Mapping the Northwoods
The Northwoods are not a permanent group of plants. This is a region where many Beings overlap to create a unique community. As you click the buttons to show or hide each map, what questions do they answer or inspire?
Tree return after glaciation
Northern Red Oak
Quercus rubra
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus
Other maps
Glacier
Laurentide Ice Sheet
Common Loon
Gavia immer
Balsam Fir
Abies balsamea
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis
Paper Birch
Betula papyrifera
Questions to think about...
1 of 4
How did the glaciers create habitat for loons?
Professor John Pastor defines the Northwoods as the place where both Balsam Fir and Sugar Maple grow. Do you agree? Do you have another definition?
How do you think these maps will change in 50, 100, or 10,000 years?
All Northwoods Beings migrated here after the glaciers pushed the south to warmer refugia. Why do you think they moved back at different speeds?