For most purposes, the Niagara Escarpment can be considered to include the escarpment cliff itself on the east edge, plus the top of the ridge and the slope on the west side. If we include this entire area, then we can include several habitat types in the escarpment zone.

Forest

The top of the escarpment is mostly a wooded area, and in the Hamilton area this forest is much like the Carolinian type of the land around it, mixed with a greater abundance of conifers such as Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). You can find Trilliums (Trillium sp.), Round-Lobed Hepatica (Hepatica Americana), and Yellow Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium calceolus) under stands of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) and Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), all just a moment away from the steep cliff edge. As you go north along the escarpment outside the Carolinian zone, the forest changes to Mixed Deciduous, though you will find that this change occurs slightly earlier on the escarpment than down below. At the northern end of the ridge, the forest becomes more coniferous.

Dundas Peak. Photo by Alan Ernst.

Grassland and Meadow

As on the land below, the escarpment is home to several grassland areas, and many meadows. Many of these are found where farmland has been allowed to revert to its natural state.

View from escarpment. Photo by Barry Cherriere.

Wetlands and Lakes

Wetlands can also be found on the escarpment ridge. These areas occur where there are smaller depressions in the top layers of soil and rock, so that water does not run off but instead collects, allowing wetland flora to colonize and survive. There are even lakes, also formed by depressions but where there is less soil to support wetland plants, or where wetlands have not yet had time to form.

Cliff and Exposed Rock

The habitats mentioned above all occur elsewhere in the Hamilton area, but there is one escarpment habitat that is unique. This is the cliff face itself, where the rock layers that resist erosion are exposed. Very few species are adaptable enough to survive here. This habitat is also threatened by climbing activity, as the little habitat that exists does not react well to disturbance.

Tew's Falls. Photo from HNC.

Most areas of the cliff face are quite dry, but there are areas that are moist while water is flowing. These are areas around the many waterfalls along the escarpment. In the Hamilton area alone there are 29 waterfalls, and in Halton region there are seven. Each has its own special character and is worth visiting. The biggest waterfall of the escarpment is, of course, Niagara Falls.

On top of the ridge there are also exposed rock areas jutting up form the forest floor, often with crevices and caves formed by erosion or gaps between fallen rock sections. Like the cliff itself, these rocky areas are unique habitats for flora and fauna that can take advantage of these conditions. These inner rock areas have the added feature of being sheltered from exposure to the elements.