Niagara's Changing Landscapes 9780773573895

Table of contents :
Contents
Figures
Tables
Plates
Foreword
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction to Niagara
I: THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
2 Entre Lacs: A Postglacial Peninsula Physiography
3 Ideas in Transition: Some Perspectives on Landscape Evolution in the Niagara Peninsula
4 Déjà vu: The Downfall of Niagara as a Chronometer, 1845–1941
5 Climate of the Niagara Region
6 Forests in the Niagara Landscape: Ecology and Management
II: HUMAN IMPACTS
7 The Early Settlement of Niagara
8 The Early Surveys of Township No.1 and the Niagara Peninsula
9 Urban Development and Planning in Niagara
10 Agriculture in Niagara: An Overview
11 Corridors of Recreation in Niagara
12 The Progress of Local Democracy in Niagara: The Evolution of Regional Government
Glossary
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Index
A
B
C
D
F
G
H
I
J
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W

Citation preview

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

The Carleton Library Series A series of original works, new collections and reprints of source material relating to Canada, issued under the supervision of the Editorial Board, Carleton Library Series, Carleton University Press Inc., Ottawa Canada.

General Editor Michael Gnarowski

Editorial Board Syd Wise (Chair and History) Bruce Cox (Anthropology and Sociology) Irwin Gillespie (Economics) Robert J. Jackson (Political Science) Peter Johansen (Journalism) Iain Wallace (Geography)

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES Edited by Hugh J. Gayler

Carleton University Press Ottawa—Canada 1994

(c) Carleton University Press Inc. 1994 Carleton Library Series 178 Printed and bound in Canada Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Main entry under title: Niagara's changing landscapes (The Carleton library; no. 178) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-88629-232-8 (bound) ISBN 0-88629-235-2 (pbk.) 1. Niagara Peninsula (Ont.)- Geography. 2. Niagara Peninsula (Ont.)-History. I. Gayler, Hugh J. II. Series. FC3095.N5N58 1994 F1059.N5N43 1994

971.3'38

C94-900168-6

Carleton University Press Distributed in Canada by Oxford University Press Canada, 160 Paterson Hall Carleton University 70 Wynford Drive, Don Mills, Ontario, 1125 Colonel By Drive Canada. M3C 1J9 Ottawa, Ontario (416) 441-2941 K1S 5B6 Cover design: Typeset by: Cover photo:

Aerographics Ottawa Carleton Production Centre, Nepean Top: W.H. Bartlett's engraving of the American and Horseshoe Falls at Niagara, 1837. (Source: H.J. Gayler collection) Bottom: Panoramic view of the Horseshoe Falls from the SkyIon Tower. (Photo: Niagara Parks Commission)

Acknowledgments Carleton University Press gratefully acknowledges the support extended to its publishing programme by the Canada Council and the financial assistance of the Ontario Arts Council. The Press would also like to thank the Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada, and the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation, for their assistance.

To

Dr. John N. Jackson Professor Emeritus, Brock University friend, colleague, untiring researcher on the Niagara Peninsula and first Head of the Department of Geography

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Contents Figures /ix Tables /xiv Plates / xv Foreword / xvii Acknowledgments / xix

1 Introduction to Niagara / 1 Hugh J. Gayler I THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 2 Entre Lacs: A Postglacial Peninsula Physiography / 13 Keith J. Tinkler 3 Ideas in Transition: Some Perspectives on Landscape Evolution in the Niagara Peninsula / 53 John Menzies 4 Deja vu: The Downfall of Niagara as a Chronometer, 1845-1941 / 81 Keith J. Tinkler 5 Climate of the Niagara Region /111 Tony B. Shaw

6 Forests in the Niagara Landscape: Ecology and Management / 139 Michael R. Moss II HUMAN IMPACTS 7 The Early Settlement of Niagara / 179 Wesley B. Turner 8 The Early Surveys of Township No. 1 and the Niagara Peninsula / 209. Alun Hughes 9 Urban Development and Planning in Niagara / 241 Hugh J. Gayler 10 Agriculture in Niagara: An Overview / 279 Paul Chapman 11 Corridors of Recreation in Niagara / 301 Clarke W. Thomson 12 The Progress of Local Democracy in Niagara: The Evolution of Regional Government / 325 Bruce Krushelnicki Glossary/351 Index/365

Figures 1.1 Niagara in its regional setting

2

1.2 Regional Municipality of Niagara

3

2.1 Outline map of Niagara Peninsula geomorphology

15

2.2 Geological column in Niagara Peninsula, with maximum and minimum thicknesses of the main lithological units 17 2.3 The position of individual resistant units south and east of Beamsville 18 2.4 Section of an erratic block on an s-form

19

2.5 The approximate extent of Lake Wainfleet

31

2.6 Pollen diagram for the Wignell Drain, just east of Port Colborne

32

2.7 Early postglacial geomorphology of Niagara Peninsula and western New York 34 2.8 The area of drainage diversion near Smithville

39

2.9 Characteristics of monthly flow on Twenty Mile Creek at Balls Falls

41

2.10 A schematic diagram of karstic features to be found along the edge of the Niagara Escarpment 43 3.1 The approximate maximum extent of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Late Wisconsinan 55 3.2 Retreat phases of the Erie/Ontario Ice Lobe

55

3.3 Location of Mohawk Bay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

57

3.4 Stratigraphic sequence at Mohawk Bay

59

3.5 Grain size distribution within diamictons and intraclasts, Mohawk Bay 62 3.6 Plots on Schmidt equal-area projections of clast fabric data

65

4.1 Frequency of publication on Niagara in the context of earth science

83

4.2 Wright's diagram of the Niagara Gorge

92

4.3 Spencer's map of the preglacial rivers of the lake basins

94

4.4 Gilbert's famous diagram of Niagara Falls

96

4.5 Taylor's (1913) correlation of Gorge divisions with lake stages

98

4.6 The diagram showing Taylor's revised interpretation of the Whirlpool Rapids Gorge

99

5.1 Climatic effect of Lake Ontario with the Niagara Escarpment under radiation frost 119 5.2 Fonthill Kame air temperature variation

121

5.3 Distribution of monthly mean temperature

124

5.4 Number of days with precipitation

124

5.5 Distribution of mean monthly rainfall

126

5.6 Number of days with rainfall

126

5.7 Distribution of mean monthly snowfall

127

5.8 Number of days with snowfall

127

5.9 Temporal and spatial distribution of annual precipitation

130

5.10 Water budget (30 year normal) for selected stations in Niagara

132

5.11 Frequency of dry spells during the growing season, 1951-1980

133

5.12 Distribution of annual precipitation totals for St. Catharines, 19401990 135 5.13 Distribution of annual temperature for St. Catharines

135

6.1 Major biological features of the Niagara Peninsula

141

6.2 Wainfleet Township: major forest associations existing in 1811

145

6.3a The townships of Niagara in 1817 that provided a response to Gourlay's questionnaire 146 6.3b Map of forest associations based on the 1817 township data

146

6.4 The forest associations of extreme southern Ontario in 1817

148

6.5 Wainfleet township: extent of forests and forest change, 1934-1979

152

6.6 Trends in succession on abandoned farmland at three sites north of Welland 156

6.7 Grimsby, Forty Mile Creek: the location of cross-sections showing the major vegetation associations 158 6.8 Grimsby, Forty Mile Creek: (a) the range and extent of major geomorphic features, (b) dates of the last major surface movement sufficient to cause forest destruction, (c) isoline map indicating age of trees within the valley 162 6.9 Short Hills Provincial Park: location of forest stands and dominant species and the continuum index value calculated for each stand 166 6.10 Welland: location of sampling points and SO4 ~2 content of vegetation in ppm 169 6.11 Welland: the relationship between SO4~2 in vegetation and distance from the major atmospheric pollution source in Welland 169 7.1 Neutral Indian Villages, 1580-1651

181

7.2 Native trading patterns in the Great Lakes Basin, 1600-1653

182

7.3 Lake Ontario villages, trails and portages, c. 1688

184

7.4 Indian trails in Niagara, c. 1770

185

7.5 French and Native trade routes in the Interior, c. 1750

185

7.6 Plan of Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, 1810

188

7.7 Routes of early penetration in Niagara, c. 1790

189

7.8 Population densities in Niagara townships, 1817

190

7.9 Niagara road network and settlements, c. 1815

197

7.10 Possible canal routes between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, c. 1820

202

7.11 Proposed routes of the Welland Canal, 1833

203

8.1 The Niagara Peninsula survey grid in the mid-nineteenth century

210

8.2 Niagara Township in the late nineteenth century

212

8.3 The 1781 purchase from the Mississaugas

216

8.4 McDonell's map of the Niagara settlement, 1783

217

8.5 Layout of Township No. 1, possibly as surveyed by Tinling in 1784

223

8.6 'Quebec Plan' of Township No. 1, c. 1789

227

8.7 'Land Board Plan' of Township No. 1, c. 1790, possibly based on Prey's survey of 1787 228 8.8 The extent of the Peninsula surveys in late 1788

237

9.1 Urban areas in Niagara, 1992

242

9.2a Road network and major settlements c. 1820

244

9.2b Welland Canals and associated settlements after 1820

244

9.2c Railways and associated settlements after 1850

245

9.2d Streetcar routes and associated settlements after 1900

245

9.3 Urban development in St. Catharines

254

9.4 Proposed urban areas in Niagara, 1973

264

9.5a Lake Erie Shoreline Expansion

272

9.5b Central Niagara Expansion

272

9.5c Trends Urban Expansion

273

9.5d QEW North Expansion

273

10.1

Generalized physiography of the Niagara Region

280

10.2 Grape and tender fruit climatic zones

281

10.3 Number of farms, 1901-1986

285

10.4 Farm acreages, 1901-1986

285

10.5 Improved land acreage, 1901-1986

285

10.6 Field crop acreage, 1901-1986

285

10.7 Fruit tree/orchard acreage, 1901-1986

285

10.8 Grape acreage, 1901-1986

285

10.9 Relative value of agricultural production in Niagara, 1986

286

10.10 Agricultural land use for selected crops (in hectares), 1986

292

10.11 Value of agricultural production per farm, 1986

292

10.12 Agricultural land use policy areas

295

11.1

305

Regional Municipality of Niagara

11.2 Intrinsic (natural) features

305

11.3 Environmental corridors

307

11.4 Extrinsic resources

308

11.5 Combined intrinsic and extrinsic resources

309

11.6 Existing nodes of high value

312

11.7

317

Five special corridors

12.1 County and municipal boundaries before 1970

330

12.2 Niagara Region and municipal boundaries after 1970

331

Tables 2.1 Common names of species in Figure 2.6

33

4.1 Crest line surveys of Niagara Falls, 1843-1927

86

5.1 Distribution of mean daily temperatures for Niagara Region, 19511980 113 5.2 Average and extreme frost dates for Niagara stations

116

6.1a Niagara forests according to Gourlay (1822): frequency of occurrence of species and species group by township 147 6.1b Niagara forests according to Gourlay (1822): dominant and subdominant forest associations 147 6.2 Wainfleet Township: change in percentage species composition, 1811 and 1979 150 6.3 Wainfleet Township: change in major habitat types as a percentage of the total forested area, 1811 and 1979 151 6.4 Wainfleet Township woodlots: spatial and interactive data

153

6.5 Forty Mile Creek, Grimsby: dominant forest associations on the valley sides 159 6.6 Welland SO4~2 content of vegetation (herbaceous and arboreal) related to distance from source 170 9.1 Population growth trends in Niagara, Ontario and Canada, 1901-1991 252 9.2 Employment change in Niagara, 1951-1981

252

9.3 Changing population projections for the Niagara Region

263

10.1 Soil capability for agriculture in Niagara

282

11.1 Outline of the corridor method

304

11.2 Categories of additional resources: a partial list

307

12.1

336

Municipal submissions to the Mayo Commission

12.2 Comparisons of regional and local government responsibilities

339

Plates 1.1 Niagara Escarpment, Fruit Belt and Lake Ontario

4

1.2 Niagara Falls and Gorge

4

1.3 Lake Ontario entrance to the Fourth Welland Canal

5

1.4 Inniskillin estate winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake

6

1.5 QUNO paper mill, Thorold

7

1.6 Queen Elizabeth Way in west St. Catharines

7

2.1 Niagara Escarpment looking east towards St. Catharines

14

2.2 Balls Falls

21

2.3 Niagara River and Gorge

21

2.4 Whirlpool and buried St. David's Gorge

22

2.5 Ontario Hydro's Queenston-Chippawa Power Canal

22

2.6 Low cliff of Lake Iroquois shoreline

24

2.7 Niagara Escarpment between Vineland and Beamsville

37

3.1 Intraclasts tilted/rotated to near vertical within melange

64

3.2 "Banded" or "striped" nature of diamicton

64

7.1 Fort Niagara, Youngstown, New York

186

7.2 Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake

191

7.3 Mrs. Tice's house, near Queenstown (Queenston), 1795

193

7.4 Queenstown, 1792

194

7.5 Chippawa, 1806

194

7.6 The Old Red Meeting House

198

7.7 Pavilion Hotel, c.1830

200

7.8 The First and Second Welland Canals through Thorold

200

9.1 Third Welland Canal, St. Catharines

247

9.2 Fourth Welland Canal, St. Catharines

247

9.3 Ontario Hydro's Sir Adam Beck power stations

249

9.4 Cyanamid chemical works and settling ponds

249

9.5 Rural subdivision and strip development

251

9.6a North-east St. Catharines in 1934

255

9.6b North-east St. Catharines in 1965

256

9.6c North-east St. Catharines in 1991

257

9.7 Pen Centre, St. Catharines

258

10.1 Extensive greenhouse operation in Niagara

287

10.2

Niagara orchard at blossom time

289

10.3

Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake

289

10.4

Poultry broiler operation in Niagara

290

11.1 Horseshoe Falls and Table Rock viewing area

302

11.2a Niagara River Corridor, showing the Horseshoe Falls and American Falls 303 11.2b Niagara River Corridor, showing the view north along the Gorge

303

11.3 Welland Canal Corridor

311

11.4

314

Rockway Falls

11.5 Upper Canada Parliament Building, Niagara-on-the-Lake

316

11.6 Twelve Mile Creek and Martindale Pond, Port Dalhousie

319

Foreword No university should be remote from its local environs, providing, as they do, a rich and continuing source of research and creative topics, as well as encouraging a growing bond of mutual understanding and support. 1994 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of Brock University at the hub of the Niagara Region. As Brock's first Head of the Department of Geography, John N. Jackson served as an important role model and catalyst in the study of all facets of Niagara. Niagara's Changing Landscapes reflects well the interdisciplinary approach to scholarship which he has advocated and practised during his distinguished career. What finer testimony can there be to the worth of his influence than this volume by his colleagues which will, we trust, serve as a lasting tribute? Terrence H. White President and Vice-Chancellor Brock University

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Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the work of the various contributors, and, as editor, I would like to thank them for all the time and effort that they have put into their individual chapters. Our endeavours recognize the retirement of Dr. John N. Jackson, who was the first Head of the Department of Geography at Brock University. At one time we were all colleagues of John's: Alun Hughes, John Menzies, Tony Shaw, Keith Tinkler and myself are currently faculty members in the Department of Geography, and Wes Turner is in the Department of History; Clarke Thomson is recently retired from the Department of Geography and Mike Moss, formerly of the Department, is now Associate Dean of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph; Paul Chapman is a Brock graduate, a part-time lecturer in the Department of Geography, and currently Vice President, Planning and Environmental Management, with Arcturus Environmental Ltd. in Niagara Falls; Bruce Krushelnicki, formerly of the Institute of Urban and Environmental Studies at Brock, is a member of the Ontario Municipal Board. On behalf of the various contributors, I would like to recognize the tremendous efforts of Loris Gasparotto, our departmental cartographer, who has been responsible for nearly all the maps and diagrams that appear in this book. Also, Colleen Catling, our departmental secretary, has continually been of great help as we persevere with learning the art of word processing. I would like to acknowledge the generous financial support of the President of Brock University, Dr. Terry White, the Dean of Social Sciences, Dr. Will Webster, and the Department of Geography. The illustrations in this book have been garnered from a number of people and institutions and are published with their permission. Thanks are due to George Bailey (Niagara Parks Commission), Bogner Photography, Brock University Department of Geography, Fred Campbell, Daryl Dagesse, John Jackson, Preston Haskell, the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario, Inniskillin Wines Inc., John Menzies, Divino Mucciante (Brock University photographer), the Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls, the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation, QUNO Corporation, the Corporation of the City of St. Catharines, Keith Tinkler and Wes Turner. Two of the aerial photographs in Plate 9.6 (A4700-38 [1934] and A19358-12 [1965]) are Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, reproduced from the collection of the National Air Photo Library with permission of Energy, Mines and Resources Canada. The source for each photograph is to be found in the plate caption.

Publication of this book by Carleton University Press has been made possible through the good offices of the Press staff, especially Dr. Michael Gnarowski, General Editor, Dr. S.F. Wise, F.R.S.C., Associate General Editor, Ms. Anne Winship, Associate Editor, Trade and Promotion, Ms. Jennie Strickland, Assistant Editor (Trade), and Ms. Christina Thiele of the Carleton Production Centre. The many helpful suggestions made by an anonymous reviewer are also gratefully acknowledged.

1 Introduction to Niagara HughJ.Gayler Canada is a mosaic of regions of varying size, each with a distinctiveness resulting from its physical characteristics, historical evolution, relative location, economic base and the life styles of its peoples. The Niagara Peninsula, lying between Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the Niagara River in southern Ontario, is one such region (Figures 1.11.2); and this book, following in the tradition of many geographical texts before it, is an attempt to define and explain that region's essential qualities. Niagara played a pivotal role in the early development of Canada. Its location between two of the Great Lakes was the key to early contact between its aboriginal peoples and traders from Quebec who came by water; and the French fort at the mouth of the Niagara River was the first permanent European settlement in the region. Later conquest by the British, and about the same time, the defeat of British colonialism in what is now the United States, created a frontier at Niagara. Loyalists to the British Crown moved westwards beyond the reach of the American government and first settled extensively in this area after the 1780s. For a short time, Newark, now Niagaraon-the-Lake, was the capital of Upper Canada. The War of 1812 did not change the situation and the treaty that followed the War confirmed the Niagara River as the boundary between the two countries. The Niagara Escarpment, running east-west across the region and rising sharply some 50 metres from the Lake Ontario plain, is one of the landscape features that has constantly figured in Niagara's development (Plate 1.1). It forced early Great Lakes travellers to portage around it, and as shipping grew, a series of ever larger canals and locks were built connecting the two lakes. The Escarpment also hindered rail and road communications, while fostering Niagara's tourist potential and hydro-electric and industrial developments. Although it has impeded large-scale urban growth, the views it affords to the north and its own intrinsic aesthetic qualities have been continually threatened by sporadic urban development.

2

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

Figure 1.1 Niagara in its regional setting.

Rivers and streams crossing the Escarpment result in a number of waterfalls, but the most spectacular is without doubt Niagara Falls, and its evolution over thousands of years is an important subject in its own right (Plate 1.2). The sheer enormity and breathtaking views of the Falls have attracted millions of tourists; first, wilderness travellers, and later, after the advent of the railway and lake steamer, tourists from the major urban centres of Central Canada and the Mid-West and Eastern United States. More recently, the car and international air travel have made Niagara Falls one of the most important tourist destinations in North America, attracting from 12 to 14 million visitors annually. It has long been the case that the vast majority of tourists do not stay long and do not see much beyond the immediate Falls area and the major highways that link Niagara with other urban centres. Yet there are other characteristics that have been used to promote tourism. The Niagara Parks Commission, Ontario's oldest government commission, owns land and runs various tourist services along the whole length of the Niagara Parkway from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Fort Erie. It stands as a model not just for tourist promotion, but also for creating a landscaped parkway that enhances the physical attributes and shuts out the crass commercial elements. Beyond the parkway, the Old Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake has been developed as a historic centre and home of the Shaw Festival, but controversy has now arisen between residents and

Figure 1.2

Regional Municipality of Niagara.

4

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

Plate 1.1 Niagara Escarpment, Fruit Belt and Lake Ontario, looking west near Grimsby. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

Plate 1.2 Niagara Falls and Gorge, looking north, showing the upper rapids leading to the Horseshoe Falls, one of the early hydro-electric power houses (left-side of gorge) and the Rainbow Bridge. (Photo: J.N. Jackson)

INTRODUCTION to NIAGARA

5

Plate 1.3 Lake Ontario entrance to the Fourth Welland Canal in St. Catharines (opened 1932), showing Lock 1 (centre) and Port Weller Dry Docks (bottom). Ships waiting to enter the Canal can be seen in Lake Ontario (above). (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

business as to how many tourists can be accepted before the very qualities they come to enjoy are swamped. Whilst the Welland Canal is primarily an international waterway (albeit in decline), its potential for tourism has not gone unnoticed (Plate 1.3). A Canals Drive has been established, incorporating the various courses and features of older canals, and a viewing centre and museum for St. Catharines have been built alongside one of the locks on the present canal. A further, and growing, aspect of tourism is associated with another of the important physical characteristics of the area. Niagara is often nicknamed the 'banana belt' of Canada, a reference to the ameliorating effects of the Great Lakes and a climate that is somewhat warmer than that of the areas immediately to the north. This has made Niagara popular as a retirement area, but a more important consequence is that the small area north of the Escarpment, known as the Niagara Fruit Belt, is one of only two areas in Canada where it is possible to have an extensive commercial production of tender fruits and vines. Sadly, the tender fruit industry is in decline, but such is not the case with the wine industry. New grape varieties, changing consumer tastes, new cottage wineries, award-winning quality wines and aggressive marketing have helped put Niagara and Canadian wine on the map (Plate 1.4). A wine route has been developed through the Fruit Belt connecting the various wineries, and tours, retailing and other forms of promotion are undertaken.

6

Plate 1.4

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

Inniskillin estate winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake. (Photo: Inniskillin Wines Inc.)

