Qu'Appelle Valley Geolog Stop 3 - Fort Qu'Appelle Tower
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Picture of Stop 3 Sign

Stop 3 is found on the Echo Lake side of the Town of Fort Qu'Appelle, inside the regional campgrounds. When the Geolog Tour was designed, Stop 3 had an observation tower that provided a panoramic view of many points of interest. Unfortunately, this tower has been taken down and all that remains is the marsh along the Qu'Appelle River.

Marshes

Marshes develop in water-saturated locations that are covered by shallow water, and are characterized by emergent vegetation. Emergent plants slow the wind and reduce the circulation of water, which then becomes warm and nutrient-rich.

Abundant nutrients in the marshes result in abundant animal life. There are microscopic animals, plants, and insects such as diving beetles, backswimmers, and water boatmen. Other insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, caddisflies, mayflies, and mosquitoes hatch and spend their larval or nymphal lives in the water before emerging as free-flying adults.

Birds that occupy marshes include Red-winged and Yellow-headed blackbirds, Pelicans, and Kingfishers, as well as ducks such as Blue-winged teals, Mallards, Pintails, Gadwalls, Baldpates and Ruddys. There are also Railbirds, including the American coot, and the Sora.

Finally, fish species that are common to marshes include Pike, Pickerel, Carp, and Bigmouth buffalofish.

Aerial Photo

Click here to see an aerial photograph of stop 3.

 

Picture of Sandbar and Marsh at Stop 3

Plant species found at stop 3:

Alfalfa Kentucky bluegrass Silverweed
Awned northern wheatgrass Lesser burdock Slender wheatgrass
Awned sedge Low prairie rose Smooth brome
Canada thistle Manitoba maple Stinging nettle
Cattails Marsh hedge-nettle Stinkweed
Common pepper-grass Marsh reed grass Trembling aspen
Crested wheatgrass Marsh yellow cress Western shining willow
Dame's-rocket Northern awnless brome Western snowberry
Dandelion Northern wheatgrass White sweet-clover
False ragweed Nuttall's salt-meadow grass Wild cucumber
Flixweed Pasture sage Wood blue grass
Foxtail barley Pineappleweed Yarrow
Graceful (Canada) goldenrod Prairie sage Yellow goat's-beard
Great bulrush Reed canary grass Yellow sweet-clover
Hairy golden-aster Sandbar willow  
June grass Saskatoon  

 

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Page last updated on 2004-10-08
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