Point Pelee National Park (; french: Parc national de la Pointe-Pelée) is a national park in Essex County in southwestern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada where it extends into Lake Erie. The word is French for 'bald'. Point Pelee consists of a peninsula of land, mainly of marsh and woodland habitats, that tapers to a sharp point as it extends into

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

. Middle Island, also part of Point Pelee National Park, was acquired in 2000 and is just north of the Canada–United States border in Lake Erie. Point Pelee is the southernmost point of mainland Canada, and is located on a foundation of glacial sand, silt and gravel that bites into Lake Erie. This spit of land is slightly more than seven kilometres long by wide at its northern base. Established in 1918, Point Pelee was the first national park in Canada to be established for conservation. It was designated as a Ramsar site on 27 May 1987.

History

Aboriginal people lived on Point Pelee for many years before European colonization, dating back to at least 6,000 years. The largest archaeological site found at Point Pelee is thought to have been occupied between AD 700 and 900. The name was given to the area by Fathers Dollier and Galinée when they passed through the area in 1670. In the late 1700s, British naval reserves logged the area's white pine for shipbuilding. In 1790, Deputy Indian Agent Alexander McKee negotiated a treaty with Aboriginal communities that ceded a large tract of land, which included Point Pelee, to the Crown. The Caldwell First Nation Chippewa people, who inhabited Point Pelee, were not signatories of that treaty. However, the Crown did not realize this, and their land was ceded nonetheless. Subsequently, they were forced off their land, and Point Pelee remains unceded aboriginal land. This has been publicly acknowledged by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Prior to the creation of the park, the Great Lakes Ornithological Club was established to study bird migration. One of the members, Percy A. Taverner, and Canada's first Dominion Ornithologist, recommended Point Pelee be made a national park in 1915.

Jack Miner John Thomas Miner, OBE (April 10, 1865 – November 3, 1944), or "Wild Goose Jack," was a Canadian conservationist called by some the "father" of North American conservationism. Biography Born John Thomas Miner in Dover Township (Westlake), Ohi ...

had also pushed for the creation of the park by that time. Point Pelee was made a national park in 1918 at the urging of

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

and hunters. Commercial fishing continued in the park until 1969. Point Pelee was the only Canadian national park to allow hunting until duck hunting was ended in 1989. This site was named "Pointe-Pelée" (meaning "bald point") by French explorers because the eastern side was rocky and had no trees. Point Pelee was designated a

dark-sky preserve A dark-sky preserve (DSP) is an area, usually surrounding a park or observatory, that restricts artificial light pollution. The purpose of the dark-sky movement is generally to promote astronomy. However, astronomy is certainly not the only obje ...

in 2006, the first Canadian national park to be designated as such. In March 2006, high winds caused waves that washed away the sand point and all that remained was a platform. In October 2007 the level of Lake Erie dropped enough to reveal the point again extending at least a kilometre out into the water and at least wide with a winding curve shape to it. Since that time the sandy tip continues to shift, grow longer or shorter, or even detach temporarily, from year to year.

Geography

Located in the western parts of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, the park is a sandspit formation that extends into Lake Erie and is up to thick. With an area of only , it is Canada's smallest national park. Most of the park (about or 70% of the park consists of marsh, dominated by

cattails ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in ...

and ponds although forested areas make up a significant portion of the park, covering about 21% of the park. This sandspit is dominated by till plains which were formed during the last ice age during the advance and retreat of the Wisconsonian ice on a submerged limestone ridge. As the glacier melted and retreated northward, the Lake Erie basin began to fill with water. The movement of sediments altered the coastline, resulting in the present-day shape of Point Pelee. Subsequently, over the centuries, a thin but rich soil has formed. Mineral soils in the park were mapped as well to rapidly drained Eastport sand, which has insignificant profile development. The marshes began to form about 3,200 years ago, based on carbon dating. This was also the same time when the sands began to deposit, forming the present day barriers. The marsh has a closed drainage system owing to the separation of it by two barriers along the east and west side, which usually prevents the free exchange of water. However, when lake levels are higher, the marsh water levels fluctuate with the lake's water levels. The distinctive triangular shape at the southern tip of Point Pelee is caused by the convergence of these two barriers (this spit or tip is the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland). Middle Island, which is located south of the Point Pelee peninsula has an area of approximately and is the southernmost point in Canada. Virtually all of Middle Island is forested.

