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Summer Turns to Gold (49)
Silke
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 727 W: 98 N: 1694]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (5406) | This is not really a mountain, but there is not category that quite covers it!
I set myself a difficult task recently. Every day that I could, I was out scouting the Oak Ridges Moraine that passes through southern Ontario just 10 kilometres north of where I live. I wanted to capture something of the area that would convey its fragility. I have driven through it from south to north and back again. But I may have to try for an east - west drive some time instead, a daunting task since it stretches a full 160 km. Beneath its rolling hills, clear lakes, and green river valleys, are hundreds of meters of glacially deposited sand and gravel: an ideal filter for the water that quenches the giant thirst of Canada's most populous area.
The moraine was created when the glaciers retreated and left behind the sand and gravel they had created as they scraped across bedrock and boulders and ground them down. The soil that has gradually developed on top of this is still rather thin and it takes a long time for vegetation to gain a foothold.
But the sand and gravel underneath have a great value to builders and so there are many sand and gravel pits dotting the area. Behind this ridge, almost out of sight of the highway is one such pit.
The area was developed for farming by early settlers who simply deforested the land. Conscription in World War One, as well as the great depression several years later, resulted in the mass abandonment of farms and resulted in a dustbowl. But the land has slowly healed itself as you can see by the mix of vegetation that has developed. There are many conservation groups that continue to fight to allow the land to rest since the sandy gravelly soil is the best natural filter for drinking water.
Shot in RAW, converted to jpg, reduced the strength of the blues created by the polarizing filter by reducing the colour saturation in the sky, resized and sharpened edges.
Thanks for looking and have a wonderful week |
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