# Ecology of the Oak Ridges Moraine

The Oak Ridges Moraine lies in Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the headwaters of sixty-five rivers and streams. It has a wide diversity of woodlands, wetlands, watercourses, kettle lakes, kettle bogs, and significant flora and fauna. It is one of the few remaining continuous green corridors in southern Ontario: it remains thirty percent forested and is one of the last refuges for forest birds in all of southern Ontario.
The moraine provides habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal species, over seventy of which are threatened or endangered in Canada, including the West Virginia white butterfly, Jefferson salamander, red-shouldered hawk, and American ginseng. The moraine's rare wetlands support plants and insects more typical of northern Ontario. The remnants of tallgrass prairie and oak-pine savanna in the eastern portion are globally threatened ecosystems.

## Happy Valley Forests

Happy Valley Forests is a 648-hectare upland forest with wooded swamps and minor wetland areas. It supports a diverse wildlife population, including over 100 species of birds, some of which are endangered or threatened in Canada. The forests are characterized by the dominant sugar maple in most areas, and red maple on its eastern edges. It is a provincial ANSI Life Science ecological zone.

## Provincially significant ecological areas

A number of provincially significant ecological areas are located in the Oak Ridges Moraine, among them forty-eight wetlands, and twenty-eight earth and life science Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI-ES and ANSI-LS).
The table below lists the ecological zones by municipal jurisdiction; for zones that overlap multiple jurisdictions, the zone is listed in the jurisdiction which contains the greatest portion of that zone. Moreover, some of the zones listed may only have some portion of their complex on the Oak Ridges Moraine; for example, a small southern component of the Ansnorveldt Wetland Complex lies on the northern edge of the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Provincially significant ecological areas on the Oak Ridges Moraine; size is in hectares (100 hectares = 1 km$^2$) :
| Caledon ||||
| Little Credit River Wetland Complex | 43°49′N 79°54′W﻿ / ﻿43.817°N 79.900°W﻿ / 43.817; -79.900 | 270.6 | Wetland |
| Credit Forks Wetland | 43°49′N 79°58′W﻿ / ﻿43.817°N 79.967°W﻿ / 43.817; -79.967 | 29.4 | Wetland |
| Gibson Lake Wetland | 43°57′N 79°49′W﻿ / ﻿43.950°N 79.817°W﻿ / 43.950; -79.817 | 27.9 | Wetland |
| Centreville Creek Wetland Complex | 43°54′N 79°50′W﻿ / ﻿43.900°N 79.833°W﻿ / 43.900; -79.833 | 12.5 | Wetland |
| Bolton Wetland Complex | 44°14′N 80°15′W﻿ / ﻿44.233°N 80.250°W﻿ / 44.233; -80.250 | 5.7 | Wetland |
| King Township ||||
