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Trees Along the Crest of the Niagara
River Gorge from Devil's Hole to DeVeaux (Whirlpool)
Steps in New York State: P. M. Eckel |
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Trees Along the Crest of the Niagara River
Gorge from Devil's Hole to DeVeaux (Whirlpool)
Steps in New York State: by P. M. Eckel
Shade typical of the crest
woodlands is dappled, as seen here. The westerly winds here are nearly
constant and the spangled light moves and shifts on dry soil, producing a
distinctive flora.
This is the elegant fencing that
divides the hiker from the dangerous crest of the gorge, to the left in this
view. The gentle shapes of the surface of the dirt path have been worn by
thousands of visitors throughout the century. The crest vegetation is all
that is left of a crest ecology that included native mosses and liverworts,
herbs, shrubs and trees.
View to the north (downstream) onto
the rapids of the Niagara River. The gorge is approximately 200 feet high and
most covered with a rocky talus upon which a forest has developed. The white
areas that appear to be beaches at the water's edge are exposed rock layers
on which vegetation is difficult to establish itself due to the ice buildup
in winter that scours these rocks and have for centuries. Although the amount
of ice development is regulated, it still develops sufficient mass to inhibit
the establishment of trees and shrubs at the water's edge.
View through the crest
vegetation to the south (upstream). The whirlpool basin is seen in the
distance.
The fence is supported in places
by stone piers.
The path along the crest winds in
and out with variations in the erosional history of the topmost strata of
rock, here dolostone, a calcareous stone. The point in the distance on the
left is a viewing area.
Lack of canopy together with a
policy of no-mow can create masses of
weedy growth, here a species of prickly Thistle, probably the Canada Thistle,
Cirsium arvense.
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