Geography of Hamilton, Ontario

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Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of Lake Ontario, most of the city including the downtown section are on the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Golden Horseshoe and is roughly the midway point between Toronto and Buffalo. The two major physical features are Hamilton Harbour marking the northern limit of the city and the Niagara Escarpment running through the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting the city into 'upper' and 'lower' parts. ^[1]

Contents 1 Bay/Harbour 2 City and suburbs 3 Escarpment and Glacial Geomorphology 4 Climate 5 Soil types 6 Neutral Indian Name of the Hamilton Area 7 Niagara Escarpment Parks & Waterfalls 8 Images 9 References

[edit] Bay/Harbour

Burlington Bay is a natural harbour with a large sandbar called the Beachstrip. The first aborinals to settle in the Hamilton area called this bay Macassa, meaning "beautiful waters".^[2] This sandbar was deposited during a period of higher lake levels during the last ice age, and extends southeast through the central lower city to the escarpment. Hamilton's deep sea port is accessed by ship canal through the beach strip into the harbour and is traversed by two bridges, the QEW's Burlington Bay - James N. Allan Skyway and the lower Canal Lift Bridge. Hamilton Harbour ranks one of Canada's largest seaports. The Hamilton Port Authority manages the heavily industrial harbour.^[3]

Hamilton Harbour Fast Facts:^[4]

• Mean depth: 13 metres
• Maximum depth: 25 metres
• Watershed area: 500 square kilometres
• Shoreline length: 45 kilometres
• Volume of water: 2.8 x 10 to 8th cubic feet (7.9 million m³) of water
• Reduction in surface area from 1926 to 1982: 22%
• Navigational season is from April through to mid December

[edit] City and suburbs

Downtown began and remains around Gore Park and the intersection of King and James Streets. Central Hamilton extends from the base of the Mountain north to Barton Street, west to Chedoke Creek or Dundurn Street, and east to approximately Wentworth Street or Sherman Avenues. West Hamilton or the west end begins at Dundurn Street or Chedoke Creek. East Hamilton or the east end begins at approximately Ottawa Street or Kenilworth Avenue. North Hamilton or the north end begins at Barton Street or the Canadian National Railways (CN) tracks.

As city limits expanded to include the Mountain, the retronym for the city below the Escarpment became the Lower City (now often just referred to as downtown). The east/west divide line for the mountain is Upper James Street, and the east/west divide line for downtown is James Street. The south Mountain begins at approximately Limeridge Road or the Lincoln M. Alexander Expressway.

The former boroughs of Hamilton-Wentworth Region, are: Stoney Creek, Dundas, Flamborough, Ancaster and Township of Glanbrook. They have maintained their names as wards in the amalgamated city.

Hamilton, like many cities, is broken up into several areas, well known to the local residents. These 'sections' of the city are: The North End, Downtown, the East and West End, Westdale (the area where McMaster University is located, and therefore has a high percentage of students), Dundas, Ancaster (including Meadowlands, which is often seen as separate from Ancaster), the West, Central, and East Mountain, Stoney Creek and Stoney Creek Mountain. These areas are all unique, and the people, economy and cultures vary a great deal across the city.

[edit] Escarpment and Glacial Geomorphology

The Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton is a vertical wall of limestone, sandstone and shale that runs through southern Ontario from western New York to the Wisconsin/Illinois border. It is the world's longest escarpment.^{[citation needed]} The Hamilton portion, in many places 100 m (330') tall, is commonly referred to as "the Mountain" by locals. On average the Mountain is 4-5 km inland from the Lake Ontario shoreline and at its edge affords some spectacular views of the city and harbour. The numerous waterfalls within the City of Hamilton limits have recently inspired local tourism interests to market Hamilton as the "City of Waterfalls." More than 80 waterfalls and cascades flow over Hamilton Mountain within city limits,^[5] including Stoney Creek, Red Hill Creek, Grindstone Creek, Spencer Gorge Waterfall and Chedoke Creek, which flows into the Harbour.

