Transition Zones

A friend passes along a recent photo of the full moon rising behind the Gatineau Hills, taken at his farm across the river from Alcove Quebec, a short distance north of Wakefield.

Notice the striking contrast between the level fields and the Gatineau Hills rising in the distance. A Google aerial view provides some context.

The point-of-view for the image is the farmstead is circled in yellow. The hills that dominate the left side of the photo appear towards the top, behind the red line.

The soil in this area is mostly "sensitive" Leda-type clay — a narrow strip runs north from Ottawa along either side of the Gatineau River. There are also layers of sand. The clay is very prone to slumping — the purple arrows indicate a spectacular crater on a neighbouring farm.

The hills projecting up from the soil mark the southern edge of the Canadian Shield. The rock here is Upper Precambrian, igneous and metamorphic. Specific minerals found here are listed on the key of a bedrock map from the Geological Survey of Canada, 1976.