The
Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario, Canada, the other being the
Don RiverThe Don River is one of two rivers bounding the original settled area of Toronto, Ontario along the shore of Lake Ontario, the other being the Humber River to the west. The Don is formed from two rivers, the East and West Branches, that meet about north of Lake Ontario while flowing southward into...
to the east. It was designated a
Canadian Heritage RiverThe Canadian Heritage Rivers System was established in 1984 by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada's river heritage, to give them national recognition, and to encourage the public to enjoy and appreciate them. It is a cooperative...
on September 24, 1999.
The Humber collects from about 750 creeks and tributaries in a fan-shaped area north of the city. One main branch runs for about 100 km from the
Niagara EscarpmentThe Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
in the northwest, while the other major branch starts in the Lake St. George in the
Oak Ridges MoraineThe Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...
near
Aurora, OntarioAurora is an affluent town in York Region, approximately 20 km north of Toronto. It is partially situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario.Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto and surrounding communities.In the...
to the northeast. They join north of Toronto and then flow in a generally southeasterly direction into
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
at what was once the far western portions of the city. The river mouth is flanked by Sir Casimir Gzowski Park and
Humber Bay ParkHumber Bay Park is a waterfront park located in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. The park consists of two landspits situated at the mouth of Mimico Creek. The park is on Lake Shore Boulevard West at Park Lawn Road. Humber Bay Park East, connecting to the Humber Bay neighbourhood that existed there...
East.
History
The Humber has a long history of human settlement along its banks. Native settlement of the area is well documented archaeologically and occurred in three waves. The first settlers were the Palaeo-Indians who lived in the area from 10,000 to 7000 BC. The second wave, people of the Archaic period, settled the area between 7000 and 1000 BC and began to adopt seasonal migration patterns to take advantage of available plants, fish, and game. The third wave of native settlement was the Woodland period, which saw the introduction of the
bow and arrowArchery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
and the growing of crops which allowed for larger, more permanent villages. The Woodland period was also characterized by movement of native groups along what is known today as the
Toronto Carrying-Place TrailThe Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, also known as the Humber Portage and the Toronto Passage, was a major portage route in Ontario, Canada, linking Lake Ontario with Lake Simcoe and the northern Great Lakes...
, running from Lake Ontario up the Humber to
Lake SimcoeLake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
and eventually to the northern
Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
.
Étienne BrûléÉtienne Brûlé , was the first of European French explorers to journey along the St. Lawrence River with the Native Americans and to view Georgian Bay and Lake Huron Canada in the 17th century. A rugged outdoorsman, he took to the lifestyle of the First Nations and had a unique contribution to the...
was the first European to encounter the Humber while travelling the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. Brûlé passed through the watershed in 1615 on a mission from
Samuel de ChamplainSamuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
to build alliances with native peoples. The Trail became a convenient shortcut to the upper Great Lakes for traders, explorers, and missionaries. A major landmark on the northern end of the trail in Lake Simcoe was used to describe the trail as a whole, and eventually the southern end became known simply as "Toronto" to the Europeans.
A fort, Fort Toronto, was constructed about 1 km inland from the mouth of the Humber to protect the Trail, which eventually became the modern city of Toronto. During the 1660s this was the site of
TeiaiagonTeiaiagon was an Iroquoian village on the east bank of the Humber River in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was located along the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. The site is currently near the intersection of Jane Street and Annette Street or the community of Baby Point.-History:The establishment of the...
, a permanent settlement of the Seneca used for trading with the Europeans. Popple's map of 1733 shows a prominent river beside "Tejajagon" which we can only assume was the Humber. Its name is given as the Tanaovate River. French missionaries used the area for many years, including
Jean de BrébeufJean de Brébeuf was a Jesuit missionary, martyred in Canada on March 16, 1649.-Early years:Brébeuf was born in Condé-sur-Vire, Normandy, France. He was the uncle of the fur trader Georges de Brébeuf. He studied near home at Caen. He became a Jesuit in 1617, joining the Order...
and Joseph Chaumonot in 1641,
Louis HennepinFather Louis Hennepin, O.F.M. baptized Antoine, was a Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollect order and an explorer of the interior of North America....
in 1678, and Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle in 1680.
However, no permanent European settlement occurred until the arrival of Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (not the famous author) in the late 18th century. Rousseau piloted
John Graves SimcoeJohn Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
's ship into Toronto Bay to officially begin the British era of control in 1793. Most of the British attention was focussed to the east of the Humber, around the protected Toronto Bay closer to the Don River. Settlement was scattered until after the
War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
when many loyalists moved to the area, who were joined by immigrants from
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
who chose to remain in British lands.
