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| Georgian Bay Cliff Formations |
The Place
Only 4 miles across the Bruce Peninsula separates the Grotto on the Georgian Bay and
the Singing Sands on Lake Huron, yet the two locations could not be more
different. They give testimony to the
variety of scenery, geology, and plant life on the amazing Bruce Peninsula. Both are lovely and scenic in their own
right.
The Adventure
We hiked out to the Grotto along the Georgian Bay in the
morning.
Initially the path is wide,
level and man-made.
You pass Cypress
Lake and then cross the stream that connects it with Horse Lake.
You admire the fall colors in the trees as
well as in the wetlands along Horse Lake.
Then abruptly you are at the top of limestone cliffs that have been
eroded by wind, water and ice.
The water
below is turquoise blue, even on a rainy day.
From there you scramble along the top of the cliff face.
Every turn reveals a new, fantastic
formation; caves, an arch, and the famous Grotto with the water churning inside
it.
It is all quite dramatic and larger
than life.
From there we drove across Highway 6 (almost literally
across) to the Singing Sands beach along Lake Huron.
The beach gets its name because when the wind
blows from the West the sand crystals rub together and “sing”.
The beach is about ¼ mile deep with hard
packed sand and hummocks of plant life.
The Lake is very shallow here, making it an ideal swim spot for young
families.
There is a nature trail here
that highlights rare plants that are not visible at this time of year.
It takes you through a Fen, a Dune System,
and an Alvar.
What, you say, is an
Alvar?
It is where limestone bedrock
have been exposed and pock marks and crevices in the rock have accumulated a
small amount of soil and water.
Tiny,
hardy plants, and then larger ones, start to live in these little spots.
Alvars are very rare and are only found in Northern
Europe and the Great Lakes.
More than ½
of the Alvars currently in the Great Lakes occur in Ontario.
The Georgian Bay
The Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron. It is 120 miles long and 50 miles wide. It is nearly 80% of the size of Lake
Ontario. Early explorers believed it was
a separate lake and called it the 6th Great Lake. In fact, it is large enough to be counted as
one of the top 20 largest lakes in the world if it was a lake instead of a bay. The Georgian Bay is entirely in Ontario.
These photos were taken either in the rain, mist or
fog.
They don’t do justice to the lovely
and magnificent scenery.
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| Singing Sands Beach |
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| Limestone Outcropping at Singing Sands Beach |
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| Singing Sands Beach |
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| This is an Alvar |
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| Alvar |
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| Pitcher Plant from the Fen |
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