is best. See to it, only, that thyself is here;—and art and nature, hope and fate, friends, angels, and the Supreme Being, shall not absent from the chamber where thou sittest.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“... the fundamental principles of ecology govern our lives wherever we live, and ... we must wake up to this fact or be lost.”
—Karin Sheldon (b. c. 1945)