Scarborough, Ontario

Scarborough forms the eastern part of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly a separate city, and prior to that a borough and township, but has been part of the 'East District' since it was amalgamated with the old city of Toronto and four other municipalities in 1998. It retains its original name for most local residents, and is recognized by Canada Post as a municipality name. Its borders are Victoria Park Ave. to the west, the Rouge River, the Little Rouge Creek and the Scarborough-Pickering Townline to the east, Steeles Ave. E. to the north, and Lake Ontario to the south.

Geography

Scarborough is home to an earthen cliff formation known as the Scarborough Bluffs. These can be found along the shore of Lake Ontario, stretching about 14 km, and reaching heights of more than 60 m in places. Erosion has been a problem along the Scarborough Bluffs. Some properties located near the brink have actually had to be abandoned, and some houses condemned, as the brink wears back away from the lake.

Related Topics:
Cliff - Scarborough Bluffs - Lake Ontario - Erosion

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The Bluffs are part of a much larger formation known as the Iroquois Shoreline. Most of the rest of this formation is located somewhat further inland, and not right at the lakeshore as in Scarborough. The Iroquois Shoreline marks the extent of a prehistoric lake, Glacial Lake Iroquois, whose level was quite a bit higher than Lake Ontario's. It shrank in size at the close of the last ice age.

Related Topics:
Iroquois Shoreline - Glacial Lake Iroquois - Ice age

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Scarborough is also notable for the Rouge River Valley, an area many parts of which are still in a wild state, mostly wooded. The Valley is home to a great variety of wildlife including deer, foxes, and the occasional coyote. In the mid-1990s, there were several unconfirmed sightings of a cougar in the Rouge Valley. One witness even produced a videotape purportedly showing it.

Related Topics:
Rouge River - Deer - Fox - Coyote - 1990s - Cougar

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The Toronto Zoo is also located in the Rouge Valley.

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