Tom S. Cooperrider-Kent Bog State Nature Preserve
Encyclopedia
The Tom S. Cooperrider - Kent Bog State Nature Preserve is a remnant of the Wisconsin Glaciation
. It is a true bog with acidic
waters. Unique environmental conditions have enabled it to survive.
at 1028 Meloy Road at 41°7′46"N 81°21′13"W. There is parking at the beginning of the half mile boardwalk
. The boardwalk trail loops around the bog, ending back at the parking lot. Along the trail there are educational signs explaining the local flora
and fauna
as well as the geological founding of the bog
.
and glacial till from the glacial outwash. A ridge of sediment formed around the chunk of ice. This caused the formation of a deep kettle hole lake. The total original size of the kettle-hole lake was about 50 acres.
As the climate
continued to warm, plant life spread over the lake. Although it is not exclusive, it is heavily dominated in sphagnum moss. This began the process by which the lake began to fill with peat
becoming a bog. There are only a few areas that standing water is visible from the boardwalk.
, fir
, and tamarack trees. The tamarack is a tree common to the upper parts of Canada
and Alaska
. It is able to withstand very cold temperatures. Unlike other conifers, it is deciduous
losing its needles in the winter. This transforms the look of the Kent Bog during the seasons. The trees tower above the waters of the bog.
The bog is home to the spotted turtle
and throughout the preserve, there are turtle tunnels under the boardwalk.
Wisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
. It is a true bog with acidic
waters. Unique environmental conditions have enabled it to survive.
Location
The Kent Bog is located in its namesake city Kent, OhioKent, Ohio
Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
at 1028 Meloy Road at 41°7′46"N 81°21′13"W. There is parking at the beginning of the half mile boardwalk
Boardwalk
A boardwalk, in the conventional sense, is a wooden walkway for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, often found along beaches, but they are also common as paths through wetlands, coastal dunes, and other sensitive environments....
. The boardwalk trail loops around the bog, ending back at the parking lot. Along the trail there are educational signs explaining the local flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
as well as the geological founding of the bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
.
Geology and geography
The bog was formed during the retreat of the Wisconsin Glacier. A chunk of glacial ice broke off and was buried in sedimentSediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
and glacial till from the glacial outwash. A ridge of sediment formed around the chunk of ice. This caused the formation of a deep kettle hole lake. The total original size of the kettle-hole lake was about 50 acres.
As the climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
continued to warm, plant life spread over the lake. Although it is not exclusive, it is heavily dominated in sphagnum moss. This began the process by which the lake began to fill with peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
becoming a bog. There are only a few areas that standing water is visible from the boardwalk.
Flora and fauna
It is a coniferous, boreal forest with many spruceSpruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, fir
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
, and tamarack trees. The tamarack is a tree common to the upper parts of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. It is able to withstand very cold temperatures. Unlike other conifers, it is deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
losing its needles in the winter. This transforms the look of the Kent Bog during the seasons. The trees tower above the waters of the bog.
The bog is home to the spotted turtle
Spotted Turtle
The Spotted turtle , the only current species of Clemmys, is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its exact colour from black to a bluish black with a number of yellow tiny round spots...
and throughout the preserve, there are turtle tunnels under the boardwalk.