GUELPH, ONTARIO - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

TABLE 4
SLOPE GROUPS IN RELATION TO TOPOGRAPHY
PER CENT
T~~O(;RA~HIC TERM PER CENT SLOPE TOTAL LAND AREA
(u) Simpl ’ e Topography
Dcprcssional to Level _. _. _. . o-O.5 6.5
Smoot8h very gently sloping.. .. ......... 0.5-1.5 17.5
Smooth gcnt,ly sloping 2.0-5.0 21.5
Smooth moderately sloping _. _. 6.0-9.0 20.3
Variable.. . . . .. 26.2
(b) Complex Topography
Irregular steeply sloping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.0-I 5.0 8.0
A large part of the land west of Teeswater and north of Lucknow consists
of irregular steep slopes. The slopes are frequent and comparatively short.
Small depressions are characteristic of the relief. The area east of Teeswater
and around Walkerton consists largely of smooth moderate slopes. A large
area bordering the Lake Huron shores and in the Chesley region consists of
smootNh gentle to very gentle slopes.
Drainage
The County is drained by streams and rivers that empty into Lake Huron.
The streams emptying into the Lake along the shore south of Port Elgin are
deeply entrenched. The friable till and lacustrine materials are rapidly cut
down leaving deep gullies with barren slopes. The main rivers draining the
southwestern part of the County are the Pine and Penetangore. The Saugeen
and Sauble River systems drain a large part of the central portion of the County.
The streams draining the central area are not so deeply entrenched at the lakeshore
but the tributaries of these systems have caused severe dissect’ion in
some parts of the County and serious soil loss has occurred.
the
Climate
Numerou s small lakes and rivers provide drainage for the northern part of
County. The drainage systems for Bruce County are shown in Figure 7.
Climate is an important factor in the formation of soil from
and in determining the crops which can be grown in an area.
rock materials
The climate of Ontario is usually stated to be a modified humid continental
t)ype*. The location of the region with respect to large bodies of water greatly
modifies both temperature and moisture relationships.
The meteorological stat)ions located in the County are situated at Lucknow,
Walkerton, Southampton, Wiarton, and Tobermory. Since the climate of an
area is reflected in the development of the natural vegetation and soils, a comparison
of climatological data from the County is made with that of other
stations representing other vegetative zones.
Iiapuskasing represents tjhe northern coniferous
t ransit~ional zone bet ween hard woods and conifers.
region and Huntsville
* The Climate of Southern Ontario - Putnam, D. F., and Chapman, L. J., Scientific
.~2griculture, Vol. 18, So. 8, April 1938.
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