1+Mixedwood+Plains

The MixedWood Plains are the smallest of all ecozones. It is home to many Canadians and has a total population of 15,631,830. It extends along Quebec City, Windsor Corridor, and also southern Ontario. The major cities of the Mixedwood Plains are Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec, Hamilton, Windsor and London. Through out our web page we will be discussing the following topics about the Mixedwood Plains; Landform region, Rocks and minerals, Vegetation and Soil, Climate and Climograph, Tourism, some fun facts, and the future of the ecozone.



__**Landform**__

In the Mixedwood Plains it consists mostly of flat plains and gentile rolling hills. Great lakes are an important feature. The Mixedwood Plans contains about 9% of Canada's land. The Mixedwood plains are endowed with abundant of fresh water resources, from four great lakes; Huron, Erie, Ontario, and the St.Lawrence River from Kingston to Quebec City. To get an idea of how much fresh water these lakes give them is, the total of these lakes give them 20% of the worlds fresh water. The St.Lawrence river has the biggest outflow in Canada. These bodies of water take up about 42% of the ecozones total surface cover/land. Before the most recent ice age which was 11,000 years ago the Mixedwood Plains were covered and buried under more then a KILOMETER of ice. Following the ice age the St. Lawrence and lower Ottawa valleys were covered by the Champlain Sea for another 1,200 years. Thick marine clay deposits in southern and southeastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec are the products of glacial action and the now extinct Champlain Sea. Underneath the urban centers and agricultural fields are mesozoic and paleozoic sedimentary rock. 

__**Ecozone Future**__ Our Ecozone is right now full of Residents and recreational areas. We are built up with farms, cities, and work offices. In the future the population will extend dramatically because immigration rate of this area is high right now and keeps increasing. This area may attract people to move to this area because there are so many job opportunities. Also since the increase of population we will have to expand the height of buildings to make space for people to live and work.

 Since the increase of population the pollution rate will go up too because more people means more cars. The traffic would be a lot worse and the amount of fossil fuels will go down because for gasoline. Right now we have fields and farms but when our population goes up we might not have enough space to build buildings and homes so we will need to take them away to make homes for people.



**__Vegetation and soil__**

The mixedwood plains use to be full of different types of trees and plant types but due to agriculture and forestry, although there is still plenty of vegetation. It is built up with a mixture of deciduous and evergreen species. Some of the vegetation consists of white pine, eastern hemlock, and red pine. There is also a mix of deciduous trees like sugar maple, red oak and basswood. The mixedwood plains region is located near large bodies of water so they receive plenty of precipitation. This region is also in a mild climate due to the warm air coming from the Gulf of Mexico. The mixedwood plains consist of Canada’s most productive and fertile soil. Some soils you may find in this region are luvisols, brunisols, and podzals.



**__Rocks and Minerals__**  Some minerals that are found in the mixedwood forest region include industrial minerals like calcium carbonate, nepheline syenite, talc, dolomite, dolomitic lime, gypsum, and salt. These minerals can be found in Haley, Perth, Madoc, Guelph, Dundas and many more cities and towns that are well know for there mineral resources in the mixedwood plains. Carbonate-rich Paleozoic bedrock is underneath most of the mixedwood plains. It consists of deep moraine, lacustrine, and marine/estuarine deposits.



__**Tourism**__

 The mixedwood plains is one of the most highly populated places in Canada. You can find some famous landmarks in the mixedwood plains like the CN Tower in downtown Toronto, the capital of Canada which is Ottawa where all of the parliament buildings are found and where the Royal Canadian Mint is located, and Niagara falls in Niagara one of the seven wonders of the world. Those are the main attractions and are well known around the world but there are smaller things that are found in the mixedwood plains like the rogers centre that can attract tourists as well.



**__Climate__**

The mixed woodplains have cool winters with an average temperature of -5ºC and warm summers with an average temperature of 17ºC it. It also has a mild climate and a lot of rainfall. this moderation in weather is cause by the surrounding bodies of water the great lakes. This ecozone has an average annual precipitation of about 720-1000mm.Warm Gulf air travels up toward this region where there is a lot of precipitation. The weather in this ecozone changes rapidly, due to it lying in one of North America’s major storm tracks.



**__Fun Facts__**

• 11 000 years ago the mixed wood plains were buried under a kilometer of ice due to the ice age.

• The Great Lakes: Contribute about 20% of the fresh water

• The mixed wood plains takes up 52% of Canada's population

• The Largest Cities are Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, and Ottawa

• The CN Tower is the largest free-standing structure in the world, the Niagara Falls were made naturally and one of the 8 natural wonders of the world.

• Settlers founded Niagara, Hamilton, and Toronto in the 18th century

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">• It is the smallest ecozone in Canada

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">• The vegatation of the plains is well know for it assortment of trees

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">**__Sources: Bibleography__**

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">"Facts." Mixedwood Plains. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. < @http://parmbir-rai.tripod.com/id10.html >.

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">The Mixedwood Plains Ecozone. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. < @http://mixedplains.tripod.com/ >.

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">//Canada / Bienvenue à L'Atlas Du Canada//. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/ecology/humanactivities/mines_table.html/>.

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">//Mixedwood Plains//. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://jaclyn-sabrina.tripod.com/>.

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">"Landforms and Climate of the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone." //Ecozones.ca Home Page//. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://ecozones.ca/english/zone/MixedwoodPlains/land.html>.

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">//Mixedwood Plains//. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://jaclyn-sabrina.tripod.com/>. <span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Climate and Climograph

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">"Landforms and Climate of the Mixedwood Plains Ecozone." //Ecozones.ca Home Page//. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://ecozones.ca/english/zone/MixedwoodPlains/land.html>.

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">//The Mixedwood Plains Ecozone//. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://mixedplains.tripod.com/vegetation.html>. <span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">"The Atlas of Canada - Table 1. Some Major Mines by Ecozone." //Welcome to the Atlas of Canada / Bienvenue à L'Atlas Du Canada//. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/ecology/humanactivities/mines_table.html/>.

<span style="background-color: #e9e3b9; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">//Mixedwood Plains//. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://jaclyn-sabrina.tripod.com/>.