Ontario Trans-Canada Highway Route: Highway #17 between Kenora and Ignace, Ontario
Here is the itinerary for the 246 km along Highway #17 between Kenora and Ignace
Much of the land in Northwestern Ontario is Canadian Shield with sedimentary rocks form a vast ancient ocean with a number of volcanic influences. The region was home to a number of volcanos, which mixed volcanic and sedimentary rocks into folds of granite batholiths. At he junction of Highway 17/71, you can look at the rock cuts for the highway to see the variations in the rocks. East of Dinorwic there are rocks cuts with colours based on dominant minerals in the stone.
You can quickly observe the acidity of area lakes as you drive by. Those that are more acidic have cattails, pond lilies, and sedge. These plants also attract a range of waterfowl.
The rocks over much of the Canadian Shield have been rounded by glacial scour. The first vegetation to move in are the lichens. As they grow they secrete acids and begin to break apart the rocks, as well as provide decayed vegetable matter for larger plants to begin growing. Over thousands of years, the soils have improved in spots to become home to .forests of conifers. The lichens are popular food for area woodland caribou who inhabit the local forests. The tree species found in this area include black ash, balsam fir, black spruce and jack pine.
In some areas you will see glacial moraines (a ridge of rocks left behind) which provide a well-drained base suitable for both forests and for farming. Around Dryden you pass through a farming area with silt and clay soils left behind by a glacial lake, and growing a variety of legumes, grasses and forage for the area's cattle, pigs and sheep. It also helps make the land a little flatter, like for Dryden's airport.
The vast forest industry of Northwestern Ontario, and the pulp and paper mills have caused mercury pollution in some lakes and waterways, and have led to Minimata Disease (named for the Japanese community where it was first identified) in First Nations residents in the community of Grassy Narrows, who relied on locally caught fish for their sustenance.
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