Agawa Canyon

The Agawa Canyon is a shallow canyon located deep in the sparsely populated Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It was created 1.2 billion years ago by faulting along the Canadian Shield and then enlarged by the erosive action of the Agawa River. The Agawa Canyon Wilderness Park is only accessible by hiking trail or the Agawa Canyon station on the Algoma Central Railway, and is located 114 miles (183 km) by rail north west of Sault Ste. Marie. At their highest point, the walls of the Agawa Canyon rise 175.2 metres (575 ft) above the river. The park is situated in the transitional zone between the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Forest region and the Boreal Forest, with diverse and numerous representative flora from both regions present in the canyon. Annual snowfall in the canyon exceeds 450 centimetres (180 in), with a record snowfall of 782 centimetres (308 in) recorded during the winter of 1989. Four waterfalls dot the canyon's rim and feed the Agawa River. The North and South Black Beaver Falls are 53.3 metres (175 ft) high. The tallest waterfall in the park is Bridal Veil Falls at 68.5 metres (225 ft). Otter Creek Falls is the shortest waterfall at 13.7 meters (45 ft). The upper part of Otter Creek provides natural spawning beds for speckled trout, with the falls itself fed by small beaver ponds above the canyon. Common plant species that flower in the spring and summer include fireweed, yellow and orange hawkweed, Oxeye daisy, nodding trillium, and yellow clintonia. Species flowering later in the season include viper's bugloss, bladder campion, yarrow, evening primrose and a variety of asters. Beaver and otter are abundant in the Agawa River, as are several species of duck including mergansers, wood ducks and goldeneyes. The steep canyon walls and proximity of the rail tracks render the area fairly unappealing to moose and bear; however, the area abounds with small mammals, including chipmunks, meadow voles and groundhogs. Commonly sighted birds include ravens, robins, grackles, ruffed grouse, and great blue herons. A variety of raptors frequent the canyon including merlins, golden eagles, broad-winged hawks and American kestrels.

Data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).