 One of the last relatively natural environments on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River below the nation’s capital, the archipelago features a Carolinian deciduous swamp forest, possibly the only one in Eastern Canada north of Toronto.Seasonal flooding, extensive sand deposits, abundant water plants and thin but fertile soils have helped maintain a variety of life not found in many other places and its habitats are extremely rich.There are several species of turtles, some rare, and well over 130 species of birds have been identified at Petrie.