Point Pelee National Park (; French: Parc national de la Pointe-Pelée) is a national park in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada where it extends into Lake Erie. The word pelée is French for 'bald'. Point Pelee consists of a peninsula of land, mainly of marsh and woodland habitats, that tapers to a sharp point as it extends into Lake Erie. Middle Island, also part of Point Pelee National Park, was acquired in 2000 and is just north of the Canada–United States border in Lake Erie. Point Pelee is the southernmost point of mainland Canada, and is located on a foundation of glacial sand, silt and gravel that bites into Lake Erie. This spit of land is slightly more than seven kilometres long by 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) wide at its northern base. Established in 1918, Point Pelee was the first national park in Canada to be established for conservation. It was designated as a Ramsar site on 27 May 1987.
History Aboriginal people lived on Point Pelee for many years before European colonization, dating back to at least 6,000 years. The largest archaeological site found at Point Pelee is thought to have been occupied between AD 700 and 900. The name was given to the area by Fathers Dollier and Galinée when they passed through the area in 1670. In the late 1700s, British naval reserves logged the area's white pine for shipbuilding. In 1790, Deputy Indian Agent Alexander McKee negotiated a treaty with Aboriginal communities that ceded a large tract of land, which included Point Pelee, to the Crown. The Caldwell First Nation Chippewa people, who inhabited Point Pelee, were not signatories of that treaty. However, the Crown did not realize this, and their land was ceded nonetheless. Subsequently, they were forced off their land, and Point Pelee remains unceded Aboriginal land. This has been publicly acknowledged by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. Prior to the creation of the park, the Great Lakes Ornithological Club was established to study bird migration. One of the members, Percy A. Taverner, and Canada's first Dominion Ornithologist, recommended Point Pelee be made a national park in 1915. Jack Miner had also pushed for the creation of the park by that time. Point Pelee was made a national park in 1918 at the urging of birdwatchers and hunters. Commercial fishing continued in the park until 1969. Point Pelee was the only Canadian national park to allow hunting until duck hunting was ended in 1989. This site was named "Pointe-Pelée" (meaning "bald point") by French explorers because the eastern side was rocky and had no trees. Point Pelee was designated a dark-sky preserve in 2006, the first Canadian national park to be designated as such. In March 2006, high winds caused waves that washed away the sand point and all that remained was a platform. In October 2007 the level of Lake Erie dropped enough to reveal the point again extending at least a kilometre out into the water and at least 7 metres (23 ft) wide with a winding curve shape to it. Since that time the sandy tip continues to shift, grow longer or shorter, or even detach temporarily, from year to year.
Geography
Located in the western parts of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, the park is a sandspit formation that extends 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) into Lake Erie and is up to 70 metres (230 ft) thick. With an area of only 1,564 hectares (3,860 acres), it is Canada's smallest national park. Most of the park (about 1,113 hectares (2,750 acres) or 70% of the park consists of marsh, dominated by cattails and ponds although forested areas make up a significant portion of the park, covering about 21% of the park. This sandspit is dominated by till plains which were formed during the last ice age during the advance and retreat of the Wisconsonian ice on a submerged limestone ridge. As the glacier melted and retreated northward, the Lake Erie basin began to fill with water. The movement of sediments altered the coastline, resulting in the present-day shape of Point Pelee. Subsequently, over the centuries, a thin but rich soil has formed. Mineral soils in the park were mapped as well to rapidly drained Eastport sand, which has insignificant profile development. The marshes began to form about 3,200 years ago, based on carbon dating. This was also the same time when the sands began to deposit, forming the present day barriers. The marsh has a closed drainage system owing to the separation of it by two barriers along the east and west side, which usually prevents the free exchange of water. However, when lake levels are higher, the marsh water levels fluctuate with the lake's water levels. The distinctive triangular shape at the southern tip of Point Pelee is caused by the convergence of these two barriers (this spit or tip is the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland). Middle Island, which is located south of the Point Pelee peninsula has an area of approximately 18.5 hectares (46 acres) and is the southernmost point in Canada. Virtually all of Middle Island is forested.
Flora and fauna
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