A GEOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF BOSANQUET TOWNSHIP

Abstract

The purpose of the thesis is to explain the physical characteristics of Bosanquet township and to show their relationships to each other and to those who have occupied this part of the world for the last one hundred and thirty years. The "drowned lands" within Bosanquet are considered a paradise for the botanist, and Rock Glen is a veritable treasure chest of fossil finds for the exploring geologist. But it is the entire land area of the township that is so fascinating to the geographer because it is so complicated and diverse. There are no less than five different shorelines, including the present one of Lake Huron, eight different physiographic regions, and at least nineteen different soil types. It thus becomes a challenge to the geographer to see if man’s present use of the land reflects the history and natural phenomena of the area. To begin this difficult task the author carried out field work during the summer months and produced the Land Use map found inside the rear cover. During the autumn and winter months the work of many experts from various fields of learning was read and data concerning the area was compiled. The plan of the thesis is the presentation of the physical geography followed by the human geography of settlement. Then comes the writer’s views on the current land use, both agricultural and non-agricultural, and after a look at the urban geography of the study region, the writer comes to certain conclusions concerning the effect of man on this little segment of the earth’s surface.