Niagara's early settlement, its crucial location for canal and rail transportation, its proximity to the U.S. market and the significance of the Escarpment in the birth of hydro-electric power in North America are factors that have made the area important for heavy industry. Hamilton, St. Catharines, Thorold, Welland, the two cities of Niagara Falls (Ontario and New York) and Buffalo grew up as factory towns for iron and steel, metal fabricating, heavy engineering, abrasive products, pulp and paper, chemicals and automobile products (Plate 1.5). Whilst this sector of the economy has long been in decline, its imprint on the landscape in Niagara is extensive, and its byproducts, in particular the very serious pollution of the Niagara River and Great Lakes, are an ongoing concern. Some would say an environmental time-bomb is waiting to explode, that other Love Canals could happen. There are two other features of note about Niagara which have played an important role in the development of the area. The first is the Queen Elizabeth Way, Canada's first multilane, limited access freeway, which was opened from Toronto to Niagara Falls in 1939 and later extended to Fort Erie (Plate 1.6). The improvement of road communications between southern Ontario and the United States has also had the effect of enhancing Niagara's accessibility and imposing severe pressures of urban development on its best agricultural lands. The second feature relates to local government reform. Problems emanating from urban development in Niagara after the Second World War unduly taxed the resources of the existing municipalities, and

INTRODUCTION to NIAGARA

7

Plate 1.5 QUNO paper mill, Thorold. The photo also shows the view south along the Welland Canal, other heavy industry in Thorold and the adjacent community of Thorold South. (Photo: QUNO Corporation)

Plate 1.6 Queen Elizabeth Way in west St. Catharines, showing the extensive areas of the Niagara Fruit Belt lost to highway, intersection and service roads. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

8

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

the result, in 1970, was Canada's first two-tier regional government system outside a major metropolitan area. Niagara may be considered a well-documented subject. Its long and fascinating history and many unique physical and human features have attracted a lot of attention, and there are numerous works of both a general and specific nature, ranging from pamphlet to academic journal article to coffee-table book, catering to a wide variety of readers. There has, however, never been a comprehensive book which seeks to draw all of these things together. When Terry White, the President and Vice-Chancellor of Brock University, agreed to write the Foreword for this book, he commented on the need for such a work, recalling that when he became President and arrived in the area, he looked in vain for a book that would help him understand the Niagara Region as a whole. This book by members and former members of the University is an attempt to do just that. The authors of the various chapters all write from the perspective of the active researcher, studying the subject and publishing the results, or as persons with close professional involvement in the Region. The first part of the book, which analyses the natural environment, identifies the slower changing physical attributes of the Niagara landscape and shows how these have influenced, or have been influenced by, human actions over the last two hundred years. Keith Tinkler in his Entre Lacs chapter examines the major components in the physical structure of the Peninsula and the way in which these have interacted in postglacial times with ice, lakes, rivers and other subaerial processes to give us our present physical landscape. John Menzies then looks in greater detail at one aspect of the evolution of the landscape, associated with the complex processes involved in the advances and retreats of the Laurentide Ice Sheet across the Peninsula, and the new ideas that are resulting from ongoing research. Keith Tinkler in a further chapter considers the great attention paid to Niagara's world-renowned Falls, and the changing ideas over a hundred year period concerning their evolution. Tony Shaw examines various aspects of Niagara's climate, in particular the effects of topography on microclimate, precipitation and climatic variability, and the influence of these on agriculture and tourism; attention is also given to the impact of human-induced climatic change on the local economy. Michael Moss looks at the vegetation cover of the Niagara Peninsula and in particular its forests. The analysis of the dynamics and the process of change includes a review of the effects of human-induced features. Specific case studies are developed to illustrate the importance of the relationship between forest dynamics and change and issues concerning agriculture, recreation, resources, land use and environmental planning, aesthetics and conservation management. The influence of the various physical attributes on the human landscape is further emphasized in the second part of the book, which studies various aspects of human settlement and social organization. Wesley Turner explores the major forces underlying the early settlement of the Niagara Peninsula, first by the aboriginal peoples, then by the French after 1600, and by the British between 1759 and about 1830. Alun

INTRODUCTION to NIAGARA

9

Hughes then looks at the way in which Niagara was surveyed in the late eighteenth century first in Niagara Township and later in the rest of the Peninsula. The piecemeal subdivision into townships, lines and concessions and lots by individual members of the British military, in accordance with changing government policy would later on be a significant determinant of settlement form, land use, transportation routes and local government boundaries. Hugh Gayler's chapter on urban development and planning in Niagara examines the major forces of economic change in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and considers how a tradition of rapid urban growth was halted by the 1970s. A troubled economy and changing attitudes to growth and environmental issues have presented government with a problem in planning for physical and economic change in the future. In the following chapter, Paul Chapman specifically addresses agriculture in Niagara, thereby highlighting an important aspect of the troubled local economy. Clarke Thomson in his research on recreation and tourism in Niagara illustrates the overconcentration of demand for certain facilities and explores the potential for expanding the resource base by developing others. In a final chapter, Bruce Krushelnicki reviews the evolution of local government in Niagara, and in so doing charts the progress of regional government since its institution in 1970 and the development of the regional concept and the regional focus of thought and action. Whilst the Niagara Region is an important and well recognized geographical concept that forms the basis for this book, it will be seen that its political counterpart is ill-formed and at times controversial.

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Parti

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

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2

Entre Lacs: A Postglacial Peninsula Physiography Keith J. Tinkler The Niagara Peninsula is only a peninsula from a human standpoint, and in this frame of thought the Niagara River is a boundary. However, in the physical sense, the river has maintained a link from the Erie basin to the Ontario basin throughout postglacial time with consequences on either side of the river. In an imprecise, misleading, and at times illegible way, the river and its gorge retain a record of local and regional physiographic events. Reading this mute record has been fraught with difficulty for over two centuries (Tinkler, 1987; see Chapter 4), and there is no reason to think that at present we have any more final interpretation of past events than our predecessors thought they had. This chapter will first treat the main components in the physical structure of the Peninsula, and then examine how these have interacted with ice, lakes, rivers and other subaerial processes in late glacial and postglacial time. There exists no focused study of Peninsula geomorphology, with the result that the area is replete with puzzles and paradoxes the solution of which can only be hinted at in the present study.

Escarpments The Niagara Escarpment From a distance, if we disregard the Niagara River, the most striking physical feature of the Peninsula is the Niagara Escarpment (Plate 2.1; Figure 2.1), so much so that it is tempting to think that it must be the primary determinant of physiography. But this is only true up to a point. Striking as it is, the Escarpment has been repeatedly 13

Plate 2.1 Niagara Escarpment, looking east towards St. Catharines. In the foreground is Twelve Mile Creek and the turn-of-the-century Decew hydro-electric power plant. (Photo: D. Dagesse)

Figure 2.1

Outline map of Niagara Peninsula geomorphology with the location of Figures 2.3,2.6, 2.8 and 2.9 marked.

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breached by the action of ice sheets, either the direct abrasive action of glacial ice, in the classical view propounded by Straw (1968), or the equally direct action of fast-flowing subglacial meltwater (Shaw and Gilbert, 1990; Tinkler and Stenson, 1992). In either case the flow was from the northeast. In non-glacial times the Escarpment has been breached by fluvial action from the south (Hobson and Terasmae, 1968; Calkin and Brett, 1978; Flint and Lolcama, 1985). The Escarpment carries these scars either as direct breaches which have probably been acted on significantly by both glacial and non-glacial processes, for example the St. David's Gorge, the Short Hills re-entrant, and the Dundas valley (Greenhouse and Monier-Williams, 1986), or as more subtle breaks brought about by the adjustment in plan of the Escarpment to the physical forces which glaciation has exerted upon it. A plan view reveals substantial zones where the Escarpment is steep, relatively simple in cross-sectional profile, and roughly parallel to the direction of primary ice flow (between northeast and east-northeast), for example Sanatorium Hill south of St. Catharines, and the area between Beamsville and Vineland. The extensive stretch between Grimsby and Albion Falls also falls into the same category, even though its orientation is between east and east-southeast. In other places, facing the main direction of attack by glacial forces, the Escarpment has been stripped back to a gentle ramp so that the repetitive layers of strong beds, such as Lockport Dolomite, Irondequoit Limestone, Thorold and Grimsby Sandstones, and Whirlpool Sandstone, separated by weaker shales, such as Rochester, Power Glen and Queenston (Figure 2.2), are spatially distant (as much as a kilometre) from one another, as for example between Twenty Mile Creek and Fifteen Mile Creek. South of Beamsville (Figure 2.3) the Escarpment has been reduced to a broad ramp, with the stronger beds only evident on the ground through careful searching in the stream beds, where they produce waterfalls. It is convenient in these circumstances to speak separately of the Irondequoit and Lockport Escarpments. Unfortunately the official paleozoic geology map is seriously deficient in its mapping of these two formations at the Escarpment edge; the paleozoic outcrops indicated on Feenstra (1986) are more accurate. The ramped Escarpment has usually suffered further modification, for whenever there is sufficient Lockport Dolomite available as a resistant upper caprock, bold, moulded promontories face up-ice. The most obvious, because it is isolated by steep slopes on either flank, is that called Woodend, which overlooks the Queen Elizabeth Way as it begins to ascend the Escarpment west of St. Davids. Other examples are to be found between Beamsville and Vineland, on the west side of the Short Hills, and to the west of the location where both Highway 406 and the Welland Canal cross the Escarpment. It is likely that a similar feature existed in the region of Queenston Heights and deflected the initial flow of the Niagara River as it left the plateau and first descended the Escarpment at Queenston. Reconstructions of the early river suggest that the major region of its plunge pool (the Cataract basin immediately south of Main

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Figure 2.2 Geological column in Niagara Peninsula, with maximum and minimum thicknesses of the main lithological units. The typical exposure of the units is marked.

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Figure 2.3 The position of individual resistant units south and east of Beamsville, to illustrate the stripping back of the Escarpment edge. Also marked are areas where s-forms are prominent.

Street, Lewiston) was on the east side of the present river, whereas the principal extent of the old Niagara river banks above the Escarpment lie on the Canadian side where the present reservoir and golf course are to be found (Kindle and Taylor, 1913). The diversified morphology of the Escarpment has been exploited by major communication routes, and there is scarcely a major route which does not take advantage of one of the Escarpment breaks, especially in the eastern Peninsula. The gross morphology of the Escarpment is etched with much minor detail. Particularly clear on the ground are the p-forms found running southeast from the top edge. P-forms are so-called 'plastically' moulded bedrock forms attributed to erosion by either basal ice or subglacial meltwater, both likely carrying a considerable load of clay and rock-rich debris. The 'plasticity' referred to is entirely a matter of visual reference, it does not indicate any change in rock properties. A more neutral term recently proposed to describe such features is s-forms, an abbreviation of sculpted forms (Kor et al., 1991). Normally the features seen in the Peninsula are heavily weathered by dissolution of the limestone and dolostone under the influence of rain water, but in excavations fresh, unweathered forms are to be seen, for example, on the loading dock north of the Thistle building at Brock University, in an artificial stream bed at Sixteen Mile Creek near the Staff Farm, and very clearly at the west end of the Walker Brothers quarry in

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Figure 2.4 Section of an erratic block on an s-form to illustrate differential dissolution of dolostone during the postglacial. Estimated total vertical lowering is about 15 centimetres.

Vineland when the overburden is stripped before blasting (Calkin and Barnett, 1990; Tinkler and Stenson, 1992). S-forms in the Peninsula are primarily parallel-sided ridges and furrows with a vertical relief between 1 and 5 metres, and widths which vary between a few metres and a few tens of metres. The sides generally vary in orientation no more than 5° either side of N45°E. Occasionally tapered forms are seen which have been termed rat-tails, or rock drumlins. Tinkler and Stenson (1992) map two such features close to Sixteen Mile Creek; and west of Rockway Gorge (Fifteen Mile Creek) on the Bruce Trail a deep furrow (354753),J 35 metres wide, contains a rock drumlin 15 metres wide, 3 metres high and 85 metres long. The strongest natural s-forms are to be seen southwest of Beamsville, where a single cavetto (overhanging) wall may still be seen, preserved from substantial dissolution by its very steepness, and southeast of the same town, where one very large erratic dolostone block has been left astride a rock ridge (242779). The block is sufficently large to have protected the ridge from dissolution, and faint striae may still be seen beneath the block. Comparative measurements along the ridge suggest a mean surface lowering of the dolostone surface of about 15 cm since the retreat of the ice sheet (Figure 2.4).

The Onondaga Escarpment The other, and neglected, Escarpment in the Peninsula, is the Onondaga Escarpment which runs across the southern Peninsula (Figure 2.1). It shows a morphology similar to, but more subdued than, that of the Niagara Escarpment. It too is broken into promontories facing to the northeast, bounded by edges roughly parallel to the former

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ice flow. One marked face trending towards the northeast forms the southern boundary of the Wainfleet Marsh, and Highway 58 noticeably ascends the rise north of Port Colborne after crossing the eastern end of the marsh. Rarely does the surface relief rise more than 10 m, although, as in the case of the Niagara Escarpment, the bedrock relief is really much larger (up to 40 m), as is revealed by the map in Flint and Lolcama (1985). S-forms are rarely seen in the south of the Peninsula except along the coastline within Rock Point Provincial Park, and in quarry exposures west of Port Colborne on Quarry Road, where swarms of small forms have been mapped by Feenstra (1981) as striae. Substantial breaks in the physical continuity of the Onondaga Escarpment, between promontories, have allowed the penetration of Lake Erie waters into the lowlands of the Wainfleet Marsh to the north, the main route for the ingress of water being at Lowbanks. Most noticeably this occurred during the Holocene in the period 5,000 BP to 4,000 BP2 (Pengelly, 1990a), but probably also in the period 11,000 BP to 10,500 BP, when the level of water in the Erie basin was especially high due the influx of waters into the Great Lakes system from Lake Agassiz, far to the west (Teller and Thorleifson, 1987; Tinkler and Pengelly, 1990; Tinkler et al., 1992).

River gorges and waterfalls The primary modification of the Niagara Escarpment has been affected by rivers crossing the Escarpment edge and cutting substantial gorges (Plate 2.2). In many instances the orientation of the gorges seems to have been dictated by furrows in the s-forms which first served to direct drainage. Notable examples are Forty Mile Creek in Grimsby and Sixteen Mile Creek. The largest, but least typical, gorge is of course the Niagara River and Gorge (Plate 2.3). The next largest is that cut by Twenty Mile Creek, whose drainage basin above the two waterfalls at Balls Falls is 293 km2, and at which there is evidence of at least two phases of gorge cutting and the former existence of three separated waterfalls. Quite the oddest feature of the gorges across the Escarpment is the fact that there are no other known buried gorges, with the notable exceptions of the buried St. David's Gorge (Hobson and Terasmae, 1969; Karrow and Terasmae, 1970) and the Short Hills re-entrant (Spencer, 1907; Flint and Lolcama, 1985), both connected with drainage out of ancestral Lake Erie. Yet if drainage had proceeded across the Escarpment in previous ice-free periods, under similar environments, gorges of similar dimensions should have been cut and filled with glacial and paraglacial sediments in the same manner as the St. David's Gorge (Plates 2.4-2.5). In the Finger Lakes region, to the east in New York State, von Engeln (1961) reports many buried and only partly exhumed gorges from earlier ice-free episodes.

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Plate 2.2 Balls Falls where Twenty Mile Creek crosses the Niagara Escarpment. D. Dagesse)

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(Photo:

Plate 2.3 Niagara River and Gorge, looking north from the Whirlpool to Niagara Glen and showing the right-angle bend of the river. The former river course through the now buried St. David's Gorge is lower left. (Photo: K.J. Tinkler)

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Plate 2.4 Whirlpool and buried St. David's Gorge, looking north-west along the former course of the Niagara River. Ontario Hydro's reservoir is upper right. (Photo: D. Dagesse)

Plate 2.5 Ontario Hydro's Queenston-Chippawa Power Canal is wider with gently sloping sides (foreground) where it crosses the buried St. David's Gorge just north of the Whirlpool. In the background the canal is a narrow, vertically-sided cut through the Peninsula rocks. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

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There are several comments to make on this puzzle. Firstly, there is the strong implication that earlier drainage was directed either south towards Lake Erie, or laterally towards the Short Hills re-entrant. Secondly, there is evidence at Twenty Mile Creek of at least a two-stage history, separated by a glacial hiatus apparently associated with the Vinemount Moraine, which caused localized re-direction of the river flow within the gorge but did not cause the gorge to be abandoned. Thirdly, immediately downstream of the gorge sections at Twenty Mile Creek, Sixteen Mile Creek, Fifteen Mile Creek, Swayze Creek and Beaverdams Creek (the Decew Gorge), there are very broad spreads of very coarse gravel (10 to 50 cm long axis) with frequent igneous erratics. Some of this material may represent debris fans, built as buried gorge infills were removed by rivers still flowing through the same gorge. The material may have moved primarily as debris flows with the coarse clasts supported in a diamicf-rich flow matrix, rather than by normal bedload transport. The clearest view of this process occurs where Decew Gorge debouches laterally into Twelve Mile Creek. A substantial gravel fan was built (10 m thick at its maximum), and an entire meander bend of Twelve Mile Creek has been completely effaced. An alternative view is that at least some of these coarse gravel spreads indicate an early postglacial episode of intense periglacial climate which produced abundant talus from weathering along the gorge walls. The existence of protalus ramparts, discussed later in the paper, is consistent with this view. The size of the gorges is often impressive, and it can usually be inferred that the waterfalls have receded several hundred metres from their initial postglacial locations. However, taking into account the fact that the greater proportion of the exposed lithologies are either very friable shales, or well-bedded carbonates which break down to relatively thin plates, it is easier to understand how the excavation has been effected. Huge residual slabs of Whirlpool Sandstone, Irondequit Limestone, or Lockport Dolomite look immovably impressive in the valley bottom, but they amount to less than 5% of the total volume of a typical gorge. Wright (1902) and Gadzala (1983) infer recession rates in excess of a millimetre per year for exposed shale faces, and it is a matter of annual observation that the bare bedrock channel beds in parts of the gorges are readily swept clear of rock debris by highflows in the spring.

The Till Ramp and Lake Plain The shoreline of Lake Iroquois From below, the Niagara Escarpment is generally approached by a gradually steepening ramp of clay and silty clay, normally termed the Halton Till, but usually carrying a thin cover (less than 2 m) of lacustrine silts and a random scatter of partly-rounded igneous erratics originating on the Canadian Shield. The ramp approaches the upper edge of the Escarpment between Jordan and Beamsville, and it is universally broken by

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Plate 2.6 Low cliff of the Lake Iroquois shoreline along Highway 81 to the west of St. Catharines. (Photo: Brock University Dept. of Geography)

one major topographic discontinuity: the Lake Iroquois shoreline (Figure 2.1), which may be traced throughout the Peninsula (along Highway 81) from Stoney Creek to Queenston (Coleman, 1936 with Map 45f). It is variously marked by a high cliff (west of Queenston, and on either side of Grimsby, but fronted by a wide bar towards Stoney Creek), a low cliff (east and west of St. Catharines) or a sand and gravel bar (Plate 2.6). Substantial bars are found at Lewiston across the Niagara River, where the main street runs along the crest of the shoreline, at Queenston, at the Homer Bar which runs from west St. Catharines all the way to the old village of Homer on the Welland Canal, at Fifteen Mile Creek, and in Stoney Creek. Where the bars developed the original shoreline was further south, but was then cut off by the development of the bar, with the intermediate area left as a lagoon. For example, east and west of Stoney Creek the Iroquois shoreline originally undercut the til] ramp all the way to the Niagara Escarpment. The downtown of St. Catharines is built on the Homer bar; the three parallel streets, St. Paul, King and Church, each follow an individual bar, and there is still a distinct dip between them, perhaps most noticeable on Carlisle Street, between King and Church. Until recently the bar deposits were well exposed in the basement of the Catholic Cathedral on Church Street. They are occasionally seen in basement and road excavations, and are to be found under the eastern footings of the Burgoyne Bridge over Twelve Mile Creek. When deposits are exposed they normally show southerly

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dips indicating sediment was washed over the bar surface by waves and deposited into still water in the lagoon behind. A further consequence of the Homer bar, whose sand and gravel were supplied by Twelve Mile Creek which drains the Short Hills and the Fonthill Delta/Kame, was that it diverted streams east of the Twelve from their northwards course and brought them round to join Twelve Mile Creek from the northeast. The Iroquois shoreline in the Peninsula is a relatively simple morphological feature because, during the lifetime of the lake (12,500 BP to 11,800 BP), greater isostatic rebound on the northern shore meant that water levels were always rising on the southern margins. Therefore, the Peninsula cliffline on the submerging coast was likely characterized by rapid erosion and recession. The lake was always a proglacial lake: its far northern shore was the ice sheet itself. In the later stages of Lake Iroquois the outlet shifted first from Rome and Utica (whence it had drained to the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers) to a route north of the Adirondacks and into the Champlain valley. When this happened water levels dropped about 15 metres to the Frontenac Stage, and a series of shallow bars built up on the newly exposed lake bed to mark the shoreline. These bars are hard to see today, but they did divert the initial streams as they developed on the plain, and a number of anomalous stream courses, flowing askew to the generalized contours of the lake bed, can be attributed to this short phase of the lake. A good example is furnished by streams between Twelve Mile and Fifteen Mile Creeks (e.g. Richardson's Creek), which drain anomalously and obliquely across the contours on the old lake bed from headwaters rising south of the Iroquois shoreline. The bar which diverted this system may still be traced on the old lake bed surface north of the creek where the surface is hummocky and very sandy (Figure 2.1). The retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet finally cleared the St. Lawrence Valley, and then Lake Iroquois drained very quickly (perhaps within a few years) to as low as present sea level — the so-called Admiralty level—before rising slowly during the Holocene to its present level as isostatic rebound uplifted the Kingston end of Lake Ontario and flooded the western end of the basin. At the low Admiralty level shoreline processes built a bayhead shingle bar, the Grimsby/Oakville bar, analogous to the present Burlington bar and subsequently buried below later lake bottom muds. Isostatic rebound at the outlet of Lake Ontario, still continuing, causes the lake level at the western end of Lake Ontario to rise by about 0.3 m per century. The drowned character of the major Creeks entering Lake Ontario on its south and western shores reflects this process (Clark and Persoage, 1970; Flint et al, 1988). The geomorphic response to the sudden draining of Lake Iroqouis was that streams were able to begin incising their valleys to much lower base levels; and the incision of the large valleys cut across the Iroquois plain began at this time: about 11,800 BP. In St. Catharines the streams trapped behind the Homer bar had to cut down as fast as Twelve Mile Creek (the valley they cut, Dick's Creek, was followed initially by the First and Second Welland Canals, and recently by Highway 406).

