453 Granite Ridge
| Geology | Fresh Water | Soils | Plants | Animals | Cultural Environment | Sites of Interest | Topics & Habitats |
Geology and Landscape Development
The Granite Ridge along the Eastern Shore forms a prominent feature 80
km long and about 8-10 km wide. It rises sharply, sometimes with cliffs,
to a narrow plateau 100 m above the Atlantic Coast Region (see Figure 27).
The granite has been cut by faults in two places: along the valley from Spider Lake through Lake Major, and along the Porters Lake valley.
The Musquodoboit River also cuts across it in a narrow gorge and must have been superimposed by downcutting since the Cretaceous.
The surface of the granite has a thin veneer of coarse granite till which, at the eastern end of the ridge, is overlain with a few drumlins of red Lawrencetown Till (Wolfville soils). These have spilled over from the area of the Eastern Shore Drumlins (sub-Unit 435a) to the north.
Fresh Water
The surface-water coverage in this Unit is very high,
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| Musquodobit River Click to enlarge |
Soils
Gibraltar soils (well-drained, gravelly, sandy loams derived from granite)
are dominant, with large areas of exposed bedrock and small areas of
imperfectly drained Danesville soil and peat bogs.
Plants
This Unit is somewhat cooler in summer than Unit 451 and has a climate
quite similar to Unit 452. Red Spruce, Balsam Fir, birch, Eastern Hemlock,
and White Spruce are common species on well-drained sites. Black
Spruce, Balsam Fir, and Larch occur in wetter areas. Parts of the Unit are
semi-barren. Scattered Red Oak occurs around the Lake Charlotte area.
Shade-intolerant birch and aspen colonize burnt areas.
The ruggedness and effects of repeated burns, which still continue, were well described by C.D. Howe, writing in 1912: "The crests of the granite hills east of Halifax harbour have been deeply eroded by glacial action and have naturally very thin soils; and frequent fires have so exposed the rocks, that from a distance most of the rounded domes appear white. When not burned, they are sparsely covered by a black forest, that is, coniferous, in striking contrast to the lighter green of the hardwoods prevailing on the lower slopes. The higher slopes, especially when facing southward are covered with spruce overtopped by scattered white and red pine. The hardwoods go nearly to the top on the northerly -facing slopes. The low ridges usually support pure hardwoods. Red spruce prevails in the broader flats between the ridges, while hemlock predominates in the ravines and gullies, and at the base of steep slopes along the rivers and smaller lakes."
Animals
There is little recorded information about terrestrial animals in this Unit.
Fish species include White Sucker, Brook Trout, White Perch, Gaspereau,
Yellow Perch, Brown Bullhead, Banded Killifish, and shiners.
Cultural Environment
Forest management predominates in this area. However, farming has
also been important in the Musquodoboit Valley. Other resource-based
industries here include Christmas tree farms. The Waverley Game
Sanctuary spans part of the Granite Ridge. Seasonal hunting is common
in this area.
- Waverley Game Sanctuary
Provincial Parks and Park Reserves
- Paces Lake
- Caribou Lake
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