Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario has a very different climate from the rest of the country. It is the only area of Canada that has Carolinian forest. Many trees, plants, and wildlife in Southern Ontario are not found anywhere else in Canada. Some rare trees to Canada in this region include the tulip tree, pawpaw fruit tree and the cucumber tree. The Carolinian forests of Southern Ontario have in large part been destroyed by development sprawl. Very few original growth areas remain.
Sandy Island Beach State Park
North and south of Sandy Island Beach, the shoreline has high dunes that are up to higher than the level of Lake Ontario. Despite the fact that the high dunes are essentially pure sand, hardwood trees such as red oak and red maple grow on them. The forested high dunes are one of the unusual features of the eastern Lake Ontario coastline. It can take 400 years for a hardwood forest to become established on a freshly formed dune.