Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario, bounded on the north by Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America.

History

The lake was carved out of soft weak Silurian rocks by the Wisconsonian Ice age glacier which expanded the preglacial Ontarian River valley of approximately the same orientation. The material that was pushed southward was piled in central and western New York in the form of drumlins, kames, and moraines, which reorganized entire drainage systems. As the glacier retreated from New York, it still dammed the present St. Lawrence valley, so that the Lake was at a higher level. This state is known as Lake Iroquois. During that time the lake drained through present-day Syracuse, New York into the Mohawk River. The old shoreline that was created during this lake stage can be easily recognized by the (now dry) beaches and wave-cut hills 15 to 40 kilometers south of the present shoreline.

Related Topics:
Silurian - Wisconsonian - Ice age - Glacier - Ontarian River - New York - Drumlin - Kame - Moraine - St. Lawrence valley - Syracuse, New York - Mohawk River - Beach

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When the glacier finally melted from the St. Lawrence valley, the outlet was below sea level, and the lake became for a short time a bay of the ocean. Gradually the land rebounded from the release of the weight of about 2 kilometers of ice that had been stacked on it. It is still rebounding about 30 centimeters per century in the St. Lawrence area. Since the ice left that area last, that is the area where the most rapid rebound still is occurring. This means that the lake bed is gradually tilting southward, inundating the south shore and turning river valleys into bays. Both north and south shores have shoreline erosion, but the tilting amplifies this effect on the south shore, causing loss to property owners.

Related Topics:
Sea level - Bay - Ocean - Rebounded

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The lake was a border between the Huron and their vassals and the Iroquois Confederacy in pre-European times. The first documented westerner to reach the lake was Étienne Brulé in 1615. Artifacts which are believed to be of Norse origin have been found in the area, indicating possible earlier visits by Europeans.

Related Topics:
Huron - Iroquois - Europe - Étienne Brulé - 1615 - Norse

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Today, a large conurbation called the Golden Horseshoe (including Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario) is to be found on the Canadian side at the western end of the lake. The excellent farmland on the northern shore of the lake and in the Niagara Peninsula has led it to be a heavily populated area. Today, about a quarter of Canada's population lives near the shores of Lake Ontario.

Related Topics:
Golden Horseshoe - Toronto - Hamilton, Ontario - Niagara Peninsula

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The American shore of the lake is largely rural, with the exception of Rochester, New York. A high-speed passenger/vehicle ferry service across Lake Ontario between Toronto and Rochester, New York was launched on June 17, 2004, using the vessel Spirit of Ontario. On the south shore, breezes off the cool lake tend to retard fruit bloom until the spring frost danger is past, and the area has become a major fruit growing area, with apples, cherries, pears, plums and peaches grown in many commercial orchards on both sides of Rochester. The Canadian part of the south shore is also a major fruit growing and winemaking area.

Related Topics:
Rochester, New York - Apple - Cherries - Pear - Plum - Peach - Orchard - Wine

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