Upon his arrival in York, Simcoe was keenly aware of the need for a lumber mill and grist mill in the area. He had constructed a sawmill on the west bank of the river near present day
Bloor StreetBloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct westward into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same...
in 1793, which was operated by John Wilson. In 1797 Simcoe managed to get a grist mill established on the Humber River. It was owned and operated by John Lawrence. Overt the 85 years about a half a dozen mills were operated along the river by such men as W. P. Howland,
Thomas FisherThe Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addition to institutional records, also contains the papers...
,
John ScarlettJohn Scarlett was an merchant-miller who played a significant role in the development of the part of the historic York Township that later became the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto.- Early Life :...
, William Gamble and
Joseph RowntreeJoseph Rowntree was pioneer in north Etobicoke village of Thistletown and established two mills on the banks of the Humber River. In 1843 he built a sawmill on the east bank of the river. Five years later, he built a grist mill on the west bank...
.
By 1860 the Humber Valley was extensively deforested. This decreased the stability of the river banks and increased damages done by periodic flooding. In 1878 a disastrous flood destroyed the remaining water powered mills. As the Toronto area grew, the lands around the Humber became important farming areas; in addition, some areas of the river's flood plain were developed as residential. This led to serious runoff problems in the 1940s, which the Humber Valley Conservation Authority was established to address. But in 1954,
Hurricane HazelHurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...
raised the river to devastating flood levels, destroying buildings and
bridgeA bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s; on one street,
Raymore DriveRaymore Drive is a mostly residential street in the Weston neighbourhood of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. It runs next to the Humber River. On October 15, 1954, the area was severely affected by Hurricane Hazel. When the Humber River burst its banks and tore away a footbridge, the...
, 60 homes were destroyed and 35 people killed.
The
Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation AuthorityToronto and Region Conservation Authority or Office de protection de la nature de Toronto et de la région is one of 36 conservation authorities in Ontario, Canada...
succeeded the Humber Valley authority in 1957 (the word "Metropolitan" was dropped in 1998). More recently, a task force within the TRCA was formed to further clear the Humber as a part of the Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund.
Environment
Unlike the Don to the east, the Humber remained relatively free from industrialization as Toronto grew, mainly because it is much flatter and does not provide a large river valley to build in. Since
Hurricane HazelHurricane Hazel was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed as many as 1,000 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina, as a Category 4 hurricane...
showed the land to be unsuitable for housing, it has been largely developed or redeveloped as parkland, with the extensive and important wetlands on its southern end remaining unmolested. Whereas the mouth of the Don is often clogged with flotsam and is obstructed by low bridges, the Humber is navigable and a major sporting and fishing area.
Today the majority of the Toronto portion of the Humber is parkland, with paved trails running from the lakeshore all the way to the northern border of the city some 30 km away. Trails following the various branches of the river form some 50 km of bicycling trails, much of which are in decent condition. Similar trails on the Don tend to be narrower and in somewhat worse condition, but the complete set of trails is connected along the lakeshore, for some 100 km of off-road paved trails.
Humber watershed
The Humber Watershed is a hydrological feature of south-central
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, principally in north and west
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. It has an area of 908 km², flowing through numerous physiographic regions, including the
Oak Ridges MoraineThe Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough...
and the
Niagara EscarpmentThe Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
.
Tributaries
- Humber Creek
- Black Creek
- Salt Creek
- Rainbow Creek
- Wilcox Lake
- Claireville Lake
See also
- List of Ontario rivers
- List of rivers of Canada
- Humber Bay Arch Bridge
The Humber Bay Arch Bridge is a pedestrian and bicycle through arch bridge south of Lake Shore Boulevard West in Toronto, Canada...
- Etobicoke
- Humber Valley Village
- Bolton, Ontario
Bolton is the most populated community in the town of Caledon, located in the Region of Peel, approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. In regional documents, it is referred to as a 'Rural Service Centre'. It has 26,478 residents in 8,721 households...
- Etienne Brule Park
Etienne Brulé Park is located in the Humber River valley just north of Bloor Street West in Toronto, Ontario. It is named after Étienne Brûlé, an early French explorer in the Toronto area.- Characteristic features :...
External links
- The Humber Watershed, the TRCA's site for the Humber Watershed Task Force
- Flooding events in Canada - Ontario, an Environment Canada
Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
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