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Higher pre-Iroquois lakes against the Escarpment The Lake Iroquois shoreline is clearly defined, but there are hints of short-lived higher phases when water was ponded between the ice sheet and the Niagara Escarpment: in a sand and gravel delta at the mouth of Twenty Mile Creek (319775, at 480 feet, 146 m), and in surface sands and silts in the Short Hills re-entrant of the Escarpment at 430 feet (131 m), implying a shoreline not far above this altitude (Hughes, 1970; Sly and Prior, 1984). The area covered by this ponding is uncertain and may not have been continuous. Harris (1964) called it the St. Catharines Terrace, but it was earlier termed the Bell Terrace by Spencer (1907) who first identified it at the mouth of the Niagara River. None of these pre-Iroquois lakes can have been long-lived, for their lake bed deposits did little to mask the characteristic ripple-like pattern of 'small moraines' to be seen on the silty clay surface across the Peninsula, and first described by L0ken and Leahy (1964). Lake Iroquois, on the other hand, cut this pattern away as the receding clay cliffline eroded the upper clay of the Halton Till. The pattern finishes abruptly at the Lake Iroquois shoreline and is not seen north of it.

South of the Niagara Escarpment: The Plateau, Moraines, Kames and Streams The plateau The plateau surface south of the Escarpment gives an initial impression of extreme flatness, but there is a quite marked, if gentle, morphology which has determined the course of fluvial activity subsequent to ice retreat. Most of the surface is glacial or paraglacial sediment, with relatively little bedrock close to the surface. Surface clays are usually bioturbated lacustrine clays, but within two metres of the surface strongly laminated clays, rythmites and possibly varves, are easily discovered, presumably from former proglacial lakes such as Lakes Whittlesey, Warren and Dana, and their many minor stages. An excavation at the junction of Highway 58 and North Forks Road (417561) displayed over three metres of strongly laminated clays and silts beginning just over a metre below the surface. The primary exception to the statement about flatness is the Onondaga Escarpment described earlier, which helps to demarcate the northern shore of Lake Erie. A map in Flint and Lolcama (1985) shows that north of the Onondaga the bedrock surface, often many tens of metres below the clays and silts, is highly varied, an d characterized by a puzzling series of channels either focusing on the Short Hills re-entrant of the Niagara Escarpment or draining towards Lake Erie. The channels seem to indicate a long and complex history of drainage out of the Erie basin prior to late Wisconsinan times, as originally deduced by Spencer (1907) who termed the channel complex the

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Erigan channel. It seemed simpler then for there was less borehole evidence. Where the bedrock is close to the surface it forms stream channel beds, and mill sites were occasionally found; for example, Smithville is sited where bedrock is revealed by the downcutting of Twenty Mile Creek through the Halton Till.

Waterlain moraines, kames, deltas and spits The primary divide in the Niagara Peninsula is formed by a gentle clay rise which separates the northern from the southern drainage; at its lowest points on either side of Fonthill it is only about 603 feet (183.8 m), less than thirty feet (9 m) above the level of Lake Erie. The divide is the line of a sublacustrine moraine (Fort Erie Moraine) probably formed beneath a fluctuating ice shelf margin. At its western end it can be connected with waterlain moraines first mapped around the head of the Dundas valley by Taylor (1913). Towards the eastern end it is punctuated by the dominating presence of the Fonthill Kame (in popular parlance) — a proglacial delta built into proglacial Lake Warren. The steep northern slope marks the former ice contact slope, the gentler offshore slope to the south (the distal, or lakeward slope of the old delta) now provides excellent soil and a southerly exposure for market gardening and tender fruit. The upper surface is marked by several distinct shoreline levels separated by steep ramps. These probably reflect both the fluctuating level typical of proglacial lakes (of the order of several metres annually), and the rapid isostatic rebound the newly deglaciated terrain was undergoing. By analogy to other deglaciating ice-marginal situations rebound may have been of the order of ten metres per century. It is worthy of note that Fonthill and the high parts of Niagara Falls may have acted as early staging posts for vegetation entering southern Ontario—it is close to the limits of the Appalachian refugia in northern Pennsylvania, and gentle south-facing slopes (up to 4°) would make the surface insolation equivalent to level surfaces in West Virginia. There is a smaller accumulation of gravels in Niagara Falls, also mapped as a kame by Kindle and Taylor (1913), but the nearest features of comparable scale are to be found to the west near Dundas, and to the east near Hamburg in New York State. Each feature probably marks the position of a major integrated drainage system flowing within, and eventually over, the Laurentide Ice Sheet, and discharging into the proglacial lakes along its margins. Low on the eastern flank of Fonthill, lying along the clay divide just west of Turners Corners, is preserved a spit from Lake Dana (Feenstra, 1986) whose upper surface indicates a lake at about 640 feet (195 m), and whose orientation suggests waves primarily from the east and southeast. Its presence on the divide implies an ice barrier to the north maintaining the water level, and which may correlate with the Vinemount moraine described below.

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The Vinemount Moraine Yet another Peninsula puzzle is posed by the Vinemount Moraine, since throughout the Peninsula this moraine always lies within a kilometre of the upper edge of the Escarpment. Typically its northern edge begins within three hundred metres of the Escarpment edge, and the southern margin has normally been reached within a kilometre. In between the moraine reaches relative elevations of 50 feet (15 m) in the west and 20 feet (6 m) in the east. Why should the huge forces associated with mechanics of the Laurentide Ice Sheet be so sensitive to the position of the Niagara Escarpment? A clue may lie in the morphology of the feature. Immediately east and west of Vinemount the moraine is a clearly defined narrow, linear, hummocky ridge rising above the bedrock surface of the plateau, and occasionally crossed by a well-defined channel. It has the appearance of a classical subaerial moraine. Traced eastwards the morphology becomes more subdued, and east of Twenty Mile Creek it is identified merely as a broad diamict rise whose northern margin (towards the Escarpment) is more readily demarcated than its southern margin, which merges with the diamict covering the plateau. In the eastern Peninsula it looks similar to other waterlain moraines found to the south of the Escarpment. The implication may be that the moraine developed at the margin of an ice shelf grounded in shallow water, and that it was above water to the west of Twenty Mile Creek, but below it to the east. The Escarpment edge would act as a grounding line for an ice shelf extending across deep water in the Ontario basin. In this fashion the ice margin would locate in intimate sympathy with the Escarpment edge. Even below the Escarpment's upper edge there are occasional traces of small moraines on lower ledges. For example, south of Beamsville, at a location (235784) west of Mountain Road and opposite the Home for the Aged, there is a small moraine 500 metres long, lodged on a ledge formed by the Irondequoit Limestone (Figure 2.3).

The Welland River The Welland River and its tributaries, which flow from south of Hamilton eastwards to the Niagara River, are bounded on the north by the Niagara Falls Moraine, the main divide in the Peninsula. It is a remarkable fact that east of Dunnville, where the Grand River enters Lake Erie, there is no drainage line more than two kilometres long draining to Lake Erie in the stretch of 55 kilometres to the mouth of the Niagara River. The Welland River, however, has its own peculiarity. The gradient (3 metres in 60 kilometres) between a point north of Dunnville and Chippawa, where it enters the Niagara River, is less than that of the Mississippi at Vicksburg! The reason is that isostatic tilting, consequent upon the release of the load of ice on the earth's crust in this region, has raised the eastern end of the Peninsula relative to the western end, and

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has thus almost completely flattened the river gradient. The physical evidence for this uplift can be read most readily east of the Niagara River where the former outlets of Lake Tonawanda, finally abandoned about 10,500 years ago, reveal differential uplift of the east, relative to the west, of about 17m over 80 kilometres. As Lake Tonawanda was slowly tilted towards Canada, eastward flowing river gradients were reduced, drainage towards the Niagara River slowed and Lake Tonawanda flooded slowly back up the Welland River, Lyons Creek and Usshers Creek. The pollen and plant remains from a core taken west of the Niagara River in the Willoughby Bog, an old gyttja and peat-choked river channel (once belonging to Usshers Creek), reveal the history of this slow shift from a river to a river lake to a peat bog (Pengelly, 1990a). Likewise, a radiocarbon date of 5,070 ± 60 BP (Univ. of Toronto (TO) 1924)3 obtained on macroscopic plant and animal remains, including fish bones and bone tools (collected from a section in the bank of the present Welland River —173 m, 567.6 feet— near the crossing with the Queen Elizabeth Highway), suggests that the native peoples were utilizing a shallow lake shore environment rather than a river (W. Parkins, personal communication 1990). Gradual flooding also overtook land much further up the Welland River. By about 5,000 years ago the lowland, now occupied by the Wainfleet Marsh and first described by Auer (1927), began to accumulate peat, a sure sign of waterlogged conditions in a blocked drainage system. The oldest radiocarbon date obtained by Donaldson (1987) at the base of a three metre core in the ANSI4 section of the bog was 5,050* ± 140 (Brock Geological Sciences (BGS) 1185), a date consistent with the pollen spectrum obtained. Two other cores through the Wainfleet Marsh reported by Nagy (1992) have basal dates which are even younger, 3,600* ± 70 (University of Waterloo (WAT) 2459) and 3,450* ± 70 (WAT 2458).

The temporary post-Nipissing rise of Lake Erie c. 4,000 BP In the middle Holocene a significant event affected the topographical history of the south of the Peninsula and the Niagara Gorge, for there was a short period when the level of Lake Erie rose about 3 to 4 metres above its present level. After about 10,500 BP the Upper Great Lakes drained via North Bay and the Mattawa River to the Ottawa River, and hence direct to the St Lawrence (Lewis and Anderson, 1989). In consequence, the drainage through the Niagara River was cut to about a tenth of its present flow, representing only the drainage of Lake Erie and its own immediate tributaries. The volume of the Niagara River was much reduced and radiocarbon dates on molluscs in Niagara Glen, which range from 10,310* ± 150 (BGS 1580) at the north end to 5,200* ± 100, (BGS 1582) at the south end, indicate that the reduced gorge dimensions at this location within the Niagara Gorge is a consequence of this phase (Tinkler, 1993). The much lower discharge over the rock sill controlling the water flow from Lake Erie into the Niagara River meant a much reduced level, 3 to

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4 metres lower, in the Erie basin. The interesting point is, however, that this rock sill was not the present one in the river at Fort Erie (height about 558 feet or 170 metres) but another one about ten feet (3 metres) higher within the Niagara Gorge, and located approximately at Hubbard Point in Niagara Falls, where the rock surface reaches its maximum and is called the Lyell/Johnson ridge. Thus, by coincidence, the level of Lake Erie at its northeastern exit was, after 10,500 BP, almost exactly the present level of the Lake. However, by about 5,500 BP, continued isostatic rebound over the whole area of the upper Great Lakes had lifted the North Bay exit out of reach; and the rising water levels on the southern shores of Lake Huron slowly breached the Port Huron moraine and discharged the full flow of the Nipissing Great Lakes water back into the Erie basin. Initially the southerly component of the discharge was shared with the Chicago exit from Lake Michigan; and the water level in the Erie Basin slowly rose in compensation by about 3 to 4 metres, perhaps over several centuries, to discharge the increasing flow over the Lyell/Johnson sill in the Niagara River. The river upstream of the rock sill in the Niagara River increased in depth and the shallow margins of all the tributary rivers and marshes were flooded. Lake waters breached the existing physical breaks in the Onondaga Escarpment and flooded the low-lying areas to the north (Figure 2.5). A section in the Wignell Drain Bog (Figure 2.6), just east of Port Colborne, reveals a thin sandwich of sand, clay and peat within the peat. Radiocarbon dates above and below the sandy layers indicate that flooding took place between 4,160 ± 120 (BGS1388) and 3,900 ± 80 (BGS 1393) BP (Pengelly, 1990a). A statistical test of the dates indicate that, despite the overlap of their error ranges, they are significantly different at the 7% level, so that the 20 cm of deposition and the 260 radiocarbon years separating the dates is a first order estimate of the duration of the peak of the high water phase. Greatly increased flow in the Niagara River revived rapid recession at Niagara Falls, which, beginning at the south end of the Niagara Glen, began to cut the modern Upper Great Gorge (now about five kilometres long). The renewed recession of the waterfall brought the invigorated Falls to the brink of the bedrock sill within two millenia; and thereafter the height of the sill began to diminish, for the buried bedrock surface drops dramatically towards the present site of the Falls. Within a few hundred years at most, the height of the sill matched that in the Niagara River at Fort Erie. Once that happened and the sill level dropped further, the present Lake Erie became isolated and was controlled by the rock sill in the river between Buffalo and Fort Erie. To the north, between the Falls and Fort Erie, the ponded water levels dropped as the sill dropped; and D'Agostino (1958), for example, noted with some surprise that Lake Tonawanda at its western end drained suddenly with no intermediate paludal stage, as would be expected of a slowly disappearing lake. At this point the drained and waterlogged depression northwest of Port Colborne, the Wainfleet Marsh, began to accumulate peat, for by now residual isostatic rebound over the Peninsula had accomplished its work in flattening the profile of the Welland

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Figure 2.5 The approximate extent of Lake Wainfleet as a result of flooding in the southern part of the Niagara Peninsula which would accompany rises of Lake Erie by one, two and three metres, at about 4,000 to 5,000 BP. (Based on Pengelly, 1990a)

River and Lyons Creek. As noted above, the oldest radiocarbon dates at the base of cores through the peat barely exceed 5,000 years BP (Donaldson, 1987), although it may be that the deepest and oldest part of the bog has not yet been cored.

Influence of Lake Agassiz on the Erie basin and Niagara Peninsula before 10,500 BP Early in the immediate postglacial period of the Niagara Peninsula, there took place a somewhat similar series of events, but the record is harder to read. Immediately after local deglaciation the Niagara River began to flow from the Erie basin, through Lake Tonawanda, and then down the line of the present river to the Escarpment edge at Queenston, and initiated Niagara Falls. However, there is evidence from the size of the initial gorge that the earliest discharge was comparable to the present discharge

Figure 2.6 Pollen diagram for the Wignell Drain (Pengelly, 1990a) just east of Port Colborne. Flooding is indicated by stratified deposits dated to circa 4,000 BP. Pollen zones follow Terasmae (1980). (For common names of species see Table 2.1).

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33

Common names of species in Figure 2.6.

Fir Abies Osmunda Cinnamon Fern Acer Picea Maple Spruce Alder Alnus Pine Pinus Ambrosia Polygonum Ragweed Smartweed Birch Betula Poplar Populus Can/a Hickory Potamogeton Pondweed Hackberry Oak Quercu Celtis Bunchberry Cornus Willow Salix Cyperaceae Sedges Mosses Sphagnum Cedar Thuja Ecjuisetum Horsetail Tilia Beech Fagus Basswood Fern Tsuga Fern Hemlock Ash Cattail Typhia Fraxinus Elm Ulmnus Gramineae Grasses Walnut Juglans Note: In pollen analysis it is not normally possible to identify pollen below the family level, thus for example, for Spruce (Picea sp.), the different species of black and white spruce cannot be distinguished.

(Tinkler et al, 1992; Tinkler, 1993) although there were also other exits from Lake Tonawanda as far east as Holley (Figure 2.7). Subsequently isostaric rebound slowly uplifted the eastern end of Lake Tonawanda with the result that the lake tipped and deepened towards the west. Thus, as time went by the water concentrated at the Niagara end of the lake and within the present gorge. During this early phase, when the vegetation was slowly changing from a herbaceous tundra to coniferous forest, streams cut their valleys through the surficial diamict, often to a depth of several metres. For example, the lower part of Usshers Creek, draining towards Lake Tonawanda, was cut down three metres below the level of the intermediate clay surface; and this amount of incision was probably typical throughout the Peninsula by 11,000 BR About 11,000 BP certain changes in the physical geography of central Canada had profound effects on the Niagara region. Proglacial Lake Agassiz, which fronted the retreating western margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, initially drained southwards over a divide and into the Mississippi drainage. However, as ice retreat proceeded divides on its eastern margins were revealed which caused drainage to flow eastwards and into Lake Superior (Teller and Thorliefson, 1987). The flows oscillated between huge catastrophic outbursts, in excess of 200,000 cubic metres of water per second (200K m3s~1), when the ice dam broke and the level of the lake adjusted to a new sill within about two years, and an equilibrium discharge of about 15K m3s~1 which probably lasted for decades (Teller, 1990).

Figure 2.7 Early postglacial geomorphology of Niagara Peninsula and western New York at about 10,500 BP (from Tinkler et al., 1992). Potential washover outlets from the Erie basin on either side of Fonthill are marked. Isobases show the trend of isostatic uplift across the region. Reprinted with permission from Tinkler et al. (1992), Journal of Pakolimnology 7: 215-234.

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When these flows entered the Superior basin water levels rose by many metres, so that outlet discharge could balance the new input; and the strongly developed shorelines of proglacial Lake Algonquin reflect this new level (Lewis and Anderson, 1989). Waters from Lake Algonquin drained either via the Fenelon Falls route (past Peterborough) or over the Port Huron moraine at the south end of Lake Huron and into Lake Erie. The exact balance of flow between the two routes has not been established, although the greater rate of isostatic rebound in the north would increasingly favour the Port Huron outlet as time passed. There is some evidence (Morris, 1990; Karrow, 1980) that the Lake Algonquin level around Port Huron may have been 600 to 605 feet (183-184.5 m), in which case water levels would have been confluent with those in Lake Tonawanda. The increased discharge to Lake Erie also caused water levels to rise in that basin (Figure 2.7). Computations suggest that rises up to 5 metres are possible, relative to earlier levels, and in the vicinity of the Niagara Gorge water levels in Lake Tonawanda would have reached a mean level of about 181.5 metres (595 feet), with occasional upward excursions of another 4 metres (13 feet) or more (Tinkler et al, 1992). Variations in water level due to the upstream discharges of Lake Agassiz would have been augmented by seasonal variations due to ice conditions—which blocked the river entirely in 1848 and 1909 (Spencer, 1910) — and wind-sets, which can produce a lake level rise of up to 2.5 metres for a few hours (Libicki and Bedford, 1990). In any case the high discharges routed through the Niagara River during the early postglacial are presumed to be responsible for the excavation of the three and one half kilometre long lower section of the Niagara Gorge between Lewiston and the north end of Niagara Glen (Calkin and Brett, 1978, Tinkler, 1993). If so, recession rates may have been as high as 1.75 metres per year, slightly above the uncontrolled rate estimated for the nineteenth century (Gilbert, 1907; Philbrick, 1970; Tinkler, 1986,1993). Huge remnant potholes, drilled in blocks of Lockport Dolomite in the talus at Niagara Glen, support the notion of a vigorous river (Spencer, 1907). A consequence of the high water levels was that the old spillways out of Lake Tonawanda were re-activated, and in addition, during the most extreme conditions affecting lake level, water may have flowed over the divides on either side of Fonthill. At Turners Corners (426686) there is a shallow channel 200 m wide across the divide, which would lead to stream systems which are very deeply incised into the diamict. Some of the channel incision in the northern Peninsula may date from this period, because the substantial Decew gravel fan is emplaced within Twelve Mile Creek, and below the final level of Lake Iroquois, which therefore it postdates. At Rockway Gorge, where Fifteen Mile Creek crosses the Niagara Escarpment, an abandoned and beheaded valley floor (368747) has yielded a pollen profile which suggests that pollen began to accumulate when there was a strong local dominance of poplar (an early colonizer of nutrient-poor surfaces), with the presence of Dry as pollen

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THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

(an Arctic tundra plant). Regional dating of the pollen profile suggests that the channel was abandoned well before 10,500 BP, and perhaps as early as 12,000 BP.

