Dolomite is a hard rock formed when limestone is infused with magnesium. The Escarpment also contains sandstone and shale. The shale was formed from accumulated sediment at the bottom of a shallow muddy inland sea.
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A cross-section of the Niagara Escarpment on
the Bruce peninsula. The youngest rocks are
the top layer which was formed around 410 million years ago, during the
Middle Silurian period. The older rocks at the water line were formed
around 420 million years ago, during the Upper Ordovician period.
Dolomite is a hard rock formed when limestone is infused with magnesium. The Escarpment also contains sandstone and shale. The shale was formed from accumulated sediment at the bottom of a shallow muddy inland sea. |
The Niagara Escarpment was named a world biosphere reserve by the United Nations in 1990. It includes a unique collection of habitats and is dotted with parks, reserves and conservation areas. The Bruce Trail follows the Niagara Escarpment through Ontario, including, of course, the Bruce peninsula.
The Escarpment is surrounded by a variety of landforms created by the glaciers, such as moraines and till deposits. Even today, the watersheds of a number of rivers are shaped by the Escarpment including the:
A section of the Escarpment runs across the bottom of Georgian Bay to Manitoulin Island. Ancient drainage channels have been discovered which cut through this section, originating from the time when the ancestors of the Great Lakes drained into the Ottawa River valley via the French and Mattawa rivers.
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