Flora and fauna

Owing to its southernly location and the moderating effects of Lake Erie, the climate in the park is slightly warmer than the rest of Canada and many Carolinian faunal species, which are rare in Canada are located here. Examples include the

fox snake Fox snake or foxsnake is the common name given to some North American rat snake Rat snakes are members – along with kingsnakes, milk snakes, vine snakes and indigo snakes – of the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae. They a ...

and the five-lined skink. Because of its location at the crossroads of 2 major migration flyways, about 347-360 different species of migratory birds have been recorded in the park and more than 100 species stay there for breeding. This total includes 102 waterfowl and shorebird species. Dominic Couzen's ''Top 100 Birding Sites of the World'' lists Point Pelee as #66. Coyotes are also present within this park. Many Carolinian floral species that are rare in Canada occur within the park boundaries. Point Pelee has five different habitats: beach, cedar, savanna, dry forest, wet forest, and freshwater marsh. The park contains more than 750 native plant species, of these 8 species are considered to be rare, endangered or threatened in Canada. Nearby Point Pelee is Middle Island which is designated provincially as an

Area of Natural and Scientific Interest Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an o ...

(ANSI) due to its unique and rare assemblages of plants and animals. Middle Island is home to plants and animals that are characteristic of the Carolinian ecozone of which nine species are at risk. The diversity of vegetation in the marsh is the highest along the edge of the marsh ponds and in the transitional zones between the terrestrial environments and the marsh. Four different vegetation communities dominate in the marsh.

Climate

Point Pelee has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(''Dfa'' under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

) with warm, humid summers, and cold winters that is modified by the surrounding waters of Lake Erie. It lies in a zone that is characterized by variable weather due to conflict between polar and tropical air masses. Its position in Lake Erie modifies its climate, resulting in warmer winter and fall temperatures compared to inland regions, as the lake cools more slowly than the surrounding land though during the spring, temperatures remain cooler than inland areas due to the land warming faster than the lake. Winters are cold with a January average temperature of . Owing to its position in Lake Erie, winter temperatures are warmer than inland locations at a similar latitude due to the release of the heat stored by the lake. As a result, temperatures below are rare, with only 1.9 days where the temperature reaches or falls below . The maximum temperature usually stays below freezing on most days although mild spells of weather can occur time to time. The park receives of snowfall per year and there are 30.6 days with measurable snow. The park is not located in the snowbelt region, and snow cover is intermittent through the winter. Summers are warm and humid with the warmest month, July, averaging , which is among the highest in Ontario. The surrounding lake moderates summertime temperatures, cooling the flow of warm air masses originating from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

and as a result, temperatures above are rare, with only 4–8 days per year in the park.

Human impact

Development

From a regional perspective, the park is isolated from other natural areas because in Essex County, less than 6% of the native forest cover and 3% of the wetlands remain intact. Much of the area (97% of it) has been altered and mostly converted for agriculture, industry or urban development. It is also located relatively close to the major urban area of Windsor-Detroit.

Birdwatching

The park forms the southernmost point in mainland Canada (its latitude is the same as that of Rome, Italy and Barcelona, Spain) and is part of a bird and butterfly migration corridor over Lake Erie via Point Pelee and the Lake Erie islands. Over 360 bird species have been recorded in the park. The peak time for bird migration is spring, especially May, when tired migrants make first landfall after their journey north across the lake. Many

from North America and abroad visit the park in May, often staying in the nearby town of Leamington. One attraction, apart from the sheer numbers and variety of birds passing through on migration, is the opportunity to see more northerly breeding species before they move on.

Occurrences

March 2017 marsh fire

On 29 March 2017, Point Pelee's marsh land was involved in a fire causing over of marsh habitat to be destroyed. The fire lasted 15 hours and was naturally extinguished due to rainfall the following day.

Commemoration

Point Pelee National Park was featured on a high-value ($5) postage stamp, issued in 1983, as part of a series honouring national parks. The park appeared on a stamp that was issued on 15 January 2018, with a $1.20 face value. The issue coincides with the park's centennial year, and is part of a nine-stamp set featuring scenic views across the country.

Images

Image:Point Pelee looking north.jpg, Point Pelee tip looking North, 2007 Image:Point Pelee looking south.jpg, Point Pelee tip looking South, 2007 Image:Point Pelee April 2008.JPG, Point Pelee looking South, Apr 2008 File:Point Pelee, Looking Southwest, Jan 1 2015.jpg, Point Pelee looking Southwest, Jan 2015 File:Point Pelee Tip SouthWest.jpg, Point Pelee looking Southeast, Jan 2018 Image:Point Pelee looking south in January 2018.jpg, Pelee looking South, Jan 2018 Image:Pt Pelee Marsh Boardwalk.jpg, Boardwalk across a marsh in the park File:ON Pelee tango7174.jpg, Boardwalk, August File:Point Pelee Boardwalk, January 2018.jpg, Boardwalk, January File:Point Pelee National Park shuttle.jpg, One of Point Pelee's shuttles

References

External links

Point Pelee National Park official websiteAn article on Point Pelee National Park from ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''
{{Authority control Important Bird Areas of Ontario National parks in Ontario Parks in Essex County, Ontario Ramsar sites in Ontario Spits of Canada Protected areas established in 1918 Dark-sky preserves in Canada Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in Canada Birdwatching sites in Canada Forests of Ontario 1918 establishments in Ontario Lake Erie