Early Postglacial conditions and the Younger Dryas cold period, 11,000 BP to 10,000 BP The Younger Dryas is the name given to a climatic period of very substantial cooling. In the Great Lakes region it is thought to be a climatic response to the sudden inflow of cold Lake Agassiz water (Lewis and Anderson, 1992), but the climatic response was sufficiently severe in Europe to cause the reformation and readvance of valley glaciers in Scotland, the Loch Lomond Readvance. In the Niagara Peninsula the response may have been to prolong early postglacial cool conditions and to slow down the shift to a pine-dominated environment. Therefore it may be difficult to separate out a different morphological expression for the Younger Dryas. On the clay divide west of Fonthill a 50 centimetre core in a shallow depression, the Crown site (279689) (Pengelly, 1990b; Tinkler et al, 1992), revealed a basal 15 centimetre layer of bioturbated clay, rich in small freshwater shells, seeds of water plants (Potomagetori) and white spruce (Picea glauca) needles. One of the shells (Fossaria decampi) requires cold water and is only found in deep water in the present Great Lakes. Its presence (along with four other permanent pond mollusc species), in what must have been a shallow pond on a topographical divide, suggests a cool boreal forest environment with patches of open herbs, an idea confirmed by the associated pollen: spruce, fir, jack pine, birch, willow and larch together with juniper and dryas. Although the pollen generally suggests Zone TV (following Terasmae, 1980), with a probable date before 10,500 BP, a mass accelerator radiocarbon date obtained upon a 195-mg sample of Pisidium (cydocalyx) ferrugineum from the basal clay at this site gave a date of 12,130 ± 80 BP (TO-3356). This is a very early date for postglacial sediments of the Niagara Peninsula, and the presence of white spruce needles implies the contemporary establishment of that tree, probably on the sandy soils of the southern slopes of the Fonthill Kame 5 km away. Cool conditions may have persisted until pine began to dominate the ecosystem after about 10,000 BP. Terasmae (in Barnett and Kelly, 1987) also reports two dates, 12,600 ± 240 (BGS-958) and 12,140 ± 140 (BGS-1043), on plant remains in sediments which may underlie transgressive Lake Iroquois sediments exposed along the Ontario shoreline west of Niagara on the Lake. Recent identification of protalus ramparts along the Escarpment face also suggests a cool period after the area was abandoned by ice (Tinkler and Pengelly, 1991; Plate 2.7). Protalus ramparts are linear accumulations of debris which have been delivered to the foot of the slope by transport over a snow or ice surface. They parallel the slope upon which the snowbank rested, and naturally they imply an active sediment source (cliff faces) exposed on the slope above the snowbank. They have been found at many

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Plate 2.7 Niagara Escarpment between Vineland and Beamsville in Lincoln. The linear feature at the base of the Escarpment on the left (indicated by the arrow) is a protalus rampart. (Photo: K.J. Tinkler)

locations along the Escarpment, but are most fully developed west of Fifty Road near Grimsby, and between Vineland and Beamsville, where they are thirty metres wide, have an outer height of up to six or seven metres and are continuous for two kilometres. The ramparts are composed primarily of very coarse clasts of limestone and sandstone available on the cliff above, with a fill of clay or silty clay whose source is the diamict-covered plateau above or the friable shales on the Escarpment face. An interesting feature is that large Irondequoit Limestone slabs (several metres wide and long, and up to a metre thick) have been delivered to the outer slope of the rampart. They suggest a continuously indurated snowbank which must have existed for part, if not all of the year. Occasionally there exist discontinuous and small inner ramparts which may suggest a temporary re-establishment of severe conditions in very sheltered north-facing locations. Wherever ramparts are found there are deeply incised valley systems in the diamict ramp leading away from the presumed location of the snow banks. Presently these valleys are not active erosional systems. Although there is no Peninsula evidence for frozen ground, Sly and Prior (1984) infer frost wedges (more probably frost cracks) in Lake Ontario bottom sediments close to present sea level. They must have formed after Lake Iroquois drained, and before Lake Ontario flooded the sites, which dates them to the interval 11,800 BP to 10,500 BP and would require either a mean annual temperature below 0°C, or very severe winter temperatures. North of the Peninsula, Straw (1966) has reported

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large rafted dolomite blocks on the Escarpment at Meaford, whose displacement he attributes to solifluction in a periglacial climate. In the Ottawa valley Lengelle (1970) describes substantial protalus ramparts facing south, but resting on Lake Champlain bottom sediments, which implies a date later than 11,000 BP. Thus, there is reasonable evidence throughout Southern Ontario for a prolonged period of severe cooling which may have terminated with the Younger Dryas.

The Holocene (The Last Ten Thousand Years) When the North Bay exit was cleared of ice (at about 10,500 BP) the upper Great Lakes waters no longer drained to Lake Erie, whose waters promptly dropped substantially; and when the Younger Dryas came to a fairly abrupt end about 10,000 BP, the Peninsula landscape settled into a relatively stable state. Mixed pine and spruce forests were replaced first by pine (around 9,500 BP) and then by hardwood forests (by 8,500 BP), not unlike those at present. Peninsula pollen charts (Pengelly, 1990a) show the regional hemlock 'crash' (probably caused by a pathogen similar to Dutch Elm Disease and usually dated to around 4,800 BP). Figure 2.6 is an example from the Wignell Drain bog (446485), east of Port Colborne and just north of the Lake Erie shore. From about the same period pollen charts show the reappearance of small quantities of spruce; and this is often thought to signal the return to slightly cooler conditions following a warmer climate in the period 7,500 BP to 4,000 BP (Kemp, 1969). The only other significant element in the Holocene pollen spectrum is the sudden explosion of ragweed pollen when European settlers cleared the land for farming, and as always, weeds colonized the bared land. It would be a mistake to believe that the landscape has been entirely quiescent during the Holocene. On the other hand, it is hard to point to dated events, other than the changes wrought in the southern half of the Peninsula and the Niagara Gorge by the return of the upper Great Lake waters in the post-Nipissing period after 5,500 years BP (Calkin and Brett, 1978; Tinkler and Pengelly, 1990). One exception is a dated river diversion (Flint and Tinkler, 1981) near Smithville (Figure 2.8). The present stream of North Creek, presently a tributary to Twenty Mile Creek and joining it four kilometres east of Smithville, used to be the headwaters of Sixteen Mile Creek. Radiocarbon dates for charcoal fragments found in a high level abandoned river channel close to the elbow of diversion indicate that the diversion took place about 2,600 ± 100 BP (BGS 650), because a date of 1,400 ± 200 (BGS 626) on charcoal within the diversion necJc must postdate the event. At the elbow of diversion, the valley of the then Sixteen Mile Creek was unusually narrow and shallow — about 300 m wide and 3 m deep. Twenty Mile Creek, immediately across the divide to the north, was about 3 m lower, and when waters spilled fortuitously across the clay divide they were able to establish a channel from which the stream did not subsequently extricate itself. The cause of the overspill is not evident. Given that the

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Figure 2.8 The area of drainage diversion near Smithville. The streams involved are Twenty Mile Creek, and the former Sixteen Mile Creek, whose former headwaters are now called North Creek.

landscape was forested various scenarios are possible. It probably required a serious blockage in the channel, such as might be provided by beaver dam, heavy treefall from a severe windstorm (tropical hurricanes of the Hurricane Hazel type which cross the Peninsula several times a century), or exceptional ice conditions in the river. Hydraulic calculations suggest that a discharge equivalent to the Hurricane Hazel storm, 85 cubic metres per second (Kilborne Limited, 1977), and very slow flowing water in the main channel (0.3 metres per second) would be enough to cause the entire valley to fill and breach the divide. The most obvious result is that Sixteen Mile Creek is a severely underfit stream in its present headwaters, for the basin was reduced by a half due to the diversion. According to Flint et al. (1988) the change in the discharge in both Sixteen and Twenty Mile Creeks can be detected in the sedimentation rates of their respective lagoons behind the present shoreline. Other river diversions are known, but are not so securely dated. The most obvious is that in which the Welland River and Oswego Creek have alternated channels due to the erosion of the clay divide between them. The net result has been to move the

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junction between the two streams upstream by about 3 kilometres from the original site at the eastern end of the Chippawa Creek Conservation Area. Another example is the diversion of what used to be the upper headwaters of Ussher Creek into Tea Creek. In this instance the channel downstream of the diversion is choked with gyttja and peat (Pengelly, 1990a), and forms the present Willoughby Bog, also a Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority area. The diversion probably occurred because of the reduction in gradients towards the Niagara River brought about by isostatic rebound, and the increasing depth of organic debris in the channel. The basal gyttja probably represents slow flow through a weed-choked channel, but it seems likely that the peat which has accumulated above implies that permanent diversion across the divide to the southeast had taken place by 4,000 BP. River flow records published by Environment Canada (Surface Water Data, Ontario) exist for Twenty Mile Creek (Balls Falls and Smithville), the Welland River, and the Niagara River at Queenston. Only Twenty Mile Creek is free of anthropogenic interference. Fortunately, because environmental conditions are remarkably homogeneous over the Peninsula, the behaviour of Twenty Mile Creek represents quite well that of other streams. Figure 2.9 shows mean, maximum and minimum monthly flows averaged over the 34 years of record. It reveals a primary flow peak in the spring months (February through May) generated by snowmelt and rainfall in roughly equal proportions (Irvine and Drake, 1987). Peninsula streams are frequently dry in the summer, with the exception of Twelve Mile Creek which is spring-fed (and ignoring the augmentation of flow below the hydro-electricity schemes at Power Glen). Extreme conditions occurred in the summer of 1991 when many Peninsula creeks were completely dry from mid-July until early November, and in the very wet summer of 1992 when flows of the order of 25 m3s~1 (cubic metres per second) were recorded for Twenty Mile Creek. The only substantial published sediment load data for the Peninsula is that available in Ongley (1973) who demonstrates that 90 to 95 percent of sediment loss is in solution. However, he points out that this proportion is likely overestimated, for sampling took place at times which may well have under-represented highflows when sediment load is typically very high. The regional lowering deduced from Ongley's figures is of the order of 2.5 cm per thousand years, but once again this may be an overestimate, for the last two hundred years have seen the land cleared of primary forest and turned over to agriculture. The normal result of forest clearance is the enhancement of flood peaks and an order of magnitude increase in sediment delivery to streams. Although it has not been formally documented, the shallow incisions of contemporary streams within their former floodplains may reflect an adjustment to increased flow peaks. I have recently seen in a basement excavation (352772) along Highway 81, and immediately west of Sixteen Mile Creek, a mature soil buried beneath half a metre of clay and with a less mature soil developed upon it. The burial signifies

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Figure 2.9

41

Characteristics of monthly flow on Twenty Mile Creek at Balls Falls.

the mobilization of sediment down a relatively steep slope subsequent to forest clearance, resulting in the burial of the existing soil faster than it could assimilate the new material. A radiocarbon date on wood in the buried soil gave an age of 265 ± 75 (BGS 1529). By courtesy of Dr Beukens at the Isotrace Laboratory (University of Toronto) it has been calibrated to a most probable calendar date of 1647, which confirms the idea that it is a pre-colonial buried soil (Tinkler and Pengelly, 1992). In the stream bank of Twelve Mile Creek at Decew Road (404748) wood fragments in grey sand lying upon coarse gravel, and overlain by two metres of alluvial silt, were recovered from the level of the present stream (which was 'straightened' into its present course in the nineteenth century). The wood produced a radiocarbon date of 970 ± 70 years BP (BGS 1441) and it probably represents detritus in a migrating channel which was reworking the distal end of the Decew Gorge gravel fan after it had been buried by Holocene floodplain alluvium. Fragments of charcoal at a slightly higher level, and darker horizons in the alluvium which represent buried soils, have been dated to 530 ± 80 BP (BGS 574). They suggest, perhaps, that from time to time forest fires provided a bare surface easily stripped of the erodible silts and sands which characterize this cafchmenr, and caused an episode of flood plain construction. Older evidence of channel migration, in Short Hills Provincial Park, is provided by a radiocarbon date of 3,830 ± 80 (BGS-1652) on a compressed deciduous leaf mat at the base of an abandoned

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channel exposed in a channel bank (396729). This indicates that valley incision down to present base level had already been achieved by this date. The primarily limestone bedrock of the Peninsula, when it is exposed at the surface, supports an array of minor dissolutional landforms most readily seen along the edge of the Niagara Escarpment where the original surface was clear, or nearly clear, of glacial silts and clays (Pluhar and Ford, 1970). Excellent examples may be found west of Queenston, at Woodend, at Fifteen Mile Creek (Rockway), Sixteen Mile Creek, and at Beamsville and Grimsby. The most frequent forms are called cleft karren and trench karren, and result from the dissolution of soluble minerals in the limestone (calcium and magnesium) by natural acidic rainfall penetrating along joints in the rock. The result is a surface which looks like a slightly parted and entirely crazed jigsaw. Close to the Escarpment edge, where there is a strong hydraulic gradient drawing the water down, solution can be seen to have penetrated several metres. Lines of dolines (conical pits several metres across) often mark the lines of drainage towards the Escarpment face. However, dolines are only seen where there is a thin cover of glacial sediment over the limestone surface (Woodend and Queenston). Figure 2.10, based on unpublished work by Stenson (1989), illustrates a typical set of associations to be found amongst the karst forms along the Escarpment edge. Two major streams (Sixteen Mile Creek at the Staff Farm, and Twenty Mile Creek at the upper waterfall) have short sections in which upstream channel flow is diverted to an underground route from which water reappears laterally with respect to the present valley. Large blocks of dolomite and limestone, separated by solution along joints, often collapse on to the slope below. Groundwater seeping out on the Escarpment face, aided and abetted by freeze-thaw cycling in winter (Fahey and Lefebre, 1988) also promotes weathering and eventually erosion on the Escarpment face. Gadzala (1983) and Wright (1902) have both documented erosion rates on shale cliffs of the order of millimetres a year. In late winter and spring the ground, frozen to a depth of several centimetres, thaws from the surface downwards so that steep slopes are extremely mobile for a few days or weeks. In extreme cases landslides occur, probably provoked by strong hydraulic gradients bringing water from level collecting surfaces above through the shales to the face of the slope. In the Niagara Gorge, a survey of 12 sets of aerial photographs taken since 1925, and covering the gorge from the Power Stations to the Upper Great Gorge, shows abundant fresh landslides at every time period. In the lower gorge of Twenty Mile Creek a survey of aerial photographs has revealed ten major landslides since 1934. In the latter location a slide (319767) in the spring of 1981 required a realignment of the road along the eastern wall of the gorge, and immediately opposite, a huge rockfall in Whirlpool Sandstone took place in December 1992. Moss and Rosenfeld (1978) map the location of landslides within the gorge of Forty Mile Creek at Grimsby. For a distance of about five kilometres between Winona and Stoney Creek, the Escarpment face is scalloped with the scars of

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Figure 2.10 A schematic diagram of karstic features to be found along the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. Not all features are found at every location. (Based on an unpublished diagram by R.E. Stenson)

large landslides noticeable from the highway. The largest extends the full height of the Escarpment and is located immediately north of the point where the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway line turns south after ascending the Escarpment (067840). A very substantial landslide, which has been retreating steadily at a rate of the order of a metre per year, is found within the Short Hills Provincial Park (392729). The valley wall consists of unstable clays and silts, which are undercut as Twelve Mile Creek floods against its base. The river is easily able to remove the fine silts and clays brought down by each successive failure. Several smaller examples are located elsewhere in the Park. Coastal erosion is a continual threat to the clay- and silt-rich cliffs of the Lake Ontario shoreline. The weighted historical average recession rate for the Niagara Region is 1.01 m/year, and the corresponding figure for the period 1955-73 is 0.74 m/yr, with localized figures nearly three times as large (Boyd, 1983, reported with

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maps in McKenzie, 1990). The concrete footings of a bridge which once spanned Eighteen Mile Creek and which serviced a road along the base of the cliff before World War II may still be seen in the nearshore waters (349820). The Lake Erie shoreline is better defended by bedrock, but the lowlands behind are often at or below the lake level so that the gaps which breach the discontinuous Onondaga Escarpment often have no better defence than sand dunes against flooding from short-term lake level rises, which may be as much as 2.5 metres for a few hours during an onshore storm (Libicki and Bedford, 1990). Mean lake levels vary in response to a complex set of climatic controls; and because the level of Lake Erie is not controlled, the shoreline itself is equally unprotected. In the 1980s considerable damage was done to lakeshore property during a period of high lake levels centred on 1985/6. It is more readily forgotten that during the late 1920s the controversy was over the low level of the lake, a condition with negative impacts on navigation and fishing (Horton, 1927). The stability of the coastal dunes, which rise to 30 metres at the Sugarloaf—west of Port Colborne and clearly visible from Fonthill — is hard to assess. However, tree stumps in a buried soil horizon exposed on the active dune face at Sherkston Beach are three to four hundred years old according to radiocarbon dating (BGS 1486-1488). Similar material has have been dated from other Erie shoreline locations by James Pengelly (personal communication 1992; Pengelly, 1990a). The whole set do not differ significantly amongst themselves, and have a mean date of 436 ± 30 BP, which calibrates to a calendar date in the range 1415 to 1480, with a most probable date of 1450 AD. The horizons suggest a lengthy period with inactive dunes enabling a stable ecosystem to develop, perhaps with lake levels at average or below-average levels. This stability was followed by surface disturbance and very considerable recession of the dunes over the last few hundred years, burying the dated horizons with fresh sand exposed on the beach as lake levels dropped. More recently still, the soil and vegetation formerly developed on the landward slopes have been exposed by erosion on the lakeside dune face. This final phase might imply that the mean level of Lake Erie is presently high relative to a very long term average, thus permitting more active erosion of the dunes by waves.

Anthropogenic landforms European settlement of the Peninsula during the last two centuries has effected considerable change on the landscape, and the possible effect on slopes and streams has been noted above. For sheer magnitude the most noticeable effect is quarrying. In the nineteenth century private enterprise along the Escarpment produced stone for home building. Later, for large scale industrial use, very substantial quarries have been excavated in Escarpment rocks, normally the Lockport Group, at St. Davids, Thorold, St. Catharines and Vineland, and in the Onondaga Escarpment rocks west

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of Port Colborne. The north face of the Fonthill Delta/Kame has been exploited for building gravel, as have similar fluvio-glacial deposits at St. David's which occupy the mouth of the buried St. David's Gorge. In addition, very considerable excavations have been undertaken in order to accomplish the engineering works associated with power generation from the waters of the Niagara River. Deep feeder channels traverse the landscape parallel to the Niagara Gorge, and where they cross the gravels, clays and silts of the buried St. David's Channel slanting concrete walls neatly reveal the presence of the buried gorge in contrast to the near vertical walls of the rock-cut sections (Plate 2.5). It is obvious that most of the major transportation routes make, or have made use of, natural breaks in the Escarpment: the Queen Elizabeth Highway, Highway 406, and the various routes of the Welland Canal. The latter exploits the valley of Ten Mile Creek, now almost totally effaced. Even the postulated, but unbuilt, routes of the Welland Canal were designed to take advantage of favourable topography, e.g. the ramped portion of the Escarpment near Twenty Mile Creek at Jordan. In the nineteenth century the many small farm tracks which surmounted the Escarpment took advantage of variations in topography, and often utilized furrows once carved into the crestline by subglacial meltwater. However, route building has its negative side. Construction and maintenance of the Welland Canal has frequently had to take account of landslides, from those which threatened the "Deep Cut" at Allanburg on the first canal, to a substantial slide between Lock Three and the Homer Bridge on the east bank, which took place in the winter of 1976 when the canal was drained for routine maintenance (465805). In the Whirlpool Rapids section of the Niagara Gorge, the embankment for the electric railway on the east side (closed in 1935) has been almost completely destroyed by rockfalls. Mention must be made of the impact of power generation at Niagara Falls and Power Glen. It was estimated in the 1840s that Niagara Falls, in theory, could easily provide sufficient power for the entire industrial world (Blackwell and Allen, 1843). Despite this assertion, use of the water was limited to diversion for industries which could be directly water-powered until the large-scale generation of hydro-electric power was first undertaken at Niagara Falls in the 1890s. The present diversion of water, which can amount to 75% of the natural flow during the winter and overnight in summer, has diminished the rate of retreat of Niagara Falls by at least an order of magnitude (Philbrick, 1970), or so it is said, for there has been no recently published calibration of the recession rate despite the mandate of the International Joint Commission to monitor the rate of recession. At Power Glen water diverted from the Welland Canal (itself fed from Lake Erie) is released into Twelve Mile Creek after generating power over the Escarpment. The aerial photographs of 1934 show that the enlarged discharge after 1904, even before the further substantial enlargement of 1943, caused serious undercutting of the valley walls, so that eventually the Creek had to be artificially canalized (in the 1940s) along

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its entire length to protect them, and the water surface slope had to be controlled by a series of weirs. The formerly oversteepened valley walls are still susceptible to shallow landsliding, and after fifty years of wear and tear the channel banks are yielding locally to small slumps (426777,477779).

Conclusions The Niagara Peninsula provides a landscape of surprising diversity, from peat bogs in stagnant river channels to high, dramatic and even overhanging cliffs in spectacular gorges. Despite the substantial bibliography that accompanies this chapter, the number of items which directly address the Peninsula landscape is very small. Most often, Peninsula landforms appear as part characters in plays on a much larger stage, usually regional evocations of glacial and Great Lakes chronologies. A rough counting indicates that, leaving aside incidental references in accounts with a non-Peninsula focus, and those that discuss the Niagara Gorge, there are only nineteen items dealing directly with the Peninsula, and of these over half are unpublished. Notably lacking is any systematic study of Lake Iroquois (since Coleman, 1936), and of the morphology of the Niagara Escarpment. Thus, in an effective sense, the landscape of the Niagara Pensinsula is still largely undocumented, and when landforms are mentioned in public forums it is always 'in the large'—that is to say the 'Escarpment/ or the 'Niagara Gorge/ or the Tonthill Kame/ as if these names were sufficient and explained by themselves the entity to which they refer. This bears a striking contrast to biodiversity, a notion which is always stressed when small fragile but species-rich ecosystems are discussed, and which emphasizes the variety within the system. There is considerable diversity of form within each of the landforms just named, but there is no public awareness of this fact. In consequence, there is little public interest in the preservation of landscape, as an item worthy of conservation in its own right. Perhaps this chapter will help redress this imbalance by drawing attention to the geodiversity5 of the Niagara Peninsula.

Notes 1 Six-figure map references locate features on the 1:50,000 or 1:25,000 maps. All are within the 17 T PT zone. 2 BP means Before Present, and the present is geologically defined as 1950 for the purpose of radiocarbon dating. 3 Radio Carbon dates, as is standard, are not calibrated to Calendar ages unless specifically stated otherwise. An asterisk, *, indicates that the date has been corrected for 513C fractionation. Plus or minus errors are standard deviations. The numbers in brackets are the Laboratory Numbers.

ENTRE LACS

47

4 Area of Natural Scientific Interest. 5 A term coined by R.E. Stenson in connection with these ideas.

Acknowledgments I wish to thank James W. Pengelly, Ronald E. Stenson, Lesley A. Nutt for their help with fieldwork, and subsequent analysis, on many occasions. James Pengelly, in addition, has been an invaluable guide to the southern Niagara Peninsula and a constant source of inspiration. Over many years all of my family have been willing field workers, and I thank them. Howard Melville has worked wonders in the Carbon-14 laboratory, often with unpromising materials, and William Parkins has shared his extensive knowledge of Peninsula natural history very freely. Scott Robertson conducted the search for landslides in Twenty Mile Creek and the Niagara River from aerial photographs. I thank Brock University for partial support of the work mentioned in this chapter, and the Ministry of Natural Resources for permission to conduct research within Short Hills Provincial Park.

