FACTIODS-San Francisco, USA to Mackenzie, Canada
FACTOIDS: U.S.A * Coastal Redwood trees can soar to more than 370 feet tall, but they are not the only tree that grows tall in a Redwood forest. Douglas-Fir trees have grown even taller; one record breaker in British Columbia measured 400 feet! * The Banana Slug (Ariolimax Columbianus) does good work as a decomposer and further benefits the forest by spreading seeds and spores through their waste. It is amazing that Banana slugs eat anything – apart from Redwood seeds and seedlings. * The Redwood National and State Parks are pretty special places as they are home to 45% of all protected old-growth Redwood forests remaining in California. Only 4% of 2 million acres remain today, since logging first began in 1850. * The formation of the amazing sea lion cave began over 25 million years ago. The interior now soars to the height of a 12 story building and stretches for the full length of a football field, making it the world’s largest sea-cave! * The North Cascade National Park complex contains over 300 glaciers (which is more than any other park in the 48 contiguous states). The mountains of the North Cascades are one of the snowiest places on Earth, with Mount Shuksan being commonly referred to as the most photographed mountain in the world! CANADA • To forge a route through the Fraser Canyon proved to be one of the most difficult highway projects in the province of British Columbia. Seven tunnels had to be blasted through the rock but with that difficulty- came the birth of the breathtaking Fraser Canyon Highway. • MACKENZIE – is known as the gateway to Northern Rocky Adventure! • The Williston Lake at Mackenzie covers an area of 166,000 hectares (410,000 acres) and is British Columbia’s largest reservoir. It is also Canada’s largest man-made lake. • Mackenzie is home to the World’s largest tree crusher! This giant 175 ton machine was used in the 1960’s to clear non-merchantable timber from the Rocky Mountain trench prior to the creation of Williston Lake. It has sat idle since then and is now a popular roadside attraction!
Friday, 31 July 2009 07:25:34 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)      Comments [0]  Canada | USA