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A BWCA Glossary
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- Eagle Mountain
- With an elevation of 2301' the highest point in the state of Minnesota.
Located just outside the BWCAW, 3¾ miles south of Brule Bay at
the east end of Brule Lake.
- Echo Trail
- St. Louis County Road 116, a former logging road running north and
west out of Ely and providing the primary access to the lakes of the
western BWCAW.
- Ecology
- Study of plants and animals in relation to their physical and biological
surroundings.
- Ecosystem
- The complex community of plant and animal species, forming with their
environment a functional whole.
- Eelpout
- Another common name for the Burbot
(Lota lota), the codfish
of the North Country. Awâssi or awâssissi
in the Ojibwe.
- Ely
- A Minnesota community on the edge of the BWCAW. Home to the
International Wolf Center and dozens
of outfitters.
- Elytra
- The anterior leathery or chitinous wings of beetles and leafhoppers,
serving as coverings for the hind wings and commonly meeting at rest
in a straight line down the middle of the dorsum (back).
- Empids
- A relatively common, confusing complex of small, nearly identical
flycatchers of the genus Empidonax.
Legendary for the frustration they bring to birders afield. Represented
in the BWCA by three species, the Yellow Bellied (Empidonax flaviventris),
Alder (Empidonax alnorum), and Least (Empidonax minimus).
Just hope they're singing when you come upon one; it's the only way
to tell them apart.
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- Endangered
- 1) A plant or animal species threatened with extinction throughout
all or a significant portion of its range within Minnesota.
2) A species on the federal list.
- Endosperm
- A part of a seed. The reservoir of food energy which fuels
the initial growth of a germinating seed.
- Entomology
- The scientific study of insect life.
- Entire
- A leaf edge without tooth or lobe; smooth edged. Good Northwoods
examples include the Bunchberry (Cornus
canadensis) and the Wild Calla Lily (Calla
palustris).
- Entry Line
- In canoe design, the shape of the bow where it cuts the water. A
very sharp, knife-like entry is more efficient, cutting through the
water easily. A blunt bow provides buoyancy in waves and a drier ride.
- Entry Point
- In the BWCAW, one of a limited number of locations where access to
the wilderness area is allowed; controlled by permit system.
- Epicormic Branching
- Branches arising from buds in bark along mainstem, most commonly
occurring in trees under crown stress. Also known as watersprouts
or suckers.
- Epilimnion
- In a lake, the layer of warm, oxygen-rich water extending from the
surface to a depth of 15'-30'. Separated from the cold, dense
waters of the hypolimnion by the thermocline
and only mixing during spring and fall turnover.
- Ericad
- A plant, most often a low shrub, belonging to the Heath Family (Ericaceae).
Ericads are well represented in the North Country, particularly in bogs,
and include Bearberry,
Cranberry, Labrador
Tea, Leatherleaf,
Bog Rosemary, Laurel,
and, of course, the Blueberries.
- Erratic
- A glacier borne boulder, often quite large, deposited far from its
place of origin.
- Eskwagama
- A lake in the lower Kawishiwi drainage. Name derivation unknown.
- Etymology
- The study of word origins.
- Eutrophic
- An environment rich in nutrient ions.
- Even-aged
- A stand of trees in which there are only small differences in age
among the individual trees. A common phenomenon in the North Country,
resulting from fire or logging.
- Evergreen
- A plant which retains its leaves or needles for more than one season,
thus economizing on the nutrients and energy which go into the production
of each leaf. A useful adaptation in environments with low fertility
and short growing seasons.
- Extinct
- A species of plant or animal of which no individuals remain living
anywhere on the planet.
- Extirpated
- A species which is extinct in a given part of its former range.
Though plentiful in Canada, the Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus)
may be considered an extirpated BWCAW species.
- Extrusive
- Igneous rock that cools on the surface
of the Earth, including beneath water; typically with small crystals
due to rapid cooling. Also known as volcanic; opposite of intrusive
or plutonic.
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