Rondeau Provincial Park

Rondeau Provincial Park
Rondeau Provincial Park
IUCN category II (national park)
	Rondeau in spring
Nearest city	Chatham, Ontario
Coordinates	42°17′N 81°52′W / 42.283°N 81.867°W
Area	32.54 km2 (12.56 sq mi)
Established	1894
Governing body	Ontario Parks

Rondeau Provincial Park is the second oldest provincial park in Ontario, Canada, having been established with an order in council on 8 September 1894.^[1] The park is located in Southwestern Ontario, on an 8 km long crescentic sand spit extending into Lake Erie. Rondeau is home to the largest area of Carolinian forest in Canada,^[2] a long sand beach, a large marsh, approximately half of Rondeau Bay, campgrounds and a cottage community. The name of the park comes from the French words "ronde eau" or "round water" which describes the shape of the harbour sheltered by the peninsula.^[3]

The park is an important stopover for birds during migration and has been identified as a Canadian Important Bird Area. Its Carolinian woods also provide nesting habitat for the prothonotary warbler and many other rare or endangered species. The park is a popular recreation area. The presence of private cottages in the park has been controversial, as have been efforts to control white-tailed deer populations.

^ Killan, Gerald (1993). Protected Places: A History of Ontario's Provincial Parks System. Dundurn Press Ltd. pp. 18–20. ISBN 9781550021806. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
^ Tanentzap, Andrew J.; Bazely, Dawn R.; Koh, Saewan; Timciska, Mika; Haggith, Edward G.; Carleton, Terry J.; Coomes, David A. (January 2011). "Seeing the forest for the deer: Do reductions in deer-disturbance lead to forest recovery?". Biological Conservation. 144 (1): 376–382. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.09.015.
^ "What's in a name? A historical look at four southwestern park names". Ontario Parks Blog. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2019.

[Killan1993-1] Killan, Gerald (1993). Protected Places: A History of Ontario's Provincial Parks System. Dundurn Press Ltd. pp. 18–20. ISBN 9781550021806. Retrieved 3 July 2012.

[2] Tanentzap, Andrew J.; Bazely, Dawn R.; Koh, Saewan; Timciska, Mika; Haggith, Edward G.; Carleton, Terry J.; Coomes, David A. (January 2011). "Seeing the forest for the deer: Do reductions in deer-disturbance lead to forest recovery?". Biological Conservation. 144 (1): 376–382. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.09.015.

[3] "What's in a name? A historical look at four southwestern park names". Ontario Parks Blog. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2019.

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