The
Beautiful Bruce Peninsula
This
Map of Southern Ontario shows the Bruce
Peninsula in the
red square.
The Bruce Peninsula is part of the ridge known as the Niagara
Escarpment. Administratively the Bruce Peninsula (often
referred to locally as just The Bruce) is part of Bruce County.
Towns on the peninsula include Tobermory,
Lions
Head, Wiarton
and Sauble
Beach. The area is home to the Bruce
Peninsula National Park, Fathom
Five National Marine Park and the part of the Bruce
Trail.
The
Bruce Peninsula offers camping, hiking, fishing, golf, water
sports, rock climbing and nature in all its forms. It is 3
hours north of Toronto. It has two national parks - The
Bruce Peninsula National Park and the Fathom
Five National Marine Park, more than half a dozen nature
reserves, and the Niagara Escarpment making it attractive
to naturalists.
Some Facts about the Bruce Peninsula
The Bruce Peninsula is part of the Niagara Escarpment World
Biosphere Reserve.
The Bruce Peninsula has the largest remaining area of forest
and natural habitat in Southern Ontario.
The Bruce Peninsula is home to some of the oldest trees in
eastern North America.
The peninsula contains one of the greatest concentrations
of native orchid species in North America.
History
The Bruce Peninsula is a place of beauty, from the 200-foot
tall cliffs facing Georgian Bay, to the peaceful beaches on
the shores of Lake Huron. It is here that the Niagara Escarpment
starts its 700-kilometre jaunt from Tobermory to Queenston,
on the Niagara Peninsula. Millions of years ago during the
Silurian Period, the bedrock of the escarpment was formed.
Through the following ages, ancient oceans eroded away the
softer bases of shale, then huge glaciers carved their way
through the escarpment leaving massive boulders, gravel and
sand, creating a unique atmosphere. Much of the Bruce is now
preserved under the United Nations as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
The
Bruce Peninsula is also host to one of the most scenic stretches
of the "World Famous" Bruce
Trail. The 150 km's of Hiking
trails in the Bruce Peninsula are considered the best
in Southern Ontario!
Wildflowers
& Orchids
Some of the rarest flowers and ferns
in Ontario can be found growing on the Bruce Peninsula.
Globally
there are more than 30
000 orchid species. Canada is home to 77 species of these
orchids. Ontario has 61 varieties of orchids, and of these
44 can be found in the Bruce Peninsula
A
selection of the most interesting orchids on the Bruce Peninsula:
Yellow
Lady's Slipper - cypripedium parviflorum
Common, native orchid, classified ‘secure'
Blooms May to June
Prefers drier soil than other Lady's slippers
Easy to find along roadsides as Johnston Harbour Road
Remarkable: produces the smallest seeds by any group of flowers!
Lighthouses
of the Bruce Peninsula
The Bruce Peninsula's shoreline has several lighthouses: necessary
to provide guidance to the many ships that would pass by her
shores. The Cove Island Lighthouse, located near Tobermory
is one of the six famous "Imperial" lighthouses
built in the 1850s by John Brown can be found in the North
Bruce Peninsula.
Wildlife
There are many varieties of wildlife on the Bruce Peninsula.
From the red squirrel to the black bear, the lynx to the chipmunk,
many species are represented. The most commonly viewed species
are the chipmunk, squirrel, raccoon, porcupine, snowshoe hare,
skunk, white-tailed deer, snakes and frogs. A little more
rarely seen, and found mostly in the heavily forested area
near the top of the peninsula are the black bear, fisher,
long-eared bats, northern flying squirrel, fox, martin, Massasauga
rattlesnake, red-shouldered hawk, barred owl, hermit thrush,
black-throated blue warbler, scarlet tanager and yellow-spotted
salamander.
Birds
also make their homes here. You can see bald eagles soar majestically
along the cliffs, or see hummingbirds flying from flower to
flower.