References Auer, V. 1930. Peat Bogs in Southeastern Canada. Geological Survey, Canada, Department of Mines, Memoir 162. Barnett, PJ. and Kelly, R.I., 1987. Quaternary History of Southern Ontario. INQUA Field Excursion A-ll, Ottawa: National Research Council of Canada. Blackwell, E.R. and Allen, Z. 1843. On the Volume of the Niagara River, as Deduced from Measurements Made in 1841 by Mr E.R. Blackwell, and Calculated by Z. Allen. American Journal of Science 46: 67-73. Boyd, G.L. 1983. Canada/Ontario Lakes Erosion Monitoring Programme, 1973-1980. Final Report (unpublished manuscript). Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ottawa. Manuscript Report Series No. 12. Calkin, RE. and Barnett, PJ. 1990. Glacial Geology of the Eastern Lake Erie Basin. In McKenzie, D.I., ed., Quaternary Environs of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Waterloo, Ontario: Escart Press, 1-86. Calkin, PE. and Brett, C.E. 1978. Ancestral Niagara River Drainage: Stratigraphic and Paleontologic Setting. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 89: 1140-1154. Clark, R.H. and Persoage, N.P. 1970. Some Implications of Crustal Movement in Engineering Planning. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 7: 628-633. Coleman, A.P. 1936. Lake Iroquois. Ontario Department of Mines, Toronto. 45th Annual Report, Part VII, 1-36.

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D'Agostino, J.P. 1958. Lake Tonawanda: History and Development. Unpublished MA thesis, State University of New York. Donaldson, C. 1987. A Paleohistory for the Wainfleet Bog. Unpublished special topic paper, Department of Geology, Brock University. Fahey, B.D. and Lefebre, T.H. 1988. The Freeze-Thaw Weathering Regime at a Section of the Niagara Escarpment on the Bruce Peninsula Southern Ontario, Canada. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 13: 293-304. Feenstra, B.H. 1981. Quaternary Geology of the Niagara/Welland Area. Ontario Geological Survey Open File Report 5361. . 1986. Niagara/Welland — Quaternary Geology. Ontario Geological Survey Map 2496. Flint, J.E., Dalrymple, R.W. and Flint, J.J. 1988. Stratigraphy of the Sixteen Mile Creek Lagoon and its Implication for Lake Ontario Water Levels. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 25: 1175-1183. Flint, J.J. and Tinkler, K.J. 1981. A Holocene River Diversion in the Niagara Peninsula. Abstract, Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers, Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. Flint, J.J. and Lolcama, J. 1985. Buried Ancestral Drainage between Lakes Erie & Ontario. Geological Society of America Bulletin 97: 75-84. Gadzala, R. 1983. Effects of Weathering on the Rochester Formation. Unpublished BSc. thesis, Department of Geography, Brock University. Gilbert, G.K. 1907. Rate of Recession of Niagara Falls. United States Geological Survey, Bulletin 306. Greenhouse, J.P. and Monier-Williams, M. 1986. A Gravity Survey of the Dundas Buried Valley West of Copetown, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 23: 110-114. Harris, S. A. 1964. The St. Catharines Terrace: A New Lacustrine Standstill Stage in the Evolution of Lake Ontario. Professional Geographer 26: 20-21. Hobson, G.D. and Terasmae, J. 1969. Pleistocene Geology of the Buried St. David's Gorge, Niagara Falls, Ontario: Geophysical and Palynological Studies. Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 6867. Horton, R.E. with C.E. Grunsky, 1927. Hydrology of the Great Lakes, Report of the Engineering Board of Review of the Sanitary District of Chicago on the Lake Lowering Controversy and a Program of Remedial Measures, Part III, Appendix II, 432p. Hughes, R.J. 1970. Glaciation of the Short Hills. Unpublished MSc. thesis, McMaster University. Irvine, K.N. and Drake, J. 1987. Spatial Analysis of Snow and Rain-generated Highflows in Southern Ontario. The Canadian Geographer 31: 140-149. Karrow, P.P. 1980. The Nipissing Transgression around the Southern End of Lake Huron. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 17: 1271-1274.

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Karrow, P.P. and Terasmae, J. 1970. Pollen-bearing Sediments of the St. David's Buried Valley Fill at the Whirlpool, Niagara River Gorge, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 7: 539-542. Kemp, A.L.W. 1969. Organic Matter in the Sediments of Lakes Ontario and Erie. Proceedings of the Twelfth Conference on Great Lakes Research, 237-249. Kilborne Limited. 1977. Flood Plain Mapping of Twenty Mile Creek. Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. Kindle, E.M. and Taylor, F.B. 1913. Niagara Folio, United States Geological Survey, Washington. Kor, P.S.G, Shaw, J. and Sharpe, D.R. 1991. Erosion of Bedrock by Subglacial Meltwater, Georgian Bay, Ontario: A Regional View. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 28: 623-642. Lengelle, J.-G. 1970. Les bourrelets de congere de Luskville, Quebec. La Revue de Geographie de Montreal XXIV: 321-326. Lewis, C.F.M. and Anderson, T.W. 1989. Oscillations of Levels and Cool Phases of the Laurentian Great Lakes Caused by Inflows from Glacial Lakes Agassiz and Barlow-Ojibway. Journal ofPaleolimnology 2: 99-146. . 1992. Stable Isotope (O and C) and Pollen Trends in Eastern Lake Erie, Evidence for a Locally Induced Climatic Reversal of Younger Dryas Age in the Great Lakes Basin. Climate Change 6: 241-250. Libicki, C. and Bedford, K. W. 1990. Sudden, Extreme Lake Erie Strom Surges and the Interaction of Wind Stress, Resonance, and Geometry. Journal of Great Lakes Research 16: 380-395. L0ken, O.H. and Leahy, E.J. 1964. Small Moraines in Southeastern Ontario. The Canadian Geographers: 10-21. McKenzie, D.I., ed., 1990. Quaternary Environs of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Waterloo, Ontario: Escart Press. Morris, T.F. 1990. Lake Level History of Essex County, Southern Ontario. Abstracts, Canadian Association of Geographers (Ontario) and East Lakes Division of the Association of American Geographers, Joint Meeting, Brock University, 26. Moss, M.R. and Rosenfeld, C.L. 1978. Morphology, Mass Wasting and Forest Ecology of a Postglacial Re-entrant Valley in the Niagara Escarpment. Geografiska Annaler 60A: 161174. Nagy, B.R. 1992. Postglacial Paleoecology and Historical Disturbance of Wainfleet Bog, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario. MA thesis, University of Waterloo. Ongley, E.D. 1973. Sediment Discharge from Canadian Basins into Lake Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 10: 146-156. Pengelly, J.W. 1990a. Lake Erie Levels in the Northeastern Erie Basin and the Formation of Ephemeral Lake Wainfleet in Southern Niagara Peninsula during the Holocene Period. BA honours thesis, Department of Geography, Brock University.

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THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT . 1990b. Crown and Townline Sites: Pollen Profiles and Interpretation. Unpublished Internship report, Department of Geography, Brock University.

Philbrick, S.S. 1970. Horizontal Configuration and the Rate of Erosion of Niagara Falls. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 81: 3723-3732. Pluhar, A. and Ford, D.C. 1970. Dolomite Karren of the Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada. Zeitschriftfur Geomorphologie 14: 392-410. Shaw, J. and Gilbert, R. 1990. Evidence for Large-scale Subglacial Meltwater Events in Southern Ontario and Northern New York State. Geology 18: 1169-1172. Sly, P.G. and Prior, J.W. 1984. Late Glacial and Postglacial Geology in the Lake Ontario Basin. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 21: 802-821. Spencer, J.W.W. 1907. The Evolution of the Falls of Niagara. Canadian Geological Survey, Publication 970. . 1910. Interruption in the Flow of the Falls of Niagara, February 1909. Geological Association of America, Bulletin 21: 447-448. Stenson, R. 1989. Niagara Escarpment Karst. Unpublished paper, Department of Geography, McMaster University. Straw, A. 1966. Periglacial Mass Movement on the Niagara Escarpment near Meaford, Grey County, Ontario. Geographical Bulletin 8: 369-376. . 1968. Late Pleistocene Glacial Erosion along the Niagara Escarpment of Southern Ontario. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 79: 885-910. Taylor, KB. 1898. Origin of the Gorge of the Whirlpool Rapids at Niagara. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 21: 59-84. . 1913. The Moraine Systems of Southwestern Ontario. Canadian Institute Transactions 10: 57-79. Teller, J.T. 1990. Volume and Routing of Late-glacial Runoff from the Southern Laurentide Ice Sheet. Quaternary Research 34: 12-23. Teller, J.T. and Thorleifson, L.H. 1987. Catastrophic Flooding into the Great Lakes from Lake Agassiz. In Mayer, L. and Nash, D., eds., Catastrophic Flooding. London: Allen & Unwin, 121-138. Terasmae, J. 1980. Some Problems of Late Wisconsin History and Geochronology in Southeastern Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 17: 361-381. Tinkler, K.J. 1986. Canadian Landform Example-2 Niagara Falls. The Canadian Geographer 30: 367-71. . 1987. Niagara Falls 1750-1845: The Idea Of a History and the History of an Idea. Geomorphology 1: 69-85. . 1993. Field Guide to Niagara Peninsula and Niagara Gorge (3rd International Geomorphology Conference). Hamilton: McMaster University Printing Services, 24p.

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Tinkler, K.J. and Pengelly, J.W. 1990. Metres Matter: Lake Levels for Living Along the Erie Shoreline. Proceedings of the 12th Annual Niagara History Conference. . 1991. Protalus Ramparts along the Niagara Escarpment, Niagara Peninsula. Abstract, Periglacial Geomorphology, 22nd Binghamton Symposium, Buffalo, 26. . 1992. Rescue Geomorphology: A Lake Iroquois Wavecut Notch and a Buried Precolonisation Soil in Niagara Peninsula. The Operational Geographer 10 (4): 6-10. Tinkler, K.J. and Stenson, R.E. 1992. Sculpted Bedrock Forms along the Niagara Escarpment, Niagara Peninsula. Geographic Physique et Quaternaire 46: 195-207. Tinkler, K.J., Pengelly, J. W., Parkins, W.P. and Terasmae, J. 1992. Evidence for High Water Levels in the Erie Basin during the Younger Dryas Chronozone. Journal of Paleolimnology 7: 215-234. von Engeln, O.D. 1961. The Finger Lakes Region: Its Origin and Nature. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. Wright, G.F. 1902. The Rate of Lateral Erosion at Niagara. American Geologist 29: 140-143.

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3

Ideas in Transition: Some Perspectives on Landscape Evolution in the Niagara Peninsula John Menzies Geomorphologists have been trying to answer the what, where and when of things, but they have seldom tried to ask how. And they have never asked why. (Yatsu, 1966)

Repeated advances and retreats of the Lauren tide Ice Sheet across the Niagara Peninsula have left indelible imprints upon its landscape. Yet the details of the complex processes involved in the evolution of the landscape of the Peninsula during and immediately following the period of glaciation remain imprecisely understood. The Peninsula has been subject to glaciation throughout the Pleistocene but only sediments of the final advance and retreat of the ice in the Late-Wz'sconsinan remain visible in the landscape. It can be surmised that the bedrock topography reflects the repeated passage of perhaps as many as 17 separate major glacial advances and retreats and countless minor fluctuations of the ice margin as it crossed and re-crossed this part of Southern Ontario (see Fulton, 1984). A precise date as to when the Peninsula was first overrun by a continental-based ice sheet flowing from the general direction of the James Bay Lowlands is difficult to establish, but probably soon after 130,000-180,000 BP the Peninsula was glaciated (Vincent and Prest, 1987). After this time, the Glacial period was interrupted by several major warm interglacial periods, of several thousand years' duration, when ice again disappeared from the Peninsula and climatic conditions were as warm as, or warmer than, today. At other times ice retreated northward from the Peninsula but remained sufficiently close for a tundra-like environment to prevail. These shorter cold but ice-free periods, or interstadials, appear to have 53

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occurred repeatedly throughout the long history of glaciation in the Peninsula. The duration of such intervals in the Peninsula or their number can only be estimated. Sites in and around Southern Ontario where evidence, usually in the form of remains of organics or arctic fauna, has been discovered give clues as to the number of interstadials, but generally only during the Wisconsinan, the final phase of the Laurentide Ice Sheet covering the last 65,000 BP (Karrow and Calkin, 1985). Not until approximately 12,000 ± 500 BP was the Peninsula deglaciated and probably by 6,000 BP the Laurentide Ice Sheet finally disintegrated. The record in the Peninsula of the Glacial period is scanty and only deals with the final closing glacial episode. To the extent that it does exist, it consists of the sediments and landforms that constitute the present landscape of the Peninsula. As our knowledge of the processes of glacial action and deposition has increased over the past decade, so has the understanding of this final phase of glaciation in the Niagara Peninsula changed. What in the past seemed a reasonable explanation of glaciation in this region is now seen as inaccurate in certain details. Several sections in the sediments of the Peninsula appear to indicate a different scenario. Therefore our ideas are in a state of flux and are being continually revised as new information accumulates. The subject of this chapter deals with a major sediment exposure that has caused an important alteration in our thinking about the evolution of the landscape of the Niagara Peninsula.

Past Ideas on Glaciation of the Niagara Peninsula The glacial sediments of the Niagara Peninsula, as noted above, are a product of the final phase of the Late Wisconsinan Glaciation. By approximately 18,000 BP the Laurentide Ice Sheet had reached its final maximum extent (Figure 3.1). From that time onward the Ice Sheet was in major retreat with occasional minor short term readvances, and stillstands where moraines were built during its gradual decline. It is difficult to date exactly when the ice mass reached the southern edge of Lake Erie, but by 11,000 BP it is believed that the ice had reached the Niagara Peninsula (Calkin and Feenstra, 1985). Without organic evidence it is almost impossible to specify when the glacial sediments of the Peninsula were deposited. Tills at depth overlying bedrock may have been deposited during earlier phases of advancing ice while upper tills and stratified sediments would appear to be indicative of the later phase of ice activity in the Peninsula. Finally, the surface lacustrine laminated sediments that pervade large areas of the Lakes Erie and Ontario basins are the result of multiple glacial lake depositional phases in the immediate late- and post-glacial periods. As the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated into the Great Lakes Basin, a progressive period of ice lobe splitting took place in which contiguous but separate ice lobes of slightly faster or more active ice began to be 'controlled' to a degree by the underlying basin topography. Thus separate lobes, fed up-ice by the massive ice sheet, began

IDEAS IN TRANSITION

55

Figure 3.1 The approximate maximum extent of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Late Wisconsinan. (After Prest, 1984)

Figure 3.2

Retreat phases of the Erie/Ontario Ice Lobe. (After Barnett, 1985)

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to operate within Lakes Michigan, Huron and Erie (Figure 3.2). As ice retreated approximately beyond the present site of Detroit a further splitting began to occur in which the ice lobe split into a combined Erie/Ontario and Huron components within Southern Ontario. The ice margin in the eastern part of the Lake Erie basin then began retreating approximately east-northeast across present Essex and Lambton Counties (Dreimanis, 1977a, 1977b). By 13,600 BP the Erie/Ontario lobe had reached the Paris moraine in the area of Simcoe (Barnett, 1985; Figure 3.2). It was then assumed that as the ice entered the Peninsula it began a more eastward retreat, gradually swinging to the northeast and north as the Ontario Lobe and crossing the Niagara Escarpment where a short stillstand is marked by the Vinemount Moraine (Feenstra, 1982); and simultaneously the Erie Lobe retreated east into the vicinity of Hamburg and Buffalo, New York State, where a related stillstand is presumed to be indicated by the Hamburg Moraine (Dreimanis, 1977b; Muller, 1977). There are a series of implicit assumptions regarding many glacial processes and events in the Peninsula that need and deserve renewed investigation. Without doubt much of this retreating phase scenario for Southern Ontario appears to be essentially correct, on the basis of existing field data, except in the Niagara Peninsula, where several aspects of the phase warrant further inquiry: a) several linear deposits of glacial debris may or may not be retreat moraine positions; b) glacial sediments in the southern part of the Peninsula may indicate a different subglacial environment and therefore a different mode of depositional processes from what has been generally envisioned; c) the dynamics of 'actual' ice retreat across the Peninsula may be somewhat different from the accepted scenario; and d) the interplay of glacial impounded lakes and the fluctuations of the retreating ice front may be much more complex than has been previously supposed. There are several other problem aspects of glacial activity in the Peninsula that, although not touched upon in this chapter, still need to be addressed, for example, the evolution of Niagara Falls, the St. Davids buried channel, and the development of the Short Hills. Too often a scenario has been developed to fit into the schema of a wider glacial chronology, and as a consequence processes of glaciological dynamics and sedimentological formation of environments have been ignored or at least forgotten.

Evolving Ideas in Glacial Geomorphology: The Effect of a Paradigm Shift Sciences tend not to evolve their understanding of phenomena or powers of explanation in a gradual progressive process but rather by a series of 'leaps' or steps that are, at times, dramatic. The intervals between successive 'steps' are periods in which specific paradigms hold sway because the 'established' understanding is dominant. Following the benchmark work by Chapman and Putnam (1951) our understanding of glacial

IDEAS IN TRANSITION

Figure 3.3

57

Location of Mohawk Bay, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario.

events in Southern Ontario only slowly increased and evolved. Their work was part of an established paradigm of the time which persisted until the late nineteen-sixties, at which point new process-oriented field investigations at the margins of modern glaciers began to erode long-standing conceptions. Simultaneously, data from Antarctica and Greenland began to filter into modern ideas on Glacial Geomorphology and the early attempts at equating this information with Quaternary sediment sequences began. This new information on process and glaciodynamics continues today, but gradually a paradigm shift has taken place (see Boulton, 1986; Robin, 1986). This shift in paradigm is rather like a series of waves hitting a beach: it encroaches further in some places than elsewhere; it retreats in others where it cannot or does not apply; and it overwhelms yet other places, immersing past ideas so that new perspectives and ideas hold dominance. This process has occurred in Glacial Geomorphology, leading to a realization that as we try to understand certain phenomena in the Niagara Peninsula a totally new perspective is being brought to bear upon concepts, chronologies and depositional histories once implicitly accepted. In the re-evaluation of glacial sediments in the Niagara Peninsula a concentrated effort has begun to examine natural sediment exposures, especially those along the high shore bluffs of Lakes Ontario and Erie. As an illustration of the ongoing development of new concepts and 'ideas in transition' within the Peninsula, this chapter will consider

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one specific site on the north shore of Lake Erie in the Mohawk Bay area, lying between the village of Lowbanks and Rock Point Provincial Park (Figure 3.3).

Mohawk Bay The bluffs at Mohawk Bay first attracted attention as the site of a minor retreat 'moraine' located at the head of the Bay (see Feenstra, 1982). Two tills were reported to be exposed within the shore bluffs. Examination of these bluffs has led to a series of intriguing concepts and discoveries regarding possible subglacial or proximal subaquatic sedimentological environments (Menzies, 1990a, 1990b). Discussion in this chapter will consider the new interpretation of the 'moraine' and the 'tills'.

Regional setting The exposures at Mohawk Bay reveal a two-tiered sediment package of diamicton overlain by stratified sediments at the highest point along the bluff face (Figure 3.4). This highest point is the 'moraine' which extends back from the shore in a northnortheasterly direction dipping at approximately 10° into the overlying lacustrine muds. The glacigenic sediments at this site rest upon Middle and Lower Devonian limestones and dolostones. Both Mohawk and Rocky Points are small bedrock headlands of Middle Devonian Detroit River Group (Onondaga Formation), whereas the embayment occupied by Mohawk Bay is of the Lower Devonian Bois Blanc Formation. These two groups are separated by the Onondaga Escarpment which appears as a small, low-lying bedrock island (Mohawk Island) in the bay. The bedrock topography along this part of the Lake Erie shore reflects differential erosion into headlands and bays but additionally, at Mohawk Bay, an entrance to a deep bedrock valley (Erigan Channel) exists (Flint and Lolcama, 1986). This bedrock valley may account for the subdued bedrock relief of the Onondaga Escarpment at this point along the shore. Bedrock dips at less than 1° to the southwest; and only at the two headlands and on Mohawk Island is striated bedrock exposed. The sediments overlying bedrock can be subdivided into two major fades units: a) a lower highly deformed diamicton melange (12-21 m) containing many intraclasts (Unit A); and b) an upper, laterally discontinuous, unit (2-6 m) of stratified sediment (Unit B; Figure 3.4). At the head of Mohawk Bay lies the 'Port Maitland Moraine' ridge with a northeast-southwest orientation. The ridge is composed of Unit A diamicton melange with Unit B stratified sediments in its highest upper central section. The ridge rises to a maximum elevation of 30 m at the shore (Menzies, 1990a).

MOHAWK

Figure 3.4 1990a)

BAY

Stratigraphic sequence at Mohawk Bay from Mohawk Point west to beyond Rocky Point (9km). (After Menzies,

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The 'Moraine' at Mohawk Bay The 'moraine/ which has been called both the Tort Maitland Moraine' and the 'Mohawk Bay Moraine/ is oriented at almost 90° to the north shore of Lake Erie. The moraine was thought to have originated from a short stillstand by the generally eastward retreating Erie Ice Lobe during the Two Creeks Interstadial, at approximately 13,000 BP (Chapman and Putnam, 1951; Karrow and Terasmae, 1970; St. Jacques and Rukavina, 1973; Dreimanis, 1977a, 1977b; Fullerton, 1980; Feenstra, 1982; Calkin and Feenstra, 1985; Figure 3.1). New evidence in the form of till fabrics from the lower part of the ridge and palaeocurrent flow directions of stratified sediment in the upper central section of the ridge indicate instead a flow direction toward the south-southwest. The implication of this evidence is that the ridge, instead of transversing the ice direction, was probably formed parallel to ice flowing from the north-northeast across the Peninsula. If this is so, the origin of the ridge becomes problematic and the feature does not appear to be part of the series of moraines that have in'the past been used as indicators or 'footprints' of ice retreat in this part of Southern Ontario. The ridge may instead be a mega-flute or isolated drumlin of complex origin and formed subglacially (see Barnsley, 1985). The implications for this differing origin are twofold: if this ridge is not a moraine, then a) the glacial chronology for this part of the Peninsula and Southern Ontario requires re-assessment; and further, b) the glaciological conditions at the time of formation of this ridge are vastly different from what has been previously perceived.

