Happy Valley is a sparsely populated ecologically-sensitive area located in King Township, Ontario, Canada. King (population approx. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Area 1,076,395 km² (4th)  - Land 917,741 km²  - Water 158,654 km² (14. ...

Ecology

Happy Valley Forests

Red-shouldered Hawk

Happy Valley Forests is a 6.48 square kilometre provincially-significant ecological area, classified as an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.^{[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Valley%2C_York_Regional_Municipality%2C_Ontario#endnote_hvf)} It consists of an upland forest on steeply rolling topography, various wooded swamps, and minor wetland areas (wet meadows, thickets and cattail swamps). A few small kettle ponds are also present. Red-shouldered hawk from US NPS Source: U.S. National Park Service Credit: Everglades National Park Photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Red-shouldered hawk from US NPS Source: U.S. National Park Service Credit: Everglades National Park Photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Ecology is sometimes used as an incorrect synonym for the natural environment. ... Forest - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... A freshwater swamp swamp (disambiguation) A swamp is a wetland that features permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water, generally with a substantial number of hummocks, or dry-land protrusions. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... An Inner Mongolia Grassland. ... Species See text Typha is a genus of about ten species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the monogeneric family, Typhaceae. ...

Located on Ordovician bedrock over the Oak Ridges Moraine, the forest attains elevations between 122 to 152 m, increasing westward. The majority of the area is composed of overburden of ice-contract stratified drift of sand, gravel and silt of varying origin (kame, outwash or collapse). Soil types in the forests are predominantly pontytool sandy loam; Brighton sandy loam, King clay loam (southern and western steep areas), and bottomland (along stream banks) are present in small areas. The Ordovician period is the second of the six (seven in North America) periods of the Paleozoic era. ... The Oak Ridges Moraine is a geographic area in southern Ontario, Canada stretching from Milton to Rice Lake, near Peterborough. ... Patterns in the sand Sand is an example of a class of materials called granular matter. ... Gravel Gravel is rock that is of a certain size range. ... Silt refers to soil or rock particles of a certain very small size range (see grain size). ... A kame is a geological feature, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed chiefly of poorly sorted sand and gravel deposited by a sub-glacial stream as an alluvial fan or delta. ... Loam is soil composed of sand, silt, and clay, with particles of various sizes, evenly mixed. ...

The upland forest is dominated by Sugar Maple in most areas, and Sugar Maple and Beech in others, though species such as White Birch, White Ash, Eastern Hemlock, Black Cherry and Red Oak are found throughout. The eastern portion is instead dominated by Red Maple and Red Oak, interspersed by Beech, White Birch, Eastern Hemlock and Largetooth Aspen. Binomial name Acer saccharum Marsh. ... Species Fagus crenata - Japanese Beech Fagus engleriana - Chinese Beech Fagus grandifolia - American Beech Fagus hayatae - Taiwan Beech Fagus japonica - Japanese Blue Beech Fagus longipetiolata - South Chinese Beech Fagus lucida - Shining Beech Fagus mexicana - Mexican Beech or Haya Fagus orientalis - Oriental Beech Fagus sylvatica - European Beech Beech (Fagus) is a genus... Binomial nomenclature Betula pubescens White Birch (Betula pubescens) is an abundant tree throughout northern Europe, northern Asia and also Greenland. ... Binomial name Fraxinus americana L. The White Ash (Fraxinus americana) is one of the largest of the ash genus Fraxinus, growing to 35 m tall. ... Binomial name Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. ... Washington, D.C. Tidal Basin showing cherry trees in flower Cherry tree blossoms A cherry is both a tree and its fleshy fruit, a type known as a drupe with a single hard pit enclosing the seed. ... Genus Quercus Subgenus Quercus Typical oaks. ... Binomial name Acer rubrum L. Red Maple (Acer rubrum) is also known as Swamp Maple or Soft Maple. ... Species Populus adenopoda Populus alba Populus grandidentata Populus sieboldii Populus tremula Populus tremuloides Aspens are trees of the willow family and comprise a section of the poplar genus Populus sect. ...

In the valleys of this forest can be found Largetooth Aspen with White Birch, Red Maple and occasional Beech, Red Oak and Trembling Aspen. Moreover, several kettle depressions and small kettle ponds are present in the area. A kettle hole is a geological feature formed by receding glaciers. ...

Supporting over 100 bird species, and numerous other wildlife species, the Happy Valley Forests is recognized for its size and the presence of various rare species.^{[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Valley%2C_York_Regional_Municipality%2C_Ontario#endnote_species)} Native and rare species include:

• Acadian Flycatcher (endangered)
• Hooded Warbler (threatened)
• Red-shouldered Hawk (vulnerable)
• Cerulean Warbler

Note that the status of the species listed above is for Canada only.^{[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Valley%2C_York_Regional_Municipality%2C_Ontario#endnote_endangered)} None of these species is currently facing global extinction. Binomial name Empidonax virescens (Vieillot, 1818) The Acadian Flycatcher, Empidonax virescens, is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. ... Binomial name Wilsonia citrina (Boddaert, 1783) The Hooded Warbler, Wilsonia citrina , is a New World warbler. ... Binomial name Buteo lineatus (Gmelin, 1788) The Red-shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus, is a medium-sized hawk. ... Binomial name Dendroica cerulea (Wilson, 1810) The Cerulean Warbler, Dendroica cerulea, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. ...

Happy Valley Infiltration Area

The Happy Valley Infiltration Area is the source for the Happy Valley Tributary, which merges with the Schomberg River.^{[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Valley%2C_York_Regional_Municipality%2C_Ontario#endnote_hvia)} It spans 945 hectares.

References

1. ^  Government of Ontario - Ministry of Natural Resources - Natural Areas Report: HAPPY VALLEY FORESTS (http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/nhic/areas/areas_report.cfm?areaid=1285)
2. ^  Nature Conservancy of Canada - Background: Protecting Happy Valley Forest on the Oak Ridges Moraine (http://www.natureconservancy.ca/pdf/happyvalleyforest_backgrounder.pdf)
3. ^  Environment Canada - All Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species (http://www.sis.ec.gc.ca/ec_species/ec_species_e.phtml)
4. ^  Government of Ontario - Ministry of Natural Resources - Natural Areas Report: HAPPY VALLEY INFILTRATION AREA (http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/nhic/areas/areas_report.cfm?areaid=10255)
5. ^  Government of Ontario - Ministry of Natural Resources - Natural Areas Report: HAPPY VALLEY (http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/nhic/areas/areas_report.cfm?areaid=10253)