Saturday, June 5, 2010

"Indian Head" - Photo of the Day - June 5th, 2010

Indian Head - Photo of the Day - June 5th, 2010
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"Indian Head"

An image of the rock formation known as the Indian Head, along the side of the huge Ouimet Canyon.

Captured in Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

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Ouimet Canyon is a large gorge in northern Ontario, near Thunder Bay. It is 100 metres deep, 150 metres wide and 2 kilometres in length,

The canyon is believed to have formed when a diabase sill dating from a billion years earlier was split open, either by the weight of advancing glaciers or the large volumes of water released during their retreat. Erosion by wind and rain continued the formation of the canyon. Due to the combination of limited sunlight reaching the bottom of the canyon, and the canyons depth itelf, the canyon is home to a fragile ecosystem of artic plants that could not normally survive at this latitude. A large rock column known as the Indian Head can be seen from one of the viewing areas.

There is a native American legend associated with the canyon and the Indian head rock formation.

A long time ago, there was a giant Omett. He helped Nanabijou make mountains and lakes. Omett fell in love with Nanabijou’s daughter Naiomi. One day, Omett was moving a mountain when part of it fell off and killed Naiomi. Omett quickly hid Naiomi. Nanabijou desperately looked for his daughter. When he sensed something underground, he sent a thunderbolt to split open the ground which created a canyon and he discovered his daughter at its bottom. He buried her there and to punish Omett he turned him into stone and put him on the canyon walls to watch Naiomi’s grave forever.

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