| Pottageville Swamp | 44°0′N 79°37′W﻿ / ﻿44.000°N 79.617°W﻿ / 44.000; -79.617 | 658.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Happy Valley Forests | 43°57′N 79°36′W﻿ / ﻿43.950°N 79.600°W﻿ / 43.950; -79.600 | 648.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Pottageville Southeast Upland | 43°58′N 79°36′W﻿ / ﻿43.967°N 79.600°W﻿ / 43.967; -79.600 | 90.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Cold Creek Conservation Area | 43°54′N 79°42′W﻿ / ﻿43.900°N 79.700°W﻿ / 43.900; -79.700 | 81.7 | ANSI Life Science |
| Glenville Hills Kames | 44°2′N 79°31′W﻿ / ﻿44.033°N 79.517°W﻿ / 44.033; -79.517 | 345.0 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Linton—Kelly Lake Channels | 43°56′N 79°37′W﻿ / ﻿43.933°N 79.617°W﻿ / 43.933; -79.617 | 588.0 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Kettleby and Newmarket Tills | 44°1′N 79°33′W﻿ / ﻿44.017°N 79.550°W﻿ / 44.017; -79.550 | 0.2 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Pottageville Wetland Complex | 44°0′N 79°37′W﻿ / ﻿44.000°N 79.617°W﻿ / 44.000; -79.617 | 779.3 | Wetland |
| Eaton Hall—Mary—Hackett Lakes Wetland Complex | 43°57′N 79°33′W﻿ / ﻿43.950°N 79.550°W﻿ / 43.950; -79.550 | 259.0 | Wetland |
| Ansnorveldt Wetland Complex | 44°3′N 79°33′W﻿ / ﻿44.050°N 79.550°W﻿ / 44.050; -79.550 | 200.6 | Wetland |
| Kennifick Wetland Complex | 43°57′N 79°42′W﻿ / ﻿43.950°N 79.700°W﻿ / 43.950; -79.700 | 79.1 | Wetland |
| Eaton Hall Lake Wetland | 43°57′N 79°31′W﻿ / ﻿43.950°N 79.517°W﻿ / 43.950; -79.517 | 51.5 | Wetland |
| King—Vaughan Wetland Complex | 43°55′N 79°30′W﻿ / ﻿43.917°N 79.500°W﻿ / 43.917; -79.500 | 39.1 | Wetland |
| Nobleton Wetland Complex | 43°55′N 79°40′W﻿ / ﻿43.917°N 79.667°W﻿ / 43.917; -79.667 | 43.3 | Wetland |
| New Scotland Wetland Complex | 43°56′N 79°38′W﻿ / ﻿43.933°N 79.633°W﻿ / 43.933; -79.633 | 23.7 | Wetland |
| King Creek Marsh | 43°53′N 79°37′W﻿ / ﻿43.883°N 79.617°W﻿ / 43.883; -79.617 | 4.2 | Wetland |
| East Gwillimbury ||||
| Mount Albert Wetlands | 44°10′N 79°19′W﻿ / ﻿44.167°N 79.317°W﻿ / 44.167; -79.317 | 539.3 | Wetland |
| Aurora ||||
| Wilcox—St. George Wetland Complex | 43°53′N 79°29′W﻿ / ﻿43.883°N 79.483°W﻿ / 43.883; -79.483 | 102.0 | Wetland |
| East Aurora Wetland Complex | 44°1′N 79°28′W﻿ / ﻿44.017°N 79.467°W﻿ / 44.017; -79.467 | 28.0 | Wetland |
| Aurora Marsh (McKenzie Marsh) | 44°1′N 79°28′W﻿ / ﻿44.017°N 79.467°W﻿ / 44.017; -79.467 | 10.0 | Wetland |
| Richmond Hill ||||
| Rouge River Headwater Wetland Complex | 43°55′N 79°24′W﻿ / ﻿43.917°N 79.400°W﻿ / 43.917; -79.400 | 175.0 | Wetland |
| Philips—Bond —Thompson Lakes Wetland Complex | 43°55′N 79°27′W﻿ / ﻿43.917°N 79.450°W﻿ / 43.917; -79.450 | 61.0 | Wetland |
| Snively Street Wetland Complex | 43°57′N 79°26′W﻿ / ﻿43.950°N 79.433°W﻿ / 43.950; -79.433 | 21.5 | Wetland |
| Philips Lake Wetland Complex | 43°55′N 79°27′W﻿ / ﻿43.917°N 79.450°W﻿ / 43.917; -79.450 | 24.8 | Wetland |
| Whitchurch-Stouffville ||||
| Vivian Infiltration Area (also in Uxbridge) | 44°4′N 79°18′W﻿ / ﻿44.067°N 79.300°W﻿ / 44.067; -79.300 | 6346.0 | Hydrological ESA |
| Musselman Lake Kettle Complex | 44°2′N 79°15′W﻿ / ﻿44.033°N 79.250°W﻿ / 44.033; -79.250 | 258.0 | ANSI Earth Science |