The 'Tills' at Mohawk Bay Examination of the tills along the shore bluffs of Mohawk Bay soon showed that the standard explanation for the deposition of the tills would not suffice. It was also apparent that the tills themselves were not necessarily of terrigenous origin but might be subaquatic: therefore the term diamicton was used instead. In logging the diamictons, complex intraclast structures and other microstructures were discovered that necessitated a different method of description and investigation. Two main problems presented themselves; first, the diamictons were not capable of differentiation into what had previously been regarded as a basal terrigenous two till sequence; and secondly, the number and diversity of intraclasts and other microstructures had to be logged as a major part of the stratigraphic sequence. Eyles and Eyles (1983) had developed, from work done by Miall on fluvial sediment sequences, an objective method of stratal description that avoided genetic nomenclature and taxonomy in the field description. This method had already been adopted successfully by many workers in glacial sedimentology. However, despite its inherent usefulness, the method did not reveal to a sufficient degree the diversity existing at Mohawk Bay. For some months, the seemingly chaotic sediments defied description until a new concept, that

IDEAS IN TRANSITION

61

of melange was used. The sequence of sediments in the Mohawk Bay area resembles the 'block-in-matrix' Type III melange described by Cowan (1985). The use of the term 'melange' indicates that deformation or massive ductility has occurred in order that the melange be created. Diamicton Melange. The concept that diamictons are homogeneous, monolithic sediments has long since been abandoned. Diamictons are diverse in particle size distribution, provenance, and mode of deposition, and in micro- and macro-structures (e.g. Evenson et al., 1983; Kujansuu and Saarnisto, 1987; van der Meer, 1987; Goldthwait and Matsch, 1989; N. Eyles et al., 1989; Rappol et al., 1989). The diamicton exposed along this part of the north shore is complex in origin, being part of a diamicton/sand intraclast melange (Figure 3.4). Near the base of the bluff extending below the present lake level to bedrock is a heavily deformed massive diamicton with streaks of both red (2.5YR4/6 [Munsell Colours]) and brownish-grey (5YR5/2) clay diamicton (Subunit Adf), containing a few striated clasts. This diamicton extends to various levels within Unit A and contains many intraclasts. Barnsley (1985) noted that there seemed to be a tendency for 'undeformed' intraclasts to occur at higher levels in this unit with deformed intraclasts occurring in greater percentage nearer its base. This spatial separation of deformed and undeformed intraclasts was not observed by the present writer. In other places above and within Subunit Adf a reddish-brown (5YR5/4) diamicton (Subunit Adm) is found that is massive over small areas of the section. This subunit also contains sand intraclasts and has a higher striated clast content than Subunit Adf. Finally, along the flanks of the ridge at the head of Mohawk Bay is a reddish-yellow (7.5YR6/6) sandy deformed diamicton (Subunit Adfr) with occasional sand intraclasts and a similar clast content to Subunit Adm. Clasts in all diamictons are relatively few in number and, as noted above, striated and with a provenance distribution reflecting both local and distant sources (45% Salina, 38% Guelph, 7% Precambrian and 10% Unknown). Grain size composition of the diamictons is shown in Figure 3.5. Within the diamicton are a large number of macro- and micro-structures; the largest of these structures are the many sand intraclasts. Surrounding these intraclasts are aureoles of intensely breccia fed circumjacent diamicton (Menzies,1990a). The sand intraclasts range in size from a few centimetres square to over 10 m2 and extend from a few centimetres to 1-4.5 m into the bluff face. The gross shapes of the intraclasts vary considerably; a subrounded to subangular shape is the most prevalent. Other intraclasts appear as angular slabs and yet others as cuboid in outline. Grain size composition within the intraclasts is variable (Figure 3.5). Distributions of grain size in all intraclasts examined were monomodal, indicative of a high sorting coefficient. Many intraclasts contain small pellet-sized inclusions of clay or silt balls, and in several instances streaks and infilled fissures of clay can be observed. In several intraclasts an increase in silt and clay-sized particles can be observed as the

62

Figure 3.5

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Grain size distribution within diamictons and intraclasts, Mohawk Bay.

contact with the encompassing diamicton is approached. No clasts occur within these intraclast sediments. Internal structures observed within the intraclasts can be subdivided into a) primary and b) secondary forms, although several intraclasts appear to exhibit no structures and are massive: a) as noted above, many intraclasts have well-developed and undisturbed cross-stratification—examples of climbing ripples, tabular cross-beds, trough cross-beds and planar beds can be found within the intraclasts; b) two major structures occur within the intraclasts; first, clay infilled veins or fissures and secondly, a geometry of fissures and faults, both unfilled, are found in many intraclasts. The unfilled fissures and faults occur at two scales. The larger sets cross cut the intraclasts in many instances and appear traceable into the surrounding brecciated diamicton. The faults are found to be offset by 4-6 cm. A second set of fissures and faults are of a smaller scale and occur at various random orientations throughout many intraclasts. The latter set of faults are particularly apparent where they cross-cut clay infilled veins with a displacement distance of 1-2 cm. Both sets of faults would seem to be normal or reverse slip faults. In some cases the intraclasts appear to have been "cracked open" and subsequently infilled by clays. In some instances the infilled fissures have been pinched out due to later differential movement resulting in micro-scale boudinage structures within the clays. Contacts between the intraclasts and circumjacent diamicton are, in general, sharp and irregular. In some places contacts can be observed which are gradational, with a contact comprising discrete inter-layered units of sand and diamicton (Cowan, 1985; Talbot and Von Brunn, 1987); whilst in other locations small load structures and intru-

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sive units were noted. All of these contacts differ from typical sediment stratigraphic boundaries in being roughly spheroidal. In many cases the intraclast blocks, based upon the attitude of the cross-stratification, appear to have been either tilted or rotated (Plate 3.1). However, it is impossible to tell whether these blocks have been turned on edge or end in one or following repeated events. The spheroidal nature of many of the blocks is a further indication of their re-orientation and/or transposition from in situ depositional positions. Eight clast fabrics (25 clasts each) were obtained from diamicton surrounding two intraclasts. Four fabrics were taken around each intraclast, all within 0.25-0.75 m of the intraclast/diamicton contact. The fabrics were taken using standard procedures as described by Lawson (1979), Dowdeswell et al. (1985) and Rappol (1985), inter alia. Only prolate clasts (axial ratios—b:a < 2 : 3; c:b > 2 : 3) were measured and subsequently plotted and contoured on Schmidt equal-area nets (Figure 3.6). As well as 'undeformed' sand intraclasts, many small lenses and pods of sands and gravel are found within the diamicton melange. Smears and clay boudins occur throughout, and due to apparent slight lithological differences in the clay content of the diamicton, a 'striped' appearance is often observed within diamicton units. This 'striped' effect allows large folds and contortions to be noted (Plate 3.2). The most significant structure within the diamicton units are brecciated zones of diamicton found surrounding most sand intraclasts (see Menzies, 1990a). These structures exist as aureoles around the intraclasts and extend from the sand/diamicton contact for approximately 50-65 cm. The intensity of brecciation decreases away from the contact where individual breccia may be less than 3 cm2 to the outer zone where individuals are greater than 12 cm2. The brecciated diamicton is defined by three sets of fissures none of which penetrate into the sand intraclasts. This view of the Mohawk Bay area sediments in which the diamictons described above are considered to be part of a melange sequence, implies that both the intraclasts and the diamicton have been involved in a major process of pervasive mobility. In this process it can be assumed that the intraclasts have suffered fragmentation into competent bodies of sand that have been subsequently incorporated en masse and transposed within a ductile melange (see Johnson, 1984). Interpretation of Diamicton Melange. Before considering the origin of the melange, we must point out that the diamicton and the intraclasts are intrinsically linked by a multi-stage process of derivation and deposition. This view implies that both the intraclasts and diamicton have been involved in a major process of pervasive mobility. In this process it can be assumed that the intraclasts have suffered fragmentation into competent bodies of sand that have been subsequently incorporated en masse and transposed within a ductile melange (see Johnson, 1984). Since no sand strata occur beneath the diamicton/sand melange, it can be further assumed that the

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N

c

Plate 3.1 Intraclasts til ted/rotated to near vertical within melange — staff scale in 5 cm bands. (Photo: J. Menzies)

Plate 3.2 "Banded" or "striped" nature of diamicton, usually of contrasting colours within matrix — staff scale in 5 cm bands. (Photo: J. Menzies)

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Figure 3.6 Plots on Schmidt equal-area projections of clast fabric data taken at 4 sites around each of two intraclasts. (After Menzies, 1990c)

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sand composing the intraclasts is of exotic provenance and may be from several diverse sources and origins. The diamicton units may be of three types: a) Type A: re-mobilized primary sediments such as melt-out or lodgement tills; b) Type B: sediments formed penecontemporaneousJy with the mobilization process; or c) Type C: a combination of both A and B sediment-type groups. 1. Diamictons:

The diamicton part of the melange is matrix-supported but varies from being massive and unbedded to exhibiting finely bedded structures, fissility and indications of banding and crude lamination. Clasts are typically striated and of both local and distant origin. In attempting to assign an origin to this diamicton several different lines of inquiry were followed: clast fabric analyses, sediment facies associations and structures, and micromorphological examination (for details the reader is referred to Menzies, 1990c). The clast fabric data (Figure 3.6) present an intriguing range that leads to no obvious correlation with comparable data (see Dowdeswell et al., 1985; Dowdeswell and Sharp, 1986). The eight fabrics taken from around the sand intraclasts exhibit such a wide range of distributional types that no specifically recognized primary depositional process could be assigned. The Mohawk fabrics appear to be strongly distorted or disturbed, probably as a result of the brecciation process. Any interpretation must therefore attempt to explain this disturbance. Interpretation of the fabric data, if operator error and the small statistical sample population are discounted, inclines toward two possibilities. Firstly, the diamicton around the sand intraclasts may have been severely deformed as a result of the intrusion of the sand body into saturated diamicton; or secondly, the diamicton, in a mobile state, may have enveloped the sand body, thus deforming around the intraclast while the total package continued moving. In either case the diamicton fabric would appear to indicate a strong deformational phase perhaps prior to final deposition, or immediately following deposition, when the diamicton may have had a sufficiently high porewater content (see Boulton, 1971; Lawson, 1979). Direct comparison with fabric data described and interpreted in the literature therefore may be spurious. All the existing published data would appear to reflect varying unknown degrees of deformation of diamictons after primary deposition; whereas in the Mohawk Bay area evidence would suggest that the diamicton may be formed as a combination of remobilized primary tills and newly-formed fraction layer sediments that in combined deformation have been immobilized directly from an active deforming traction layer. The likely deformation would seem to have been sufficiently pervasive and of such high strain rates that any recognition of primary modes of deposition prior to mobilization would be almost impossible. The categorization of this kind of deformation is not that reported in the literature; the scatter of fabric data and the range of dip angles,

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plus the lack of any specific resemblance to known primary or secondary deformed tills, suggest that the diamicton in the Mohawk Bay area is of an origin best described as one in which deformation has played a key role in the incorporation, entrainment and depositional processes. A final conclusion from examination of the fabric data is that this diamicton has suffered sufficiently high strain that an earlier primary origin cannot be assigned. In the interpretation of the sediment associations and relevant structures in the Mohawk Bay area, it is important to put this particular site in the context of recently advanced views of suspected ice conditions further west along the north shore of Lake Erie prior to and during the probable period when the sediments in the Mohawk Bay area were deposited. Evidence west of this site, 80-100km along the north shore of Lake Erie, would seem to indicate that the Lake Erie Ice Lobe in the vicinity of the present shore line was partially or totally floating within a deep proglacial lake (Evenson et al., 1977; Gibbard, 1980; Dreimanis, 1983; Dreimanis et al., 1987). It would appear likely therefore that during the late phase of the Port Huron Stadial this grounded or partially grounded ice lobe retreated eastward toward the Mohawk Bay area and the eastern Lake Erie Basin. It is therefore necessary to consider the possible origin of the diamicton unit of the melange in the Mohawk Bay area within the context of the nearby glaciolacustrine and associated subglacial environments described above. At the site under investigation there was no evidence of dropstones, bedded or reworked horizons, rhythmites or other structures suggestive of subaquatic facies conditions (Evenson et al., 1977; Dreimanis et al., 1987; Dowdeswell et al., 1985; C. Eyles et al., 1985; Brodzikowski and Van Loon, 1987; N. Eyles et al., 1989). This apparent negative evidence can be used to argue against the diamicton being subaquatic in origin, but it must be balanced by the possibility of a subaquatic diamicton undergoing post-depositional deformation while still having a high water content, and therefore displaying sedimentological characteristics indicative of non-aquatic subglacial facies being overprinted, and subaquatic facies being disrupted or totally destroyed (Lawson, 1979, 1982; Domack, 1983; Domack and Lawson, 1985; Dowdeswell et al., 1985; C. Eyles et al., 1985; Moncrieff and Hambrey, 1988). One aspect of the diamicton units which would appear to have a bearing not on the primary origin of the diamicton but upon the melange as a whole is the sedimentological association between the diamicton and the sand intraclasts. The contacts are most often sharp, but occasional gradational and intrusive contacts were noted. Related to this is the contact zone around each sand intraclast where brecciated diamicton is usually found. This brecciated zone has been discussed elsewhere in some detail (Menzies, 1990a). An origin for the breccia has been suggested, associated with cryostatic stresses developed at the contact interface between the sand bodies and the diamicton subsequent to the incorporation of frozen sand units into a deforming diamicton melange within a polythermal subglacial environment. If this concept of

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brecciation is accepted, it would appear that the likely environment for the deposition of the melange, in its final form, is beneath a terrigenous ice mass. In the case of this latter group pre-existing structures, clast fabric distributions and other sediment characteristics that have withstood subsequent deformation processes may have been inherited by the final deposited melange. Other attributes of the primary sediments may still exist but in a disturbed or deranged format. It is probable therefore that the melange was deposited 'ready formed' (Talbot and Von Brunn, 1987). 2. Sand Intraclasts: Discussion of the origin of the sand intraclasts involves two separate aspects: a) the primary origin of the sand, and b) the origin of the sand bodies within the diamicton melange: a) As previously indicated it is possible that the sands which form the sand intraclasts may be of diverse origin and provenance, having been entrained within the melange at different times and locations. Nevertheless, the sands appear to have been primarily deposited within a strongly fluctuating flow regime, at times supercritical, possibly of subglacial, proximal subaquatic orproglacial origin (Allen, 1982). The deficiency of clasts within the sand bodies might indicate that they were deposited originally in an open channel in proglacial or proximal subaquatic areas, or within deep water-filled subglacial conduits. This does not preclude a subglacial origin but would indicate that these sands, if they were subglacial, were possibly part of a thick sequence of glaciofluvial sediments. Since no sands exist beneath the melange, it can be assumed that the sands were derived from elsewhere; in this instance presumably up-flow of the Mohawk Bay area. b) The origin of the sand intraclasts within the melange can be considered from two viewpoints: i) primary formation or ii) secondary incorporation within a melange. Before we comment upon intraclast origin, several structural interpretations can be made which shed light upon which process of formation is the most likely. The fissures and faults within the sand intraclasts can be separated according to time of development. It would appear that the smaller secondary fissures predate the large scale fissures since cross-cutting relationships of small fissures displaced by the larger set are observed within the intraclasts. The large fissures penetrate the brecciated diamicton and would seem therefore to be related to the brecciation process. It is thought that the smaller fissures were formed as a result of stress application to the already fragmented sand bodies (presumably during transposition) since, if the fissures were from the phase of primary deposition, it might be expected that they would, at least, extend to the margins of the intraclasts and not be confined within each discrete body. The larger fissures cannot be ascribed to a primary origin. They are clearly traceable into the surrounding diamicton and are obviously related to the process of brecciation, which occurred as a post-melange formation process.

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Other structures such as micro-faults, infilled veins and boudins appear to be the result of stress application during transposition of the intraclasts or following melange development. In several cases infilling of fissures (some of which are large enough to give the impression that the sand intraclasts have been "cracked open") can be traced to the contact with the diamicton and clearly demonstrates the process occurred after the intraclasts were emplaced within the melange but still during a period of stress application and high porewater content. Since sands are inherently cohesionless and incompetent, stress application might be expected to have caused major disruption. The fact that this has not occurred may be explained by confinement of the sand intraclast by diamicton, or by freezing of the intraclasts after emplacement within the melange. Finally, in considering the contact between the diamicton unit and the sand intraclasts, it is apparent that the shape and integrity of the two sediments indicates immiscibility between the sediments and possibly the effects of rotation during transposition. A further critical point is the apparent ability of the sands to have remained undeformed within what appears to have been an extremely high strain environment. These structures within the sand intraclasts tend to indicate that the sands are not sediments which have suffered secondary deformation in situ but have probably been moved by a process of erosive fragmentation, enfrainmenf and emplacement within the diamicton melange. In the entrainment and/or early emplacement the intraclasts appear to have suffered considerable deformation but insufficient to disrupt the bodies completely, perhaps due to their confinement or frozen state (Menzies, 1990c). Two possible explanations for this survivability seem likely. First, if the sands were sufficiently confined, retention of structural integrity may have been possible. Secondly, if the sands were frozen, they would have been of a much stronger than normal shear strength and would have allowed some fracture without total destruction. Of the two possibilities, given the apparent environment within which the sands existed, the latter explanation seems the most likely. It is difficult from the foregoing discussion to propose a primary in situ origin for the sand intraclasts. It is possible, however, that the intraclasts could be part of a subglacial or proximal subaquatic lithofacies sequence in which diamictons and glaciofluvial sediments have been deposited penecontemporaneously. This lithofacies sequence could subsequently have been deformed by mobilization over relatively short distances, followed by stacking of the sediment package, thereby preserving the sand bodies in a relatively intact state and in a thick sequence (see N. Eyles et al., 1983; N. Eyles and Miall, 1984; McCabe et al., 1987; Lunkka, 1988). The flaw in this argument is two-fold: the deformed and 'slurried' nature of the diamicton indicative of massive strain under high porewater conditions, and the intrusion of the intraclasts into the melange and the subsequent brecciation

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of diamicton circumjacent to the sand intraclasts. Both aspects would suggest that deformation and sand intraclast emplacement occurred as part of primary formation of the melange and not as secondary phenomena. 3. Melange: The explanations for the origin of the intraclasts as a result of secondary incorporation within a melange also coincidently endeavour to explain the development of the melange. There are four possible interpretations for the origin of the melange: a) a remobilized single or stacked sequence of melt-out sediments; b) a sequence of intrusive and extrusive melange units; c) a melange due to glaciotectonic processes; and d) a melange developed under deformable bed conditions. a) Related to a subglacial origin is the possibility that the intraclasts and diamicton could be part of an in situ melt-out sequence (e.g. Shaw, 1982; Dreimanis, 1988). If this were the case, certain specific structures typical of melt-out might be expected to be present. Their absence, however, could be explained by secondary subsequent mobilization following primary deposition and associated destruction of type features. If this latter set of processes had occurred, it would seem necessary for such a thick package of sediments to have undergone repeated episodic mobilization since the sequence is too thick for a single deformation phase to penetrate from the upper surface of the sediment set to its basal zones (Rappol, 1987; Wateren, 1987). Such a sequence of events seems unnecessarily intricate and unwarranted. If a melt-out sequence had developed over an extensive area of the glacier bed, it might be possible that, following remobilization, large sections of the melt-out sediments could have been eroded and entrained into a deforming traction layer. If such a layer began immobilizing from the base upward (Boulton and Hindmarsh, 1987; Menzies, 1989; Hart et al., 1990), a stacked sequence of deformed melt-out sediments could form. In order to re-mobilize a primary deposited sediment package, massive porewater injection may be necessary, causing the bulk of the sediment to have a low effective stress level and low viscosity. There is no sedimentological evidence in the form of structures or other attributes that indicate these sediments were first deposited and then remobilized. b) In describing a complex melange sequence from the Permo-Carboniferous Dwyka Formation, Talbot and Von Brunn (1987) showed that episodic hydraulic pumping due to tidal movement and the rise and fall of a periodically grounding ice mass led to the development of a melange sequence in a proximal subaquatic environment. The process of melange formation resulted from hydraulic intrusion along bedding planes and other stratigraphic discontinuities leading to injection and disruption of the primary sequence. Simultaneously, extrusion of pressurized porewater under tidal gradients led to further disruption of the strata and melange development. As noted above, evidence from west of the Mohawk Bay area suggests that the ice margin in this region was closely coupled to fluctuating lake levels and in specific

