Parking at the small makeshift parking lot on Olde Base Line
Rd, I stepped out onto the red clay. The colour of the ground immediately
catches your eye and provides a sense of the view to be had once you walk the
few steps up to the vantage point there. From this point you can see the entire
area as it drops away and the uniqueness of the ground is breathtaking.
According to the Ontario Trails Council “Badlands” is a
geologic term for an area of soft rock devoid of vegetation and soil cover that
has become molded into a rolling landscape of rounded hills and gullies. Such
areas are rare in Ontario and this is one of the best examples. They exhibit
the reddish hue of the Queenston Shale that forms them; the iron oxide in the
shale produces this colour. The narrow greenish bands that can be seen
throughout the shale are due to the change of red iron oxide to green iron
oxide brought on by the circulating groundwater. The relatively soft shale is
essentially clay and is easily eroded by water. This site was acquired by the
Ontario Heritage Foundation in 2000 and is under the care of the Bruce Trail
Association.
As this is a sensitive natural area, walking through it is
discouraged. The Bruce Trail travels just past this site and it is just a short
walk off the main trail to the access point.
This such an interesting area and I look forward to the opportunity of a summer return. I imagine that when the surrounding woodlands are fully green the contrast will be spectacular. Catching a sunrise or sunset from this area would also be very worthwhile.
