User:Nosehill

Background Information of Nose Hill Park
Nose Hill, along with one other hill, is on of the only remaining examples of high plains which once covered the area. Rivers and glaciers in the area have eroded the area around Nose Hill into valleys and lowlands leaving behind the two hills. Nose Hill Park consists of four geological elements: sandstone, river gravels, glacial deposits/tills, and erratics. Nose Hill Park spans 1127 hectares in size which makes it the largest municipal park in Canada.

• In 1886, many buildings in the Calgary area, which were made of wood, were destroyed by a great fire. It was at this time that something akin to a “sandstone era” began. Sandstone, which is a less flammable substance that could be used to construct buildings with suddenly became in high demand. Many sandstone quarries, about 15, began to operate around Calgary. One of those quarries was in the area that used to be Nose Hill Creek. The sandstone that was found on Nose Hill Park was exposed in outcrops on the south slope, above what is now Charleswood Drive. Some of the sandstone used to build the old buildings in Calgary may have come from those outcrops found on what is Nose Hill Park today.

Comparison with Edworthy Park
In comparison of the Bow River Ecosystem in Edworthy Park and the temporary pond ecosystem of Nose Hill Park, there are many differences. The Bow River water is very fast moving and is very clean. It also does not contain any other types of visible plants or organisms in the area; this is most likely due to the fact that the water is very fast moving. This makes it very difficult for many types of plants to establish themselves in water, such as algae and cattails. Also, because the water is moving, many substances found in the pond such as phosphates and nitrates, cannot build up in the river.

Many invertebrates and bugs that are found in the pond ecosystem at Nose Hill Park consume algae and other small organisms in the pond, which cannot live in the Bow River because it is difficult for them to live in there and also the river is lack of algae and other micro–organism for them to consume. Also many insects lay there eggs in still water, but these insects cannot lay their eggs in the river because they do not bury their eggs in the ground so the eggs are not able to stay in one place to grow in to larvae and into adult bugs.

The plants found near the Bow River are different from the plants found around the temporary pond in Nose Hill Park, this is most likely because the plants in Nose Hill Park are able to obtain many of the nutrients they need from the pond water when their roots take it in. The plants near the Bow River most likely do not need the same amount of nutrients that the plants around the pond need or they cannot handle the amount of nutrients that they would take in from the pond water. Therefore they do not grow near the pond. The pond water in Nose Hill Park contains higher levels of substances such as phosphates and nitrates because of run-off from Edgemont, which contain fertilizers and other chemicals. Also since the pond is still water the substances that enter take longer to leave and the levels of these substances accumulate over time unlike the water in the Bow River, which is constantly moving.

In Edworthy Park there are no signs of animals that used the Bow River as a habitat or for drinking water. This is different from the pond in Nose Hill Park, where deer footprints on the shore of the pond as wells as ducks swimming in there are often seen. Though in the Bow River, that is along the northeast side of Edworthy Park, dogs do swim in it. This is something that is not seen at the temporary pond in Nose Hill Park, and there is also a sign that tells dog owners to keep their dogs away from the pond. Edworthy park is also more developed with playgrounds and paved pathways, whereas Nose Hill park is relatively not developed by humans and is also a much larger area so there is more room for animals to be without being disturbed by humans, non-natural substances, traffic noises or any other non-natural disturbances. This is the most likely reason why Edworthy Park has less wildlife.