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instances a floating ice margin probably existed. If such environmental conditions occurred at Mohawk Bay, then melange formation by the process outlined by Talbot and Von Brunn needs consideration. Two arguments can be considered that oppose this hypothesis of melange formation. First, it would appear that the events in the Dwyka Formation were on a micro-scale; thus, it seems unlikely this process could have formed the melange sequence in the Mohawk Bay area. Secondly, the melange in the Dwyka was composed of angular intraclast fragments due to the method of fragmentation and limited distance of transport; whereas those in the Mohawk Bay area are of vast size in comparison and are sub-rounded to rounded in outline, probably as a result of transport over some distance. c) Glaciotectonism is a process often invoked to explain seemingly chaotic stratigraphic sequences (see van der Meer, 1987; Aber et al., 1989). The validity of this hypothesis as an explanation of the melange in the Mohawk Bay area can be considered on several levels. First, since the sand in the intraclasts does not exist beneath the sequence and is therefore of exotic origin, in situ glaciotectonism seems precluded. Secondly, even if a form of glaciotectonism is used to explain the Mohawk melange, considerable lateral transposition of the sediments has occurred and an explanation for the displacement still has to be found. Finally, if glaciotectonism did occur on the scale necessary to develop the whole sediment package, a greater degree of disruption in the form of intrusive structures, large-scale faulting and folding might have been expected. That a form of glaciotectonism has taken place in the Mohawk Bay area seems certain; only the extent and primary importance of such processes is questioned (Lunkka, 1988; Hart et al., 1990). d) The evidence from Mohawk Bay seems to be best explained as indicative of a melange forming under deformable glacier bed conditions. This concept introduces a new paradigm that is at present in the very early stages of development and acceptance within the glacial 'community' of scientists. It is a radical departure within the established science. A deformable bed or debris traction layer beneath an ice mass has been discussed in detail elsewhere (Alley et al., 1986; Boulton and Hindmarsh, 1987; Menzies, 1989). Such a layer moves as a Bingham visco-plastic material in response to external applied stresses imparted by the overlying active ice mass. The controlling variables that influence the rheology of this layer are the level of applied stress, and the material's strain rate, yield strength, and internal viscosity. These latter parameters are, in part, controlled by the nature of the material's grain size, level of consolidation and ultimately its porewater content (Echelmeyer and Wang, 1987; Menzies, 1989). It is thought that such conditions are likely to occur beneath fast moving outlet glaciers and ice streams (Alley et al., 1986; Beget, 1987; Brown et al., 1987). The thickness of this layer will vary according to the level of applied

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stress and the material's viscosity, which in turn will be controlled by the porewater content. When stress levels or porewater content increase, areas of the substrate previously immobile may become entrained and incorporated within the mobile layer, so that erosion of the underlying bed occurs. Under polythermal bed conditions certain areas of the bed may be frozen (H-bed state) while others remain thawed (M-bed state); therefore, with the passage of a deformable bed across the substrate, frozen and unfrozen fragments of the bed may be included and mixed within the traction layer prior to later immobilization and deposition (for a detailed discussion of Subglacial Bed States see Menzies, 1989). It is suggested here that the melange at Mohawk Bay may be explained by recourse to a model of subglacial deformable bed conditions. However, it is possible that a similar melange-type sequence of events could take place within a subaquatic proximal environment where a prograding ramp and associated high porewater content within the sediment would act to allow down slope movement of the sediment sequence. This possibility has been considered for the Mohawk Bay area where a similar style of environment has been suggested. Two likely obstacles, however, to this explanation are: i) the lack of evidence of a prograding ramp at Mohawk Bay, and ii) the improbability of a massive deformation of such a sequence within this type of environment (Benn, 1989). Without question melange development in such an environment is possible but probably by movement of thin layers of sediment stacking upon each other and forming a melange over an extended time period. A radically new sequence of events thought to explain the development of the diamicton melange is suggested below: 1. The intraclast sediments were probably deposited up-ice at an earlier period within a proglacial, proximal subaquatic or subglacial environment where a rapid but variable flow regime dominated sedimentological processes. 2. At a later stage these sediments were probably frozen in situ. 3. The sediments, if not subglacial already, were then overrun by glacier ice within a polythermal basal ice regime and subsequently by a deformable bed layer largely composed of diamicton material. 4. At this stage, under M-bed conditions, it is presumed that erosion and entrainment of fragments of the sediments occurred, causing 'rip-up' clasts to be introduced and dispersed within the mobile debris layer and the 'block-in-matrix' melange to be developed. 5. During transport within the melange some intraclasts may have been totally destroyed, while others suffered varying degrees of disruption through external stress application by the confining melange debris. Frozen blocks may have been broken open and the clay-filled veins formed at this time or immediately following immobilization. Micro-faults and boudins may also have been formed during this

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period of transport or again immediately following melange deposition. The evidence of high strain rates should not be construed as indicating that sand bodies would all be destroyed. It has been demonstrated (Maltman, 1987,1988) that in heavily sheared clays a form of non-pervasive shear occurs in which discrete zones within the shearing material carry the major shear planes while other zones remain unaffected. 6. These rafted sand intraclasts probably remained frozen until some time following deposition of the debris layer. 7. With deceleration of the melange due to a reduction in applied stress and/or porewater content, deposition of the melange took place.

Implications and Perspectives Research into the Mohawk Bay sediments has been an ongoing, long-term project in which new ideas and concepts have been introduced and utilized in an attempt to explain the complex sediment package exposed within the shore bluffs. As these explanations have been formulated, a radical departure from past paradigms has emerged. The new paradigms illustrate the transitory nature of a developing science and the spreading impact such theoretical shifts have upon all past accepted and established ideas. A development of this kind demands the re-evaluation of all past concepts and 'truths' in the endless search for 'better' explanations. Two aspects of the paradigm shifts that have emerged from this work have been the impact upon: 1) glacial events and environments within the Niagara Peninsula; and 2) the wider sphere of glacial processes and sedimentary environments: 1. If subglacial deformable beds existed in this part of the Niagara Peninsula and were instrumental in the development and deposition of the glacial melange at Mohawk Bay, then several critical implications for this part of Southern Ontario flow from this new explanation while other questions are raised for future research: a) It is apparent that moraines within Southern Ontario need to be examined in some detail internally rather than mapped as evidence of ice marginal stillstands on the basis of morphology and presumed orientation. b) The study of the sediments at Mohawk Bay must involve a much more detailed examination of the role of lake levels, and the interaction between lake level fluctuations and ice masses, as elements in the interplay between terrigenous and subaquatic sedimentological environments in this part of Ontario. It needs to be considered just how influential are lake levels on ice mass velocities, ice stream and lobe development, and short- and long-term ice advance and retreat in the Region. c) The new explanation for this section of the Peninsula raises questions regarding the general style of glacial activity in the Peninsula as a whole, especially with

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reference to ice movement and possible deposition across and at the up- and down-ice edges of the Niagara Escarpment. If similar conditions prevailed as at Mohawk Bay then the glacial depositional history of the Short Hills, for example, needs to be re-evaluated. d) A final consequence of this work is fresh emphasis on the necessity for careful reconstruction of glacial events and sediment origins based upon a sedimentological understanding that takes full account of fundamental glaciodynamics. 2. From analyses of the Mohawk Bay site several interesting implications for glacial sedimentology and stratigraphic interpretations in general have emerged: a) At present little research has been done in glacial studies with regard to the recognition and characterization of glacial melange sediments. The recognition of such sediment sequences has important ramifications for the interpretation of glacial stratigraphy and for the understanding of glacial environments. b) Considerable care must be exercised in the interpretation of clast fabrics from possible melange diamictons. It is apparent that diamictons within a melange may exhibit a wide range of fabric characteristics, and that statistical analyses may erroneously identify sediment types or, due to disruption, accidently replicate known primary sediment fabrics. c) Support for the recognition of deformable beds cannot be obtained from one method of data collection or one sedimentological characteristic. However, it is possible to identify deformable bed sediments on the basis of sedimentary facies associations and evidence of high strain rates throughout a sequence in the form of macro- and micro-structures. It would seem probable that all deformable bed sediment sequences have characteristics similar to melanges but, as noted above, not all melange units need be evidence of deformable bed states. d) Not all intraclasts within diamictons can be regarded as evidence of deformable bed conditions, but such an interpretation needs to be considered in explaining undeformed, cohesionless intraclasts within thick clayey diamicton units. e) Care must also be exercised in the interpretation of melt-out and glaciotectonic sediment packages. f) The most general implication of this work is that ice masses in this part of Canada during the Late Wisconsinan Laurentide Glaciation were polythermally based, probably of high velocity in their marginal areas with a low surface gradient, and often overlying active deformable beds. This single 'implication' has enormous repercussions throughout glacial studies that will take years of renewed research to evaluate and incorporate into a new paradigm for Glacial Geomorphology. In time this paradigm may become altered even to the point of abandonment, as fresh data and our comprehension of the mechanics of glacial deposition improves and refines, eventually leading to the adoption of an innovative and even more explanatory paradigm.

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g) It must be concluded that without such a paradigm shift, possible explanations of these sediments would have become mired in untestable hypotheses that left more unexplained than explained. But, for the moment, as with all such radical changes, a new and exciting realm of science opens up, leading on to the next stage in the extension of the frontiers of our understanding of this part of Canada and of Glacial Geomorphology as a whole. If any doubts have ever existed as to the vitality and future development of Glacial Geomorphology and to the maturity of this branch of science, the evolving ideas described in this chapter should remove them.

Acknowledgments This chapter is the collation of the results of several field seasons of research to which many people have contributed. I thank the many groups of students and colleagues who have travelled to Mohawk Bay and have contributed in no small way to my thinking and ideas. Also, I acknowledge with gratitude my wife, T. Virginia Menzies, for her constant help in editing and her advice and counsel. To all the other individuals who have helped in both small and important aspects, I extend my deep appreciation.

References Aber, J.S., Croot, D.G. and Fenton, M.M. 1989. Glaciotectonic Land/arms and Structures. Dordecht: Kluwer. Allen, J.R.L. 1982. Sedimentary Structures. 2 volumes. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Alley, R.B., Blankenship, D.D., Bentley, C.R. and Rooney, S.T. 1986. Deformation of Till beneath Ice Stream B, West Antarctica. Nature 322: 57-59. Barnett, P.J. 1985. Glacial Retreat and Lake Levels, North-Central Lake Erie Basin, Ontario. In Karrow, P.P. & Calkin, P.E., eds., Quaternary Evolution of the Great Lakes. Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 30: 185-194. Barnsley, J.A. 1985. A Sedimentological Study of the Glacigenic Deposits at Mohawk Bay, near Dunnville, Ontario. Unpublished MSc. thesis, Brock University. Beget, J.E. 1987. Low Profile of the Northwest Laurentide Ice Sheet. Arctic and Alpine Research 19: 81^88. Benn, D.I. 1989. Controls on Sedimentation in a Late Devesian Ice-dammed Lake, Achnasheen, Scotland. Boreas 18: 31^2. Boulton, G.S. 1971. Till Genesis and Fabric in Svalbard, Spitsbergen. In Goldthwait, R.P., ed., Till: A Symposium. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press, 41-72. . 1986. Geophysics —A Paradigm Shift in Glaciology. Nature 322: 18.

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Boulton, G.S. and Hindmarsh, R.C.A. 1987. Sediment Deformation Beneath Glaciers: Rheology and Geological Consequences. Journal of Geophysical Research 92, B9: 9059-9082. Brodzikowski, K. and Van Loon, A.J. 1987. A Systematic Classification of Glacial and Periglacial Environments, Facies and Deposits. Earth Science Reviews 24: 297-381. Brown, N.E., Hallet, B. and Booth, D.B. 1987. Rapid Soft Bed Sliding of the Puget Glacial Lobe. Journal of Geophysical Research 92, B9: 8985-8998. Calkin, P.E. and Feenstra, B.H. 1985. Evolution of the Erie-Basin Great Lakes. In Karrow, P.F. and Calkin, P.E., eds., Quaternary Evolution of the Great Lakes. Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 30: 149-70. Chapman, L.J. and Putnam, D.F. 1951. The Physiography of Southern Ontario. 1st ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Cowan, D.S. 1985. Structural Styles in Mesozoic and Cenozoic Melanges in the Western Cordillera of North America. Geological Society of America Bulletin 96: 451-462. Domack, E.W. 1983. Facies of Late Pleistocene Glacial-Marine Sediments on Whidbey Island, Washington: An Isostatic Glacial-Marine Sequence. In Molnia, B.F., ed., Glacial-Marine Sedimentation. New York: Plenum Press, 535-570. Domack, E.W. and Lawson, D.E. 1985. Pebble Fabric in an Ice-rafted Diamicton. Journal of Geology 93: 577-591. Dowdeswell, J.A., Hambrey, M.J. and Wu, Riutang. 1985. A Comparison of Clast Fabric and Shape in Late Precambrian and Modern Glacigenic Sediments. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 55: 691-704. Dowdeswell, J. A. and Sharp, M. 1986. Characterisation of Pebble Fabrics in Modern Terrestrial Glacigenic Sediments. Sedimentology 33: 699-710. Dreimanis, A. 1977a. Correlation of Wisconsin Glacial Events between the Eastern Great Lakes and the St Lawrence Lowlands. Geographic Physique et Quaternaire 31: 37-51. . 1977b. Late Wisconsin Glacial Retreat in the Great Lakes Region, North America. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 288: 70-89. . 1983. Penecontemporaneous Partial Disaggregation and/or Resedimentation during the Formation and Deposition of Subglacial Till. Ada Geologica Hispanica 18: 153-60. . 1988. Tills: Their Genetic Terminology and Classification. In Goldthwait, R.P & Matsch, C.L., eds., Genetic Classification of Glacigenic Deposits. Rotterdam: Balkema, 1784. Dreimanis, A., Hamilton, J.P. and Kelly, P.E. 1987. Complex Subglacial Sedimentation of Catfish Creek Till at Bradtville, Ontario, Canada. In Meer, J.J.M. van der, ed., Tills and Glaciotectonics. Rotterdam: Balkema, 73-88. Echelmeyer, K. and Wang, Zhongxiang. 1987. Direct Observation of Basal Sliding and Deformation of Basal Drift at Sub-freezing Temperatures. Journal ofGlaciology 33: 83-98.

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Evenson, E.B., Dreimanis, A. and Newsome, J.W. 1977. Subaquatic Flow Till: A New Interpretation for the Genesis of Some Laminated Till Deposits. Boreas 6: 115-133. Evenson, E.B., Schliichter, Ch. and Rabassa, J. 1983. Tills and Related Deposits. Rotterdam: Balkema. Eyles, C. and Eyles, N. 1983. Sedimentation in a Large Lake: A Reinterpretation of the Late Pleistocene Stratigraphy at Scarborough Bluffs, Ontario, Canada. Geology 11: 146-152. Eyles, C, Eyles, N. and Miall, A.D. 1985. Models of Glacio-marine Sedimentation and their Application to the Interpretation of Ancient Glacial Sequences. Palaeogeography, Palaeodimatology, Palaeoecology 51: 15-84. Eyles, N. and Miall, A.D. 1984. Glacial Facies. In Walker, R.G., ed., Fades Models. 2nd ed. Geoscience Canada Reprint Series 1: 15-38. Eyles, N., Eyles, C. and McCabe, A.M. 1989. Sedimentation in an Ice-contact Subaqueous Setting: The Mid-Pleistocene "North Sea Drifts" of Norfolk, U.K. Quaternary Science Reviews 8: 57-74. Eyles, N., Eyles, C. and Miall, A.D. 1983. Lithofacies Types and Vertical Profile Models: An Alternative Approach to the Description and Environmental Interpretation of Glacial Diamict and Diamictite Sequences. Sedimentology 30: 393-410. Feenstra, B.H. 1982. Quaternary Geology and Industrial Minerals of the Niagara-Welland Area, Southern Ontario. Ontario Geological Survey, Open File Report 5361. Flint, J.J. and Lolcama, J. 1986. Buried Ancestral Drainage between Lakes Erie and Ontario. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 97: 75-84. Fulton, R.J., ed., 1984. Quaternary Stratigraphy of Canada — A Canadian Contribution to IGCP Project 24. Geological Survey of Canada, Paper 84-10. Fullerton, D.S. 1980. Preliminary Correlation of Post-Erie Interstadial Events (16000-10000 Radiocarbon Years before Present), Central and Eastern Great Lakes Region, and Hudson and Champlain, and St. Lawrence Lowlands, United States and Canada. U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 1089. Gibbard, P. 1980. The Origin of Stratified Catfish Creek Till by Basal Melting. Boreas 9: 71-85. Goldthwait, R.P. and Matsch, C.L., eds., 1989. Genetic Clasification ofGlacigenic Deposits. Rotterdam: Balkema. Hart, J.K., Hindmarsh, R.C.A. and Boulton, G.S. 1990. Styles of Subglacial Glaciotectonic Deformation within the Context of the Anglian Ice-Sheet. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 15: 227-241. Johnson, A.M. [with contributions by Rodine, J.R.] 1984. Debris Flow. In Brunsden, D. and Prior, D.B., eds., Slope Instability. New York: Wiley, 257-361. Karrow, P.P. and Terasmae, J. 1970. Pollen-bearing Sediments of the St. David's Buried Valley Fill at the Whirlpool, Niagara River morge, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 7: 539-541.

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Karrow, P.P. and Calkin, P.E., eds., 1985. Quaternary Evolution of the Great Lakes. Geological Association of Canada, Special publication 30. Kujansuu, R. and Saarnisto, M, eds., 1987. INQUA Till Symposium, Finland 1985. Geological Survey of Finland, Special Paper 3. Lawson, D.E. 1979. A Comparison of the Pebble Orientations in Ice and Deposits of the Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. Journal of Geology 87: 629-645. . 1982. Mobilization, Movement and Deposition of Active Sub-aerial Sediment Flows, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska. Journal of Geology 90: 279-300. Lunkka, J.P. 1988. Sedimentation and Deformation of the North Sea Drift Formation in the Happisburgh Area, North Norfolk. In Croot, D.G., ed., Glaciotectonics: Forms and Processes. Rotterdam: Balkema, 109-123. Maltman, A.J. 1987. Shear Zones in Argillaceous Sediments — An Experimental Study. In Jones, M.E. & Preston, M.F., eds., Deformation of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Geological Society, London, Special Publication 29: 77-87. . 1988. The Importance of Shear Zones in Naturally Deformed Wet Sediments. Tectonophysics 145: 163-75. McCabe, A.M., Dardis, G.F. and Hanvey, P.M. 1987. Sedimentation at the Margins of a Late Pleistocene Ice-lobe Terminating in Shallow Marine Environments, Dundalk Bay, Eastern Ireland. Sedimentology 34: 473-493. Meer, J.J.M. van der, 1987. Micromorphology of Glacial Sediments as a Tool in Distinguishing Genetic Varieties of Till. Geological Survey of Finland, Special Paper 3: 77-89. Menzies, J. 1989. Subglacial Hydraulic Conditions and their Possible Impact upon Subglacial Bed Formation. Sedimentary Geology 62: 125-150. . 1990a. Brecciated Diamictons from Mohawk Bay, S. Ontario, Canada. Sedimentology 37: 481^93. . 1990b. Evidence of Cryostatic Processes within Diamictons, Southern Ontario, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 27: 684-693. . 1990c. Sand Intraclasts within a Diamicton Melange, Southern Niagara Peninsula, Ontario. Journal of Quaternary Research 5: 189-206. Moncrieff, A.C. and Hambrey, M.J. 1988. Late Precambrian Glacially-related Grooved and Striated Surfaces in the Tillite Group of Central East Greenland. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 65: 183-200. Muller, E.H. 1977. Late Glacial and Early Postglacial Environments in Western New York. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 288: 223-233. Rappol, M. 1985. Clast-fabric Strength in Tills and Debris Flows Compared for Different Environments. Geologie en Mijnbouw 64: 327-332.

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. 1987. Saalian Till in The Netherlands: A Review. In Meer, J.J.M. van der, ed., Tills and Glaciotectonics. Rotterdam: Balkema, 3-22. Rappol, M., Haldorsen, S., Jorgensen, P., Meer, J.J.M. van der and Stoltenberg, H.M.P. 1989. Composition and Origin of Petrographically Stratified Thick Till in the Northern Netherlands and a Saalian Glaciation Model from the North Sea Basin. Medelingen van de Werkgroep Tertiair en Kwartair Geologic 26: 31-64. Robin, G. de Q. 1986. A Soft Bed is not the Whole Answer. Nature 323: 490-491. St. Jacques, D.A. and Rukavina, N.A. 1973. Lake Erie Nearshore Sediments: Mohawk Point to Point Burwell, Ontario. Proceedings, 16th Conference on Great Lakes Research, International Association for Great Lakes Research, 454-467. Shaw, J. 1982. Melt-out Till in the Edmonton Area, Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19: 1548-1569. Talbot, C.J. and Von Brunn, V. 1987. Intrusive and Extrusive (Micro)melange Couplets as Distal Effects of Tidal Pumping by a Marine Ice Sheet. Geological Magazine 124: 513-525. Vincent, J.S. and Prest, V.K. 1987. The Early Wisconsinan History of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Abstract, XII International Congress, INQUA, Ottawa, Canada, 282. Wateren, D. van der, 1987. Structural Geology and Sedimentology of the Dammer Berge Push Moraine, FRG. In Meer, J.J.M. van der, ed., Tills and Glaciotectonics. Rotterdam: Balkema, 157-182. Yatsu, E. 1966. Rock Control in Geomorphology. Tokyo: Sozosha.

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4

Deja vu: The Downfall of Niagara as a Chronometer, 1845-41 Keith J. Tinkler The age of the Gorge below Niagara Falls connects itself directly with the question of human chronology, and hence becomes, even in the strictest interpretation of the word, a sacred subject. (G.F. Wright, 1884)

In an earlier paper I examined how 'geological' writings about Niagara Falls and its related topography — the Escarpment, the Gorge, the upper Niagara River, and Lake Erie — reflected the transmutation of Natural History into Geology during the eighteenth century and echoed the concerns of those who effected the change (Tinkler, 1987). To recap briefly that paper, the essential debates, once the proper dimensions of the Falls had been established (in 1722), centred on the following questions: were the Falls truly recessive, and had they indeed retreated from 'the Landing' at Queenston, seven miles downstream? What was the rate of recession (if it was real at all), and, if it was real, could the age of the Falls as deduced from the length of the Gorge and the rate of recession be used to estimate the age of the earth? The generalized, but rarely specified, alternatives to gradualist views of the Gorge were that its origin was catastrophic, and attributable to one of the following: violent diluvial or oceanic currents, earthquakes, or the upheavals consequent upon the original creation of the globe. By the 1840s it had been concluded, in publications of the establishment created by the new breed of professional geologists such as James Hall (1811-98) of the New York Survey, and Charles Lyell (1797-1875), the British geologist and writer, that the Falls were truly recessive and that the age of the Falls might be anywhere from 10,000 81

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to 35,000 years. It was now passe to argue that the Falls and Gorge could throw any useful light on the origin of the earth, although scriptural geologists such as George Fairholme (who was working between about 1800 and 1834) continued to prosecute this view within their isolated writings. Wright's quotation which opens this paper was special pleading to enable him to use a theological journal for a geological paper! However, there still remained significant geological questions, such as the origin of the Niagara Escarpment (over whose edge the Falls originated), and the character of the non-fluvial phases in the regional geology (indicated by striated rock surfaces and substantial thicknesses of Drift) which clearly separated two fluvial phases. James Hall and Charles Lyell had between them established the existence of the St. David's buried gorge, which intersected the present gorge at the Whirlpool, but their published interpretations of the stages in the history differed slightly. Lyell favoured a glacial submergence theory, a variant of Agassiz's new Ice Age theory, while Hall was more circumspect and, without proposing his own hypothesis, showed no strong allegiance to any of the extant theories. Nevertheless their joint work, albeit separately published, imposed a significant halt on new work at Niagara for several decades. In this respect it mirrors the conclusion of Dorothy Sack (1989), who noted a similar effect on the work on Lake Bonneville, following the publications of G.K. Gilbert (1843-1918).