| White Rose Spillway | 43°58′N 79°25′W﻿ / ﻿43.967°N 79.417°W﻿ / 43.967; -79.417 | 25.0 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Musselman Lake Complex | 44°0′N 79°17′W﻿ / ﻿44.000°N 79.283°W﻿ / 44.000; -79.283 | 100.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Vandorf Bog Complex | 44°0′N 79°20′W﻿ / ﻿44.000°N 79.333°W﻿ / 44.000; -79.333 | 57.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Black River Wetland Complex #1 | 44°11′N 79°21′W﻿ / ﻿44.183°N 79.350°W﻿ / 44.183; -79.350 | 1378.8 | Wetland |
| White Rose—Preston Lake Wetland Complex | 43°58′N 79°23′W﻿ / ﻿43.967°N 79.383°W﻿ / 43.967; -79.383 | 137.6 | Wetland |
| Musselman Lake Wetland | 44°1′N 79°17′W﻿ / ﻿44.017°N 79.283°W﻿ / 44.017; -79.283 | 49.4 | Wetland |
| East Musselman Wetland Complex | 44°2′N 79°15′W﻿ / ﻿44.033°N 79.250°W﻿ / 44.033; -79.250 | 8.8 | Wetland |
| Uxbridge Township ||||
| Little Rouge Creek Section | 43°48′N 79°9′W﻿ / ﻿43.800°N 79.150°W﻿ / 43.800; -79.150 | 0.8 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Tyrone River Valley | 44°2′N 78°43′W﻿ / ﻿44.033°N 78.717°W﻿ / 44.033; -78.717 | 140.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Uxbridge Pine—Maple Uplands | 44°3′N 79°6′W﻿ / ﻿44.050°N 79.100°W﻿ / 44.050; -79.100 | 93.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Uxbridge Forest Kames | 44°0′N 79°5′W﻿ / ﻿44.000°N 79.083°W﻿ / 44.000; -79.083 | 644.0 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Goodwood Formation | 44°3′N 79°12′W﻿ / ﻿44.050°N 79.200°W﻿ / 44.050; -79.200 | 0.2 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Uxbridge Brook Headwater Wetland Complex | 44°5′N 79°8′W﻿ / ﻿44.083°N 79.133°W﻿ / 44.083; -79.133 | 159.6 | Wetland |
| Goodwood/Glasgow Wetland Complex | 44°0′N 79°11′W﻿ / ﻿44.000°N 79.183°W﻿ / 44.000; -79.183 | 70.6 | Wetland |
| North Goodwood Wetland Complex | 44°2′N 79°12′W﻿ / ﻿44.033°N 79.200°W﻿ / 44.033; -79.200 | 22.4 | Wetland |
| Scugog Township ||||
| Lake Scugog #37 Wetland | 44°7′N 78°48′W﻿ / ﻿44.117°N 78.800°W﻿ / 44.117; -78.800 | 192.6 | Wetland |
| City of Pickering ||||
| Clarke Summit Swamp | 43°56′N 78°31′W﻿ / ﻿43.933°N 78.517°W﻿ / 43.933; -78.517 | 118.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Northumberland County ||||
| Garden Hill Pitted Outwash | 44°3′N 78°24′W﻿ / ﻿44.050°N 78.400°W﻿ / 44.050; -78.400 | 1003.0 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Millvalley Hills Forests | 44°4′N 78°6′W﻿ / ﻿44.067°N 78.100°W﻿ / 44.067; -78.100 | 320.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Shelter Valley | 44°3′N 78°1′W﻿ / ﻿44.050°N 78.017°W﻿ / 44.050; -78.017 | 312.0 | ANSI Life Science |
| Peter's Woods Provincial Nature Reserve (Settler's Woods) | 44°7′N 78°2′W﻿ / ﻿44.117°N 78.033°W﻿ / 44.117; -78.033 | 33.43 | ANSI Life Science |
| East Cross Creek #15 - Wetland | 44°15′N 78°43′W﻿ / ﻿44.250°N 78.717°W﻿ / 44.250; -78.717 | 2340.4 | Wetland |
| Kawartha Lakes ||||
| Fleetwood Kames | 44°7′N 78°36′W﻿ / ﻿44.117°N 78.600°W﻿ / 44.117; -78.600 | 939.0 | ANSI Earth Science |
| Peterborough ||||
| Omemee Esker South | 44°14′N 78°35′W﻿ / ﻿44.233°N 78.583°W﻿ / 44.233; -78.583 | 366.0 | ANSI Earth Science |