GEOG 3318 Project: Biogeographic Pattern

  The Canadian Shield consists of over eight million square kilometers of pre-Cambrian “shield”, and is the exposed portion of the ancient geological core of North America. It also includes a small portion of the northeastern United States. Three locations within the Canadian Shield which exhibit varying characteristics in their underlying physical environments are: Baffin Island, an island which belongs to the Canadian territory of Nunavut; La Veredrye Wildlife Reserve in  Montcerf-Lytton, a municipality in Quebec, Canada; and Big Falls, a small town in north-central Minnesota. These three locations display three very different climate patterns. Below are climographs representing the climate normals for each location. One characteristic that is shared by the entirety of the Canadian Shield is very thin soil due to glaciation.       Baffin Island's soil is primarily permafrost, a permanently frozen layer beneath the earth's surface. Source: nrdc.org The soil of La Veredrye Wild

Ozark Mountain Range Description:              The Ozark Mountain range spans across three states, Arkansas, Missouri, and a small portion of Oklahoma. Millions of years ago this area was at the bottom of a prehistoric sea. Through millions of years of compression the detritus and sand was compressed to form sandstone and shale deposits throughout this range. The bluffs that are famously known throughout the Arkansas region are a result of years of erosion creating the magnificent cliffs. During the seasonal transitions Arkansas' climate undergoes a monsoon type season with heavy rains and significant storms that can lead to flooding in the valleys between the sloping Ozark mountains. The water dripping and flowing between cracks in the sandstone has formed many cave systems, outcrops, and ravines that are still changing everyday. the limestone composition of the sandstone and the water mix to create an acidic solution that aids in the erosion process as well. often large boulders

My Project will cover The Great Smoky Mountains and the areas surrounding it. In the second Image below, I have highlighted three points of interest to further investigate, allowing myself to further compare and contrast their geological attributes (such as soils, climates and landforms), the sites I have selected are; Mount Le Conte (the orange dot to the North East), Cades Cove (The green dot to the West), and Fontana Lake (the purple dot to the South).  Major Landforms and/or distinguishing attributes found within these three areas would be Mountainous locations, numerous creeks and small rivers, sharp slopes, waterfalls, and of course, a thick and blue tinted mist that reminds one of smoke. These landscapes are nearly always undergoing some form of change, specifically due to the high elevation and abundance of water that crashes against its own rocky slopes.  The Climates located here are foreshadowed by it's landscape. Because of the abundance of living diversity and high amo

 The Gauley River, West Virginia The Gauley River is located in West Virginia and has three major portions that make up the river in its entirety.  In the map above, you can see the three locations that are highlighted by the yellow markers. The far right marker is the Upper Gauley, the middle marker is Summersville Lake, and the far left marker is the Lower Gauley. The Summersville Lake is a man-made lake that was built by the Corps of Engineers in 1960 and separates the two portions of the Gauley River. A main part of the lake is the Summersville Dam, which ends the Summersville Lake and begins the Lower Gauley.  Below are three climographs for the three locations.   Below are the soil surveys for the three locations. Upper Gauley: Summersville Lake: Lower Gauley: The soil surveys and climographs of the three locations are very similar. However due to the characteristics of the lake, the Lower Gauley is different due to creation of the dam. The soils differ slightly from the three lo