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Point Pelee National Park

 

 
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Point Pelee National Park
 
 
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Point Pelee National Park (; French Parc National de la Pointe-Pelée) extends from the mainland of Essex County
Essex County, Ontario

Essex County is a county and census division located in Western Ontario Ontario and covers an area at the Geography of Canada#Extreme points of Canada....
 in southwestern Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. It 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

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time....
.






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Pelee Island Map
Point Pelee National Park (; French Parc National de la Pointe-Pelée) extends from the mainland of Essex County
Essex County, Ontario

Essex County is a county and census division located in Western Ontario Ontario and covers an area at the Geography of Canada#Extreme points of Canada....
 in southwestern Ontario
Ontario

Ontario is a Provinces and territories of Canada located in the Central Canada part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. It 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

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time....
. Middle Island, also part of Point Pelee National Park, was acquired in 2000 and is located just north of the Canada–United States border in Lake Erie. Point Pelee is the southernmost point of mainland Canada. Point Pelee 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 kilometers long by 3.5 kilometers wide at its northern base.

History

Point Pelee was made a national park
National park

A national park is a reserve of land, usually declared and owned by a national government, protected from most human development and pollution....
 in 1918 at the urging of birders 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" or "bare point" by French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 explorers because the eastern side was rocky and had no trees.

It forms the southernmost point in mainland Canada (its latitudinal position is the same as the northernmost counties of California) and is part of a bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
 and butterfly
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
 migration corridor over Lake Erie via Point Pelee and the Lake Erie islands. Over 360 bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
 species have been recorded in the park. The peak time for bird migration
Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
 is spring, especially May, when tired migrants make first landfall after their journey north across the lake.

Many birdwatchers from North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and abroad visit the park in spring, often staying in the nearby town of Leamington
Leamington, Ontario

Leamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario, Ontario and has a population of 31,113. It is located near Point Pelee. In 2006, Leamington was named Canada's best place to live by MoneySense magazine....
. One attraction, apart from the sheer numbers and variety of bird passing through on migration, is the opportunity to see more northerly breeding species such as Blackpoll Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler

The Blackpoll Warbler, Dendroica striata , is a New World warbler. These birds breed in northern North America, from Alaska, through most of Canada, and into the Great Lakes region and New England....
 before they move on.

In March 2006 high winds 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 half a mile out into the water and at least wide with a beautiful winding curving shape to it and covered with sand and round rocks of all shapes and colours.

Images


See also

  • National Parks of Canada
  • List of National Parks of Canada
  • Long Point
    Long Point

    This page relates to a sandspit in Norfolk County, Ontario. For other places called Long Point, see Long Point Long Point is a spit located on the north shore of Lake Erie, located in Norfolk County, Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada....


External links