Creditview Wetland EarthCache
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The Creditview Wetland is a relatively unknown natural feature in the City Of Mississauga. This earthcache is easily accessed from a parking lot off of Willowvale Gardens.
The Creditview Wetland is a naturally occurring provincially significant wetland. It is situated at the northern end of a shallow tear-shaped depression. Research suggests that it formed after the last age, about 11 000 years ago. The wetland is 4 hectares in size, drawing its water from the surface runoff of an area of about 11 hectares. The wetland in its earliest years was a bog. It slowly transformed to it's present state: primary a basin swamp that includes areas of swamp, marsh, open water and bog-like hummocks.
The principal axis of the teardrop-shaped feature is oriented southeast-northwest, in alignment with the drumlins of northern Peel. The wetland is within a basin measuring approximately 630 metres by 140 metres. A narrow causeway of fill crosses the wetland 130 m north of the southeast end of the basin. The fill is unsorted till that appears to have been moved from the lands adjacent the wetland basin. Lying 15-20 metres below glacial drift, the bedrock is a member of the Georgian Bay Formation, a gray shale with limestone interbeds. This Formation is of Ordovician age. The soils surrounding the wetland basin are clay loams with moderate to imperfect drainage. They are relatively stone free but in the vicinity of the wetland, with the occasional glacial erratic. The wetland basin has formed between two post-glacial "flutes" or "drumlinoids" in the undulating plain left behind at the retreat of the continental glacier that covered Ontario some 14,000 years ago. The low ridges that flank the wetland basin are oriented in a northwest-southeast direction which is presumed to be the direction of glacial retreat in this area of the province.
By the early 1800s the area surrounding the wetland was being cleared for the farms of new settlers. This put some pressure on the wetland, but it continued to thrive. In the early 1990s urban development came to the area. The wetland was at risk of being developed until local residents and politicians stepped in to stop the development.
Recently, interpretive signs have been posted at the wetland. In April of 2009, a viewing platform was constructed to provide visitors with a view of the open water section of the wetland. The wetland remains fenced off to continue to protect this delicate ecosystem.
An inventory of the wetland was conducted between 1988 and 2003. It was discovered that the wetland was home to 207 plant species. Amongst these plant species were 73 species that were rare in the City Of Mississauga and 43 that were rare in Peel Region. In addition, 119 species of fauna were found to be located in the wetland. Seven species of frogs are found in the wetland. If you visit the wetland in the evening you will be sure to hear the noise from the bull frogs and spring peepers. Snapping turtles and Midland Painted Turtles are also found in the wetland. The Creditview Wetland is also home to 91 species of visiting or breeding birds. Rare birds that visit the wetland are the Green-winged Teal and the Northern Waterthrush.
Logging Requirements
It is highly recommended that you visit this cache in the late evening or at night when the frogs are at their loudest. To log this Earthcache you must visit the Interpretive Signs located at the cache coordinates. Using the information on those signs, answer the following questions and email your answers to the cache owner:
1. Name two important functions of a wetland.
2. Name two invasive species that can be found in the Creditview Wetland.
3. Name two of the Bog plants that can be found in the Creditview Wetland.
In addition, when you log the cache, report any wildlife sightings (or sounds) that you experienced at the wetland.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)