The Patterned Peatlands of Maine
         Like the Floridian Everglades, there are many other fascinating types of patterned wetlands in the world (like the Brazilian Pantanal, the worlds largest wetland), but one of the most fascinating types is that of the patterned peatlands that exist across much of North America (I assume they must be all over Northern Asia too).
          These wetlands, just like all wetlands APPEAR to be very very flat, but are in fact about 10 times steeper than the
Everglades. In otherwords the slope of this type of wetland is about 1cm per 100m. They are called Patterned Peatlands or Ribbed Fens, and while the actual processes that give rise to the patterns of these wetlands are not completely understood, it is certain that the relationships between slope, plant growth, freezing/thawing, and detritus collection are critically important in order to create this amazing pattern (Figure 1).
          The most shocking bit about these patterned peatlands, or bogs, or ribber fens, as they are known, is that the direction of the lines of raised peat and vegetation (called
strings) and corresponding long water bodies (called flarks) is perpendicular to the direciton of water flow. Let me say that again; the water isn't flowing in the most obvious-looking direction in these systems, it's flowing in the most improbable looking direction, directly against the strings and flarks!
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Figure 1. Cross Lake fen, in far northern Aroostook county, ME.
Figure 2. Patterning in Marlbe Fen, northern Penobscot county, Maine.
Figure 3. Cross Lake Fen and surroundings.
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.