OUIMET CANYON


Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada ---------

Back to our Lake Superior roundtrip in August / September. Ouimet Canyon is a gorge, cut into the rocks of Lake Superior’s northern shore. Ice, wind, and rain, the architects of time, have chiseled deep into the Canadian shield to form one of the most striking canyons of eastern Canada. (source: Information board at Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park). There were two theories discussed how this canyon was created, and the geologists among us may have their own ideas (Anke?), but for the photographer the story telling about the magnificence of the place has precedence. We got there mid morning, too late for the lifting fog of that day, but still early enough to beat the high contrast of an average summer day. As much as I dislike places where tourists like me gather in large numbers (yes, I throw stones out of the glass house.. ;-) , we had this canyon view surprisingly all for ourselves.

The bottom of the canyon is about 100 meters deeper (more than 300 feet) and the flora and fauna below is about the same as you’d find on the shores of Hudson Bay, 1,000 km to the north. This is mind boggling, but facts like this enhance my appreciation beyond any photographic expectations…