Chapter 11 : Ultima Thule

This chapter was all about the highest point of the Appalachian Mountains, specifically belle Isle which is near Labrador and newfoundland. The weather is rough with a frost not being unexpected at any point throughout the year.

http://www.aeno-items.nl/i/1fb645f289

There are three quotes throughout the chapter that really stood out to me. The first one was astonishing because the author had just finished talking about how there was near no information to be found when researching Belle Isle and now this quote pops up “One fellow mentioned a cave in the sea cliffs that the French fishermen, who had exclusive rights to the west coast of Newfoundland until the late 1800s, used as a morgue.”. This sentence amazed me not only for the statement that fishermen used a cave as a morgue but because the area and its inhabitants has been known about for such a long time that it amazes me that there was so little information on the area.

http://pinterest.com/pin/77898268526216861/

The second one was on page 266 when the author was talking about the few plants that do grow and how they all have a short amount of time to do so. “consequently spring, summer and fall crunch together like cars in a freeway pileup, and the resulting bloom is explosive and spectacular.”. this quote stood out to me because here in Florida plants grow all year round and that region they have one of the shortest growing seasons I have heard of which is June to September according to the author Scott Weidensaul. Due to the stunted season that plants have to grow everything blooms at the same time even if they were meant for different seasons. Fire weed and lilac for example: Fireweed is an Autumn flower and lilac is a spring flower. Yet both of these plants are blooming within feet and inches of each other. It’s amazing to think about how much adaptation it takes for a plant to be able to do that.

http://animaltheory.blogspot.com/2011/03/polar-bear.html

The third quote stood out to me because I did not know that poplar bears traveled down to Newfoundland and Belle Isle. “Polar bears are the supreme hunters of the Arctic ice pack, each winter a few follow the freezing ocean south to Belle Isle and Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula, hunting seals.”. although the it says that there are few that still travel that way the author tells us later that John Cabot states that the area was “crowded with white bears” in 1497. This was all very interesting to me because I have done some research on Labrador and Newfoundland due to my love of the breeds of dogs that have originated there. I also have done a lot of research of polar bears because I have a great love for them.

Weidensaul, S. (2016). Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians. Golden: Fulcrum Publishing.