Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve
| Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve | |
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| Réserve de biosphère de l'Escarpement du Niagara | |
Bruce Peninsula, on the shores of Georgian Bay
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| Location | Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates | 44°11′56″N 80°21′06″W / 44.19889°N 80.35167°WCoordinates: 44°11′56″N 80°21′06″W / 44.19889°N 80.35167°W |
| Area | 194,555 hectares (751.18 sq mi) |
| Governing body | Niagara Escarpment Commission (Commission de l'escarpement du Niagara) |
The Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve (French: Réserve de biosphère de l'Escarpement du Niagara) (established 1990) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in Ontario, Canada. The reserve stretches 725 kilometres (450 mi) along the Niagara Escarpment from Lake Ontario (near Niagara Falls) to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula (between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron). The Escarpment corridor crosses two major biomes: needle leaf forests in the north and temperate broadleaf forest in the south.
The reserve's surface area is 194,555 hectares (751.18 sq mi). The core area is 66,163 hectares (255.46 sq mi), surrounded by buffer zone(s) of 114,488 hectares (442.04 sq mi) and transition area(s) of 13,904 hectares (53.68 sq mi).
The Niagara Escarpment represents the largest contiguous stretch of primarily forested land in south-central Ontario. The biosphere reserve includes the greatest topographic variability in southern Ontario, with habitats ranging over more than 430 metres (1,410 ft) in elevations and including Great Lakes coastlines, cliff edges, talus slopes, wetlands, woodlands, limestone alvar pavements, oak savannahs, conifer swamps and many others. These habitats collectively boast the highest level of species diversity among Canadian biosphere reserves, including more than 300 bird species, 55 mammals, 36 reptiles and amphibians, 90 fish and 100 varieties of special interest flora.
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