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IMAGES From Nostalgiaville
NEW YORK- MASSENA, NEW YORK- 8/17/05

NOTE: A Click of your Mouse on most of the pictures will enlarge them for better viewing

 

MASSENA, NEW YORK

 

THE ST LAWRENCE SEAWAY

 

 

GLACIAL REMNANTS
This is a great spot to look for glacial remnants.  The large rock below is made of granite.  It was carried here thousands of years ago by the last glacier that once covered Canada and a large part of the United States.

The St Lawrence River is a product of the Wisconsin glaciation.  About 10,000 years ago, the land lifted as the ice melted, making it appear as it did, before the Seaway construction.  This also established the drainage to the northeast by way of the St Lawrence river.

As the ice sheet was pushed to the south, it collected rocks, logs, sand, gravel, and other materials.  When the ice stopped moving and the glacier melted, all of these materials remained.

ST LAWRENCE'S INTERNATIONAL RAPIDS
The water that fuels the St Lawrence-FDR project begins as rain falling on a 300,000-square-mile swath of the United States and Canada.  The runoff forms hundreds of rivers and streams that merge in the Great Lakes - the world's largest source of fresh water - to follow a common path eastward to the sea. 

On the last leg of the journey, the water drains into the St Lawrence River, stretching 615 miles from the outlet of Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St Lawrence.  The St Lawrence is North America's longest west-to-east river.

THE TREATY OF GHENT
December 24, 1814.  Negotiations sent to neutral Ghent, Belgium, restored territory to either side and a treaty was unanimously approved by the U S Senate on February 16, 1815 to end the War of 1812.

A new era arrived with the digging of the Massena, or Alcoa, power canal between the St Lawrence and Grasse Rivers.  The work was started in 1898 and finished in 1903.  The Pittsburgh Reduction Company, forerunner of the Aluminum Company of America, arrived in 1902 and became a major factor in the area's steady growth.  In the 1950's, the Power Authority came to Massena.  Its low-cost electricity soon brought the Reynolds Metals Company and General Motors to the area and fueled an expansion by Alcoa.

40th ANNIVERSARY
In honor of those whose labor built the St Lawrence Seaway System and Power Projects.  Through their efforts an engineering marvel was created that opened the American and Canadian heartland's to the world and welcomed deep draft commercial shipping to the St Lawrence River and Great Lakes.  Dedicated June 27, 1999.  40th Anniversary of the St Lawrence Seaway System.

 

The Robert Moses State Park Nature Center

 

A walk along the Lower Loop Trail reveals many tidbits of information you have always craved... and some you haven't.

LOWER LOOP
The Lower Loop is 1.6 miles long.  Many cross-country ski trails weave through this main trail system.  It is also crossed by a route that continues down to Hawkin's Point Overlook, which is 2.75 miles away.  Small rolling hills and flat terrain lead you through a variety of habitats and along the St Lawrence River.  Enjoy your walk and remember.

DO YOU SEE A STAG?
The small trees around you are called staghorn sumac.  Their name comes from the way the top branches look in the winter when they have no leaves; they look like a stag's antlers.  Young branches in the spring feel soft and furry, like the velvet on a stag's new antlers.

WHITETAIL DEER
A male deer is called a stag or a buck and has antlers.  a female is called a doe, and a baby is called a fawn.  If you ever see a fawn curled up in the grass, leave it there and walk on.  Its mother has hidden it until she can return to feed it.

STAGHORN SUMAC WITH FRUIT
The fruit of staghorn sumac provides food for many wild animals.  Its ripe berries can be made into a cold tea, which some call "pink lemonade."  Poison sumac looks quite different, with small white berries and smooth bark.

LOOK AT THOSE MUSCLES!
Look at the small tree.  Feel its bark.  Its common name is musclewood because the trunk feels and looks deeply rippled and sinewy.  Imagine a body builder's strong legs, with bulging muscles.  Do you see a resemblance?

Another name for the musclewood tree is blue beech.  It produces a very hard, slow-burning wood.  Its seeds are also eaten by many kinds of wildlife

 

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