Sunday, May 24, 2020

Georgian Bay

After a very long time since the last visit, we got down to the shoreline here to check out the bay.  They've cleaned up all the fist-sized and smaller rocks that were thrown up on the grass and pavement, so it's safe to drive in and park.  The little beach where the waves ate 50 feet into the playground in last fall's storms remains to be dealt with.  I believe the current plan is to remove the playground, but there's still a lot of other restoration work to be done.  They haven't even thought about the boulders along the shore yet.

The bay, a north-westerly view toward the army base.  There's a proposal for an enormous pumped storage facility here which is generating a lot of controversy, but that's anther story!

Straight out in the bay.  It's a hazy view in the distance, with no sign of the distant islands out there.

And then one of the trees that presents such an amazing picture in the winter when the waves splash up and cover the lower limbs with icicles.

Finally, looking to the right toward the harbour, the little rangelight out on the end of the breakwater, and a lot of boulders!

I was trying to show here how the big boulders along the edge of the shoreline get rolled or even tossed up onto the grass.  I estimated that this line of boulder is about 10 feet inland from its natural, pre-storms position.  You can also see how the soil gets eroded along the inner edge of the boulders.  Shoreline erosion due to rising water levels is going to be a serious problem for years to come here.

The worst storms seem to be at the end of October and in early November when the lake level is also at its seasonal high.  Last fall they had to close the shoreline street as it was flooded, and there were rocks a cubic foot in size thrown onto the grass.  This fall is predicted to be the historic high as long as records have been kept.  Wish us luck!


13 comments:

  1. The evidence makes it clear for sure! Scary too!

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  2. What force must be behind those huge strong waves, maybe this will have to stay with the boulders, maybe making it a real display and have the lawn area further form the shoreline. The tree, what a delight to see it without hanging icicles and starting to show spring greenery.

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  3. They are such beautiful views. It is always strange at first to see the water in spring after its long hard winter weather.

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  4. Thank you for sharing open water views, they bring a feeling of peacefulness. Boulders, huge.
    Joy

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  5. Yes, anything along most shorelines will be in danger. It's best to stage a gradual retreat rather than wage a losing battle against the inevitable. The Great Lakes' shoreline may not be in as much jeopardy as the ocean-front, but development of any shore is foolish.

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  6. Amazing how powerful water is. Those are huge boulders.

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  7. Beautiful views. It is hard to imagine water powerful enough to move those boulders. A person sure wouldn't want to tangle with it.

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  8. Yes, rising water levels in these inland seas are going to be a serious issue. Shoreline properties that once commanded premium prices may become impossible to sell.

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  9. Georgian Bay is beautiful and mighty indeed. I love the pictures with the shoreline, the tree is lovely even now without icicles. :) It is crazy incredible how those boulders are brought in from the storms and it is so sad to see the erosion of the land.
    We used to camp on Lake Erie at Clearview Campground and loved it for 3 or 4 years in a row until they told us we couldn't camp up in our spot anymore because it was too close to the eroding cliff. The rest of the small park is inland and crammed so we stopped going. :( We know it was for safely but still disappointing.

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  10. It's almost impossible to imagine the forces that move boulders that size. It's a beautiful place in any event. Glad you got out!

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  11. Wonderful views of the lake and shoreline. The force of the water is amazing.

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  12. A nice return for you to the pristine waters of Georgian Bay and those boulders sure show the combined power of Mother Nature's wind, water, and waves.

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  13. Beautiful views. The rising waters are a concern to so many of us but not enough to make the impact needed to reverse the trends.

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