Vous voulez voir cette page en fran�ais ? Cliquez ici.

Quantity:

More Buying Choices

16 used & new from CDN$ 24.95

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Share your own customer images

Search inside this book

Great Lakes (Hardcover)

by Wayne Grady (Author)

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

List Price:	CDN$ 49.95
Price:	CDN$ 31.47 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
You Save:	CDN$ 18.48 (37%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

10 new from CDN$ 30.43 6 used from CDN$ 24.95

Frequently Bought Together

The Last Stand: A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment

Ontario Rocks: Three Billion Years of Environmental Change

Total List Price: CDN$ 149.90
Price For All Three: CDN$ 94.44

Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Show details

This item: Great Lakes by Wayne Grady
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
The Last Stand: A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment by Sarah Harmer
Usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
Ontario Rocks: Three Billion Years of Environmental Change by Nick Eyles
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Last Stand: A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment

by Sarah Harmer

5.0 out of 5 stars (2) CDN$ 25.17

Ontario Rocks: Three Billion Years of Environmental Change

by Nick Eyles

CDN$ 37.80

Historical Atlas Of Toronto

by Derek Hayes

4.0 out of 5 stars (3) CDN$ 22.02

Lake Boats: The Enduring Vessels of the Great Lakes

by Greg McDonnell

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) CDN$ 25.20

Canada Rocks: The Geologic Journey

by Nick Eyles

5.0 out of 5 stars (3) CDN$ 47.25

› Explore similar items

Product Details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Greystone Bks (Sep 26 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1553651979
ISBN-13: 978-1553651970
Product Dimensions: 25.4 x 20.1 x 3 cm
Shipping Weight: 1.1 Kg

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #61,791 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#1 in Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Biology > Freshwater Biology
#6 in Books > Science > Nature & Ecology > Lakes & Ponds
#6 in Books > Outdoors & Nature > Ecology > Aquatic Life

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Book Description

Five immense lakes lie at the heart of North America. They comprise the world's largest freshwater system, containing 95 percent of the continent's fresh water--and one-fifth of the planet's total supply. The Great Lakes drainage basin is home to 40 million people and is the hub of industry and agriculture in North America. Its rich mineral deposits and natural resources have attracted and sustained human and wildlife populations for more than ten thousand years.

The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region is the most authoritative, complete, and accessible book to date about the biology and ecology of this vital, ever-changing terrain. Written by one of Canada's best-known science and nature writers, this essential resource features superb nature photography and numerous sidebars that focus on specific animal, plant and invertebrate species.

From the Publisher

A comprehensive, engaging, and timely exploration of one of the most important ecological systems on Earth, a life-sustaining continental resource that is increasingly under threat.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

	85% buy the item featured on this page: Great Lakes 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) CDN$ 31.47
	7% buy Ontario Rocks: Three Billion Years of Environmental Change CDN$ 37.80
	3% buy The Last Stand: A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment 5.0 out of 5 stars (2) CDN$ 25.17
	2% buy Canada Rocks: The Geologic Journey 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) CDN$ 47.25

Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

1 Review

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another book on the Great Lakes?, Jan 26 2008

By	Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

Quite so, and that's a good thing, given that this one is written by one of Canada's pre-eminent science/nature writers. Grady caps a long career in depicting our understanding of Nature's phenomena with this examination of the string running over part of the Canadian-US border. Containing nearly a fifth of the world's supply of fresh water, the lakes are important to vast lands and populations in North America. Grady points out that many misconceptions about the Lakes abound. Change is endemic in the Lake system, and artificial change must be considered with the utmost care, based on careful analysis. His flowing prose, enhanced by lavish maps, photographs and illustrations, imparts the view of the lakes as a dynamic system.

The book's subtitle "the Natural History of A Changing Region" sets the theme. Resulting from the scouring of the Laurentide Glacier as it retreated ten thousand years ago, the Lakes exhibit individual profiles and behaviours. The final outlines of the Lakes emerged about the time Egypt began constructing the Pyramids. A view of "The Water World" explains how lake water "turns over" according to the season, and how the varying depths influence the flow and the life in and around them. Which Lake is deepest may not be a surprise, but the second deepest and shallowest may reveal misconceptions. Lake Superior holds more water than the others combined, and is the fourth largest in the world.

Delimiting the outlines is only the beginning for Grady, who takes us through the entire ecological framework of the region. We are shown the forest types around the Lakes, the wetlands of the their margins, and the river systems feeding them. The forests are divided into three zones, Boreal, Great Lakes-St Lawrence and Carolinian. Each is populated with various proportions of tree types, bird, animal and fish life. The planet's longest surviving species of bird, the Sandhill Crane resides here - and has for 10 million years. The oldest known tracks of an animal, a euthycarcinoid strode along some Ontario sand nearly 500 million years ago. The soils are of one kind here, another there. All the description is wrapped in a picture of shifting conditions. The dynamics of the Lake environments are the key to our understanding their past, present and future. What we see today isn't just "there" - it has all derived from past times and environments.

Although the Lakes' shorelines aren't densely inhabited, the demand for their waters comes from adjacent and distant regions alike. It has been estimated that 95 per cent of North America's fresh water derives from the Great Lakes. Will it always be available? Recent studies show the levels are dropping - some shipping must empty ballast or off-load cargo to sustain passage in some seasons and locales. The US Army Corps of Engineers has already shifted drainage patterns over the years, with more proposed. The Bourassa government of Quebec attempted a plan to dam James Bay, turning it into a freshwater lake that would have drained into Lake Superior. The firm founded to implement that plan still exists, Grady reminds us. The draining of the Oglalla Aquifer by US farmers and ranchers is already raising calls for Great Lakes water to replace it. Such siphoning would have incalculable consequences for the entire system.

The interactions of the different environments would be wildly disrupted by such a change, although intrusive species have already commenced that process. Grady notes that 185 "exotic" species have invaded the Great Lakes region since European settlement started. These include what he calls "the First Spike", the perennial known as the Purple Loosestrife that is overwhelming native plant species. The displacement is driving insects, birds and small animals to other areas, forcing yet more disruption. Lampreys, travelling up the St Lawrence Seaway have attacked native fish populations resulting in the depletion of both commercial and sport species. The zebra mussel quickly replaced native species while the quagga has blocked drainage and nuclear plant cooling systems. Such invaders also accumulate mineral pollutants, which are then taken up by diving birds. The pollutants create mutations in the birds, reducing their numbers.

Grady's chapter on "The Future of the Great Lakes" bears careful reading. Ordinances to control incoming ships' ballasts has reduced the number of large invasive species, but many water-living species are being carried in. Pollutants have been reduced in some industries, but ignored in others. According to the International Joint Commission monitoring the Lakes, the US is still putting 110 tonnes of mercury into the Lakes. In the meantime, diverted waters to provide hydroelectric power has increased significantly in recent years, removing 3 billion cubic metres of water per DAY to generate electricity. To Grady, and anybody who takes a moment to consider the numbers, these conditions are unsustainable. Add the effects of climate change, reduced snow cover and destructive storms, and protection of the Lakes' ecosystem is a matter of concern for us all. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all customer reviews...