Spencer Gorge / Webster's Falls Conservation Area

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Webster's Falls

Webster's Falls
Location Hamilton, Ontario
Type Plunge
Total height 22 m (72 ft)
Total width 30 m (98 ft)
Watercourse Spencer Creek
Tews Falls

Tews Falls
Location Hamilton, Ontario
Type Plunge
Total height 41 m (130 ft)
Total width 9 m (30 ft)
Watercourse Logie's Creek
Spencer Gorge / Webster's Falls Conservation Area
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Nearest city Hamilton, Ontario
Coordinates 43°16′59″N 79°58′″W / <span class="geo-dec geo" title="Maps, aerial photos, and other data for 43.28306 Expression error: Unexpected / operator">43.28306, Expression error: Unexpected / operator
Governing body Hamilton Conservation Authority

Spencer Gorge / Webster's Falls Conservation Area is located on the Niagara Escarpment in Dundas, Ontario, a constituent community of Hamilton, Ontario, and is owned and operated by the Hamilton Conservation Authority. It is renowned for offering spectacular views of Hamilton and for containing two major waterfalls that are easily accessible via a system of trails.[1] The natural features found in the area are considered to be provincially significant.

Contents

[edit] Geology

The main feature of the area is the Spencer Gorge, a "y"-shaped gorge around 1-kilometre (0.6 mi) in length, with the depth reaching 100 metres (330 ft).[2] The walls of the gorge are very steep, contrasting the gently sloping landscape found in the nearby areas. The gorge was incised by the melt streams of the Wisconsin glaciation about 10,000 years ago.[1] The gorge displays a near-complete stratigraphic section from the red shales of the Queenston Formation, not exposed anywhere else on the Niagara Escarpment,[1] to the caprock of the Lockport Formation (dolostone and limestone).[3]

[edit] Waterfalls

Measuring 41 metres (130 ft) in height, Tews Falls is the tallest waterfall found in Hamilton,[4][5] among 96 others.[6] Located at 219 metres (720 ft) above the sea level, it is also the highest waterfall in the city.[5] Webster Falls is another major waterfall. With its 30 metres (98 ft) crest, it is the largest within the city.[7] The gorge is an excellent example of the process of waterfall recession. At least 10 bowl-shaped basins have been identified within the area, indicating the earlier positions of the waterfall. Some of the largest and the oldest identified basins have the diameter of up to 350 metres (1,100 ft), with depth of up to 60 metres (200 ft), making them comparable to the present state of the Horseshoe Falls.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Spencer Gorge/Webster's Falls brochure. Hamilton Conservation Authority (2008). Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
  2. ^ Natural Areas Report: SPENCER GORGE. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (2005). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  3. ^ a b Webster's and Tews Falls. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (2005). Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  4. ^ Hamilton Waterfalls. Hamilton Travel & Tourism. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  5. ^ a b Tews Falls - Virtual Field Trip. McMaster University. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  6. ^ Hamilton - The City of Waterfalls. Hamilton Naturalists' Club. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.
  7. ^ Webster's Falls. Hamilton Conservation Authority. Retrieved on 2008-03-02.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
Protected areas in Ontario
National parks
Provincial parks
Conservation areas
Boyd · Claireville · Cold Creek · Guelph Lake · Heber Down · Lake Laurentian · Mer Bleue · Mount Nemo · Rattlesnake Point · Spencer Gorge / Webster's Falls · more...
UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
National Historic Sites