Lake Ontario&#39;s History and Geography

The vastness and large presence of Lake Ontario’s shoreline on Southern Ontario has always interested me. It is almost impossible to live in Toronto without somehow seeing and feeling the fourteenth largest freshwater lake in the world. At times when I was growing up in Toronto, Lake Ontario seemed to stretch off into the distant horizon, a large expanse of water and sky endless and beautiful. It is safe to say that Lake Ontario was a constant presence in my life. In my teens I biked around Toronto Islands, traveling out on Centre Island’s pier to be surrounded by waves and blue water. Many of my summer evenings were spent walking the shores of Ontario Place at sunset, taking in the fresh and cool summer air. After swimming at Sunnyside Pool on the Lakeshore I would walk the nearby waterfront trail and sit on the grass, looking out into the blue water and vast horizon of the lake. I would imagine the distant side of the lake and think of travelling to far away places. The lake became a way for me to connect with nature and the bigger world further afield.
Lake Ontario, although large in size and importance, has seemed to lose some presence in Canadians minds. There is no doubt it is important in our waterfront planning and as a source of freshwater, but in our hearts it seems to rank behind other recreational locations, namely Georgian Bay, Muskoka and northern cottage destinations. Perhaps it is Canada’s abundance of lakes and beautiful places that has allowed us the luxury of turning our back on this large and beautiful lake, or it is the fact that our large-scale development (Golden Horseshoe urban area) has reduced our ability to connect us with the natural world. Whatever the reason for Lake Ontario’s reduced importance in our hearts, it is important to remember its significance in shaping our country and it’s biological importance as a large freshwater ecosystem.
Lake Ontario was the main route for supplies and communication between Upper and Lower Canada in the late 1700’s. During the war of 1812 it became essential to the defense of Canada, with many large -masted warships built to defend it’s strategic importance. Throughout the 1800’s the lake provided Canada with a trade route facilitating our economic growth. With the advancement of railways and paved roads the lake eventually became less importance to Canada’s economy. However settlement and development along the lakeshore reflects some of Canada’s earliest history. Perhaps in order to again fully appreciate Lake Ontario we need to see it from not only it’s ecological significance but also from its historical significance to Canada. Over the past few years I have explored the shoreline attempting to get to know some of the historical locations, as well as connect with some of it’s lesser-known shoreline beauty. Some of these locations have been discussed in past blog posts and in this post I would like to give a more detailed background on Lake Ontario itself.
The area of Lake Ontario in Canada is 10,000 km (2), with the total area of the lake being 19,000 km (2). It has a length of 311 km and a width of 85 km, and is the 8th largest body of fresh water in North America and 14th in the world. Fresh water flows in from the Niagara River and flows out from the St Lawrence River near Kingston, having between 8 to 10 years of residency time. It very rarely freezes over in the winter because of occasional warmer airflow from the south during the winter, keeping the main body of water open. However, it does freeze along the shoreline. The current structure of the lake was shaped approximately 11,000 years ago by glaciation which altered the flow and size of a lake called: Lake Iroquois, which was it's predecessor.
A quarter of the population of Canada (9 million people) lives in close proximity. Highly polluted during the 60's, 70"s and 80's, a large concerted effort to make the lake less polluted has had some success over the past few years. Fish numbers and species have increased as well as an improvement in water quality. However there is still a large degree of degradation of the lake, much of which is caused by the large urban and industrial population living around the Golden Horseshoe area at the western end of the lake.
Historically the Huron and Neutral Indians inhabited the Canadian side of Lake Ontario, being eventually destroyed by the powerful Iroquois nation who resided on the south shore of the lake. The Mississauga nation or Ojibwa people from other areas of Ontario eventually moved into occupy the area once the Huron were supplanted. The changes in native residence were hugely influenced by the Europeans, largely the French and English who created a trade with the natives for furs and ultimately increased rivalries between tribes.
Etienne Brule was the first white European to travel Lake Ontario, using it as a staging point for travels further north. He travelled with Samuel de Champlain and showed him portage routes to the north. The explorer Sieur de la Salle travelled throughout the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Basin, establishing a Fort called Frontenac at the mouth of the Cataraqui River near Kingston. From this fort he built a small sailing baroque, which he sailed to the Head of the Lake, near present day Burlington. Later he built a 40 ton highly crafted schooner, which sailed the Upper Great Lakes. Conflict soon prevailed between the French and English over the trading routes of the region, with the English eventually winning and taking over the area in 1763. Loyalist settlers soon arrived in large numbers from the American Colonies after the American Revolution in 1776, setting the stage for the War of 1812. During this war, battles raged over control of the lake, as American and British navies build large, well-armed ships. No real decisive naval battle was ever fought on Lake Ontario; with both navies being too nervous to commit to battle that could lose control of the lake. The war's ending eventually drew the current border on the lake between Canada and the United States.
Lake Ontario is and has been extremely significant to Canada. Not only does its freshwater serve as drinking water for close to five million Canadians, but also as described it was a historic colonization road leading to the establishment of Canada as a nation. It’s presence helped define us as a nation and its natural waters sustain many Canadians today with existence. However important Lake Ontario is in reality it is somehow over shadowed by the large urban areas amassed along its shoreline. It is truly a Lake in the Shadow to the Golden Horseshoe cities of St Catharine’s, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Toronto, Pickering, Ajax, and Oshawa.