During the Ordovician period, the Michigan Basin was under a shallow, tropical sea. Muds and sands were deposited from erosion of the Taconic Mountains to the south, creating the base shale and sandstone units of the Niagara Escarpment. Later, during Silurian period, the Taconic Mountains stopped uplifting, erosion slowed, and calcium carbonate sediments formed, creating the upper limestone and dolostone layers of the Escarpment. Fossils such as sponges, crinoids, brachiopods and rugose corals, indicating warm tropical waters, can be found in the Escarpment. There were fish, a species of shark, but none of their remains have been found in this district. The limestone layer of rock found here becomes thicker as one goes northward. At Manitoulin Island it is 200 feet thick, suggesting that the water must have been shallower in Hamilton. ^[6]

The shale layer underlying the limestone in the Escarpment allows for its perpendicularity; the soft shale wears away more rapidly than limestone and thus the top layer always stays out farther than the part below. ^[6]

The Dundas Valley is a glacial re-entrant valley, formed by several advances and retreats of an ice lobe. A thick layer of glacial and post-glacial deposits is found on the valley floor. Glacial geomorphological features such as kame moraines, and kettles are present. (cite: http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/areas/areas_report.cfm?areaid=5327).

During the last glacial retreat, a large lake called Lake Iroquois was in the approximate location of Lake Ontario. It was likely formed as a result of ice damming in the St. Lawrence River. The lake laid down glaciolacustrine sediments such as sand and clay in the lower city and created the beach bar between Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbour. ^[6]

In 1857, when the Great Western railroad made the present opening for the Desjardins Canal, the bones of a mammoth were found. In 1931, they found the antlers of an elk in a gravel pit near Locke Street South.^[6]

[edit] Climate

The climate of Hamilton is humid continental (Dfa type) and relatively mild compared with most Canadian cities. The average January temperature is -3.6 °C (26.5 °F) but most days rise just above freezing often making for slushy conditions during snowfalls. Winter snowfall averages 113 cm (44 in) with great year-to-year variation. The average July temperature (the average of both day and night) is 22.5 °C (72.5 °F) and humidity is usually high during the peak of summer. Daytime highs in the 30's with humidex values making it feel above 40 °C are quite common anytime from May through early October.

The climate of the lower city is in general much more sheltered and milder than on top of the Mountain, which has a shorter growing season and in winter is prone to more wind whipped lake effect snows. Generally the lower city receives less snow than the upper city. The escarpment also greatly affects summer weather; temperature inversions can make the downtown many degrees warmer, particularly at night, and often an inversion will combine with the physical barrier of the escarpment to trap smog in the downtown area, sometimes reducing downtown visibility to less than 2 km.

Summer rains can be heavy but in general severe weather is rare. One notable exception occurred November 9, 2005 when a tornado damaged hundreds of houses and lifted off Lawfield Middle School's gymnasium roof on the Upper Mountain, injuring two students and leaving the school structurally unsound. Environment Canada confirmed an F1 tornado struck the area; this was the latest date in any year that a confirmed tornado touched down in Canada.

[edit] Soil types

Soil is predominately derived from glacial drift (glaciolacustrine sediments in the lower city; glacial tills in the upper city) and from limestone and shale erosion. ^[6]

[edit] Neutral Indian Name of the Hamilton Area

According to all records from local historians, this district was called "Attiwandaronia" by the native Neutral people. ^[6]

[edit] Niagara Escarpment Parks & Waterfalls

Hamilton brands itself "The City of Waterfalls"; some of the parks and conservation areas found along the Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton include the following: Borer's Falls,^[7] Devil's Punch Bowl,^[8] Dundas Valley,^[9] Felker Falls,^[10] Iroquois Heights,^[11] King's Forest,^[12] Mount Albion Conservation Area,^[13] Mountain Face Park,^[14] Sam Lawrence Park,^[15] Spencer Gorge Wilderness Area,^[16] Tew's Falls,^[17] Tiffany Falls,^[18] Vinemount Conservation Area,^[19] Webster's Falls^[20] and Winona Conservation Area.^[21]

[edit] Images

Tew's Falls, Waterdown

Webster's Falls

Webster's Falls

Albion Falls, King's Forest Park

[edit] References