A Thread of Continuity To provide some temporal perspective and to link this paper with its predecessor, Figure 4.1 illustrates the frequency of publication on Niagara Falls from seven bibliographic sources. The figure is not completely definitive for the sources cover different, though overlapping, periods, but it does indicate the highs and lows in the work, even when the exponential trend towards the present is discounted. The frequency count for each decade has been divided by the number of sources covering that decade, as a corrective to multiple counting of entries. The Niagara literature for this period is also characterized by multiple publications of the same paper, or abstract, and often both, in different journals. Two recent sources are included, from 1978 and 1981, and it is interesting that these sources identify similar peaks and troughs, although they are not separately plotted. The main topics of interest and items of debate are noted for each peak. The concern in this chapter is with the period after 1845, and the initial trough in publication frequency appears to be real. The middle decades of the nineteenth century were a period of intense activity in geology, but most of it was directed, in one form or another, towards the elucidation of the stratigraphical column around the known globe (see significant disputes on these issues in Rudwick, 1985, and Secord, 1986). Considerable attention was paid to matters of global structure and tectonics (Greene, 1982), to the resolution of palaeontological and chronological problems (especially

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Figure 4.1 Frequency of publication on Niagara, in the context of earth science, by decade, compiled from various sources: Spencer (1907), Gilbert (1907), Dow (1921), Calkin and Brett (1978), Tesmer and Bastedo (1981), Tinkler (1987), Tesmer (1989). Frequencies are normalized to reflect the variable number of sources covering each decade. Main topics of interest at different decades are indicated. References: Dow's are from Chapter VII (Volume 1), and stop in 1915; Tesmer and Bastedo's are from the bibliography; Tinkler's stop in 1845: they are selected from Dow, primarily from Chapters I-III in Volume 1; Tesmer's 1989 are from Chapter 4 (the prime source for Niagara Falls), and stop in 1900. All material relevant to Niagara in the remaining sources was used. All reprinted material has been plotted against the date it was originally published.

within the context of evolution after 1859), and to estimates of the age of the earth, a topic which attracted increasing interest towards the end of the century. Thus it was that the primary interests of geologists lay elsewhere. Even within physical and surficial geology, the theory of the Ice Age proposed by Agassiz in the closing years of the 1830s had two subdued decades following its initial controversial debut (Tinkler, 1985), and there was a similar lack of interest in the fluvial origin of valleys once it was clear that arbitrary diluvial mechanisms were no longer acceptable. At Niagara the reality of the resurgence in interest towards the end of the century is attested by Spencer (1907,143), who remarked incidentally upon 'Dr Julius Pohlman, one of the earliest writers in the renaissance of Niagara studies.' Pohlman's primary work was published in 1888, preceded by abstracts in 1883 and 1886. To what may be attributed this renewed interest in Niagara during the last two decades of the nineteenth century? There are doubtless many answers, but two main thrusts are easily identified and justified.1 The first emerged from regional geology. In North America the strategic battles of geology had been fought by the end of the century. In the process an outline of

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national and state geologies was erected, and detailed topographic mapping was in progress as settlement expanded and industry became established. There existed, therefore, an increasingly sound basis for regional discussions. As a renewed interest in relating surficial geology to the now accepted Ice Age emerged, James Geikie's comprehensive book The Great Ice Age appeared in 1874. This quickly established itself as the authoritative text and went through three editions in the next twenty years. It included material from many different language sources and all known glaciated areas. Geikie's global perspectives posed many significant questions, not the least of which were matters of chronology and correlation. Subsequent editions of his work proposed that the Ice Age was marked by the multiple advance and retreat of the ice fronts and that there had been interglacial periods not unlike the present period in climate. He envisaged that these extreme oscillations of climate were driven by the astronomical mechanisms identified by his colleague James Croll (1875), and, for example, he devoted a substantial part of the last chapter of the last edition (1894) to a discussion of Croll's theory. If this theory was true when had the last Ice Age finished, and could it be independently dated? Just as it had seemed towards the close of the previous century that Niagara might provide a date for the age of the earth, so a century later, identical modes of thinking in a differently understood geological context connected the age of the Gorge to the time elapsed since the close of the Ice Age.2 In some writings, especially those of Warren Upham (1893), the age of the Niagara Gorge was then used as one component in an estimate of the length of the Quaternary generally. This was then connected to overall estimates of the age of the earth; one topic about which geologist and geophysicists were far from agreed.3 The surficial deposits of the Niagara Frontier, and the striated and grooved surfaces on the uppermost limestones and dolostones, were readily identified as evidence of glaciation, even as early as the writings of Lyell and Hall in the 1840s. The St. David's Gorge, filled with glacial drift, was related by Lyell and Hall to a pre-glacial river filled during a 'glacial' episode, and the present gorge was identified as pertaining to the period since the Ice Age had vanished. It was an easy step to relate the St. David's Gorge to an interglacial period in Geikie's vision of the Ice Age, but this was not done properly until Taylor (1898) argued the point in a classic paper. For the early part of our period established thought had not yet assimilated Geikie's radical view of multiple ice advances,4 and most individuals stuck to the conventional, and less controversial, perspective of a single ice advance. Upham maintained the unitary view of the Ice Age into the 1920s. The multiple ice age view also posed the question, how did Lake Erie (and as a corollary, the other lakes) empty in earlier interglacial periods? But the problems which had beset the earlier chronologists were no easier a century later. Indeed the age estimates remained in much the same numerical range —between about 5,000 and 50,000 years — and for much the same reasons, despite the radically different regional interpretation placed upon them.

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The second underlying cause for the resurgence of interest at Niagara was connected to the first, but it was more specific. Niagara was now viewed very seriously as a source of power, although as early as 1842 (Blackwell and Allen, 1843) it had been estimated that the Falls could satisfy, in principle, the industrial power demand of the entire world. A series of articles in Scientific American, running from 1885 to 1894, some of them reprinted from The Engineering and Mining Journal, document the growing interest in, debate about, and stages of, the harnessing of the power of Niagara. In 1890 Scientific American (Volume 62, 154), citing the Stevens Indicator as its source, reported that Professor Coleman Sellers, recently made consulting engineer to the Cataract Construction Company, was in England 'constituting a commission to decide upon plans for utilising the water power of Niagara. Of this international commission Sir Wm. Thomson5 is the President.' With such interests at stake it is not surprising that a determinate knowledge of the river's behaviour was needed, for a rapidly receding crest line could limit the potential of hydraulic installations,6 and although James Hall had established the first accurate survey of the crest line in 1843, it was not until 1875 that any attempt was made to resurvey it. In view of the arguments, around the turn of the previous century, as to whether Niagara receded at all, it clearly behooved all concerned to establish authoritatively its present behaviour. A continuous counterpoint to the development of electrical power was the preservation of the natural beauty of the Falls (with of course the tourist traffic in mind), and during the 1880s public parks were established along both sides of the river. Perhaps as a bolster to the dry statistics of administrative achievement, many of the significant Niagara papers were reprinted, as they became available, in the Annual Reports of the Park Commissioners on both sides of the river.

The Main Ideas Crest line surveys Table 4.1 shows a summary of surveys from Hall (1843) to Boyd (1927). The need for a new survey was expressed by Thomas Belt (1875,154) who ventured the opinion that: Whenever that survey be made, I believe it will decide that the present river is cutting back the gorge much more slowly than Lyell estimated; that instead of a foot a year the retrocession is not more than, if it is as much, as one foot in ten years. .. .

Belt was at Niagara for Christmas 1874, and the first survey to follow Hall (1843) — it would seem as a Christmas gift—was that of Major Comstock in 1875 for the United States Lake Survey, although its findings do not seem to have become common knowledge until several years later, when there was a debate at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Minneapolis (August 1883). Wright (1884, 375) reported that according to Pohlman 'allowing even a large margin for possible

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Table 4.1 Crest Line Surveys of Niagara Falls, 1843-1927*. Date

Author

Source agency

1843 1875 1883 1886 1890 1904/5 1905 1906 1911 1917 1925 1927

James Hall C.B. Comstock Thomas Evershed R.S. Woodward A.S. Kibbe/J. Bogart J.W.W. Spencer G.K. Gilbert/W.C. Hall C. Keller

New York State Geological Survey United States Lake Survey New York State Survey United States Geological Survey New York State Survey Private/Geological Survey of Canada United States Geological Survey United States Lake Survey International Waterway Commission United States Lake Survey US Army Air Service, for Niagara Control Board Geological Survey of Canada

W.H. Boyd

'Sources: Gilbert, 1907; Boyd, 1928.

inaccuracies, we must admit that some portions of the Horseshoe fall have receded at least one hundred feet in these thirty four years' and the Director of the New York State Survey, James T. Gardner, was led to a similar conclusion.7 James Hall, however, expressed doubts as to the correctness of this conclusion, (but) could only do so by supposing that one or other of the surveys was inaccurate; or that, being made using different methods, they could not be compared well with each other.8

Wright was in favour of a short timescale for Niagara, as was Pohlman (1888), who denied flatly that the Falls had ever been at Lewiston in the postglacial, and thought that most of the Gorge was an exhumed feature. In reporting a subsequent meeting of the American Association of the Advancement of Science at Buffalo in 1886, for which Professor Woodward made an additional survey of the crest line, Pohlman admitted that this survey, together with Comstock's (and both measured from Hall's), brings out some surprising facts. The falls recede faster than anybody ever anticipated. In the forty-four years that passed between the first and third survey, the most southerly or south-easterly point on the edge of the Horseshoe fall has receded 382 feet, or a fraction less than nine feet per year, (his italics)

Some of this surprise was likely due to an unthinking reliance on Lyell's estimate (1845) of one foot a year, a figure he had meant to apply to the Gorge throughout its history, rather than its immediate past, and which he also entombed in all subsequent editions of the Principles of Geology (Lyell, 1847). It also shows the neglect that Niagara had fallen into after the Hall/Lyell period and the unconscious adoption by geologists (exemplified here by Belt) of the uniformitarian idea that gradual geological processes

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are scarcely measurable on human timescales. Thus it is not far-fetched to say that in 1886 the matter of the rate of recession was far from settled, at a time when its economic consequences were just beginning to be appreciated. Outstanding doubts could only be settled by additional surveys, and the next was made by Augustus Kibbe in 1890. It re-affirmed that substantial retreat had taken place, both by a notch-like recession in the centre, and by broad retreat of the entire crest. The reality of the results from this survey seems to have been sufficient to stem further measurements until Spencer undertook his own survey in 1904/5, (subsequently taken under the umbrella of the Geological Survey of Canada), and Gilbert ordered the US Geological Survey to undertake a measurement in 1905 (Gilbert, 1907). Given the rapid rates of retreat now suspected, the probable motive was to assess the effect on recession of the diversions of water for power generation, and to establish a authoritative figure for the recession rate. Gilbert's comprehensive survey in 1907 is the one frequently cited in later geological work for it came at the end of a period in which Niagara flow had been subject to only minimal diversion, and it had a long baseline back to 1843 against which to assess recession rates. Apart from Spencer's survey published in the same year, it was the first comprehensive and readily accessible study of the matter. Nevertheless, it was not without its critics: The last was made specifically to furnish accurate data on the recession or wearing of the Falls; it was thought that the increasing abstraction of water for power generation will soon modify the rate of erosive recession, so that data as to the natural rate, which is of the highest importance to geologists, can not be calculated from future surveys... A perusal of the pamphlet brings out nothing more clearly to the engineer than that the various surveys disagree to a remarkable extent. Equally remarkable is the fact that the 1905 survey, which doubtless was intended to be better than the previous ones, was made with a plane-table, giving no numerical record, but only a map-plot, of the results. (Review in Engineering News, Feb. 28,1907, 57, 248)

Further surveys continued, for it seems that, given the variability of recession in both space and time, and the unknown effects of water power diversions, each different authority felt compelled to makes its own assessment. The physical difficulties of the surveys are revealed by the fact that there are frequent, though usually small, discrepancies between successive surveys, but there were no new revelations, other than the fact that recession continued at approximately the rates first detected (for the Horseshoe, or Canadian Falls), and that the configuration tended to change from a horseshoe to a notch configuration.

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Age of the Gorge The burning question, foremost in everyone's mind from early in the period was, what light did the recession rate throw upon the age of the Gorge, and with what success could the Gorge be used to gauge postglacial time? Both Wright (1892) and Hobbs (1912) devoted substantial space in their texts to this question. There were two approaches external to Niagara itself, which tended to drive the discussion, even if they were not always mentioned. Geikie's widely read and respected The Great Ice Age (1874) used Croll's astronomical theory (Croll, 1875) as a theoretical framework, and this theory could be read to imply that the postglacial began about 80,000 years ago.9 It also implied that southern and northern hemisphere glaciations were not synchronous, and, therefore, there were substantial questions to be settled that an exact chronology might help to resolve. On the other hand there were a large number of independent estimates of the time elapsed since the ice sheets vanished, especially from Europe (Hansen, 1894). Most of these seemed to indicate an elapsed time of between 5,000 and 10,000 years. Some North American estimates fell in the same time range, the 8000 years estimate from the retreat of the St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi (Winchell, 1878) and Wright's estimate of 10,000 years for the filling of a kettle hole at Andover, Massachusetts (Wright, 1881a, 1881b, 1892,345). By assuming a rate similar to that recently measured, but applied to the whole length of the Gorge, Niagara estimates could be as low as 7,000 years, a minimum figure10 first mentioned, with reservations, by Gilbert in 1886. However, this conflicted with the authoritative view of Lyell (1845) who had estimated 35,000 years, and placed this estimate in all subsequent editions of his Principles of Geology (Lyell, 1847); from this estimate the received view probably emanated. Gilbert was subsequently alarmed at the alacrity with which his minimal figure was quoted, and he was finally driven to write a witty letter to Nature (1894) when he found himself cited as an authority for the 7,000 year value in the third edition of Geikie's text11 (Geikie, 1894, 813). Gilbert thought that postglacial chronologists 'may be rudely classed as minimists, maximists, and agnostics,' and after reviewing the many variables that had probably affected the river he concluded that the 1890 results 'tend strongly to sustain the agnostic view of the Niagara River as a geologic chronometer.' But it did little good; he remained the principal authority for the minimists amongst whom were numbered G.F. Wright and Warren Upham, the latter citing Gilbert in this vein in 1901, and even as late as 1921, in his memorial to Wright.

Regional Quaternary geology Two rather different accounts of the regional postglacial of the Great Lakes region developed during the late nineteenth century, and could be identified as such by

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the mid-1890s when Taylor (1895, and again in Kindle and Taylor, 1913) noted the divergence. In 1895 Taylor was just entering the literature and he needed to identify a theoretical position: In recent papers of Professor J. W. Spencer12 and Mr Warren Upham, the post-glacial history of the Great Lakes has been ably told according to two very different ideas of the cause of Pleistocene change. Prof. Spencer on the one hand levels all the higher abandonned beaches with the sea, and does not distinctly recognize a single ice-dammed lake. Mr Upham, on the other hand, ascribes nearly all submergence to ice-dammed lakes, and admits none as marine except that which is proved by fossils. As often happens in such cases, the probability is that the truth lies between these wide extremes.

Thus one position was attached to Spencer,13 and the other, with a number of minor variations largely dependent on the estimated age of the Gorge, was passed around amongst the other actors, although each saw his position as significantly different. Although Taylor attributes it to Upham, the ice-dammed notion was already sketched by Wright (1889, Fig. 98) and Gilbert (1890a, see Plate II) for it was Gilbert who had traced Lake Iroquois to its ice-dam north of the Adirondacks. The difference between the two main accounts did not depend on the age of the Gorge as estimated by the various parties, for both Taylor and Spencer favoured a 'long' postglacial (Gilbert was agnostic on the matter, Upham and Wright were 'short' postglacial men), but rather on the agencies which caused the sequence of late-glacial and postglacial lakes (such as Lake Warren and Lake Iroquois). Spencer, who was first in the field, emphasized buried outlets to the lakes as a means of avoiding an explanation for the basins of the Great Lakes in terms of glacial erosion,14 and he thought that once the ice sheet had retreated there had been a lengthy period during which the entire area had been under the sea. Thus Lake Iroquois (which he named and mapped) he regarded as marine. The marine phases were terminated by continental uplift which Spencer recognized must be very slow.15 Spencer also regarded the phase of drainage from the upper Great Lakes past North Bay and the Mattawa River to the Ottawa River as an early postglacial phase which contributed to the slow cutting of the Niagara Gorge, but which had not been preceded by a phase of high flows down the Niagara River. As time went by Spencer seemed to concentrate more on the physical details of the Niagara Gorge than on its relation to the evolution of the Great Lakes, and this culminated in his Falls of Niagara (1907). The alternative view which came to be focused in the writings of F.B. Taylor, but which also owed much to G.K. Gilbert (who later passed on his field notes to F.B. Taylor16), emphasized proglacial lakes, and denied the early and extensive postglacial marine phases claimed by Spencer.17 It was Taylor who first worked out the connection between the North Bay/Mattawa River/Ottawa River phase of the Great Lakes (Taylor, 1898)18 and the reduced dimensions of the Whirlpool Rapids Gorge. He

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later added interpretations connecting variations in the size of the lower part of the Gorge with brief episodes of changing Niagara River volume controlled by temporary diversions of upper Great Lakes water, for example, those down through the Kirkfield outlet and the Trent river first identified by Spencer. This has now become the standard explanation, although very late in his life Taylor (1930,1933) came to doubt the Nipissing-related parts of it, in the light of a paper by Johnston (1928). However, Taylor's second thoughts on this matter have not been generally recognized, nor indeed debated, in the subsequent twentieth century literature.19 Although there was substantial debate about the various elements in these interpretations, for example, the character of the buried St. David's Gorge, the Whirlpool Rapids Gorge, the age of the entire Gorge, and the relation to episodes in the upper Great Lakes, an integrated and generally acceptable, but not unique, account did emerge.20 It became incorporated as an official US Geological Survey account in the Niagara Folio authored by Kindle and Taylor (1913). Large parts of this text were incorporated verbatim into the field guide for the International Geological Congress meeting in 1913 (Taylor, 1913), and it can hardly be doubted that this had the effect of giving the account international currency. In addition it was quickly backed up by Leverett and Taylor's exhaustive treatment (1915) of the general evolution of the Great Lakes. Thus Spencer21 (1907) was effectively by-passed, although he remained an authority for details of the Niagara Gorge, for buried channels out of Lake Erie and Georgian Bay, and for his early work on Lake Iroquois.

The Main Actors It is one measure of the developing maturity of geology in the late nineteenth century that all the individuals who devoted considerable efforts to understanding Niagara did so within the context of extensive field experience in regional Quaternary work, gained either elsewhere in northeastern North America, or even farther afield. Five individuals stand out for their contributions: G.F. Wright, J.W.W. Spencer, G.K. Gilbert, F.B. Taylor and Warren E. Upham. Taking the five together, 10% of all their entries in the Bibliography of North American Geology are directly related to Niagara, and the count would be higher if incidental references to Niagara in regional accounts were also included. Spencer's contributions (27 papers or abstracts) reach 20%, whereas Upham's eight only achieve 5%. Between them the five authors account for well over half the total citation count for Niagara in recognized geological journals over the period 1880 to 1915, and despite some serious inter-personal frictions, primarily over priority, they maintained fairly high rates of mutual citation. I will discuss them in order of their entry into the Niagara debate.

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G.F. Wright (1838-1921) Wright was, in the words of his lifelong friend and associate Warren Upham (1922) 'an earnest observer, thoughtful investigator, and popular author/ His glacial studies were a continual accompaniment to his life, first as a Congregational Minister in New England, and later as Professor at Oberlin College, where he was eventually granted a special chair in 'The Harmony of Science and Religion' (Numbers, 1988). He was sufficiently successful as a self-taught geologist to be an original member of the Geological Society of America, an associate of various geological surveys,22 the author of two semi-popular books on the Ice Age (and others of theological interest), while at the same time he remained a respected member of the clergy. He made two primary contributions to Niagara studies, and the essence of each was repeated several times to generate several contributions in total. He was the first to publish a paper specifically using the Niagara Gorge to date the time elapsed since the end of the Ice Age (Wright, 1884).23 Although the paper was placed in Bibliotheca Sacra, it was favourably noticed in Science (1884, HI, 556), and it formed one of a series of time estimates which Wright made of postglacial time (Wright, 1881 a, 1881b), for he was interested, as were many others, in the antiquity of Man in North America. His estimate was that the period was 'less than twelve thousand years,' and it was probably triggered by the 1875 survey of the crest line which was discussed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Minneapolis (1883) and which he cites, and perhaps by Winchell's paper (1878) on the St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi. Shortly thereafter this estimate was included in Wright's two books — The Ice Age in North America (1889) and Man and the Glacial Period (1892). Later editions of both books ensured that the estimate was widely known. His second contribution was original — the first truly new method of estimating the age of the Gorge (Wright, 1899). It was based on the rate of retreat of the rock walls at the mouth of the Gorge, estimated from the volume of rock falls collected on the tracks of the electric railway which ran along the Gorge, and from assumed and measured changes in the profiles of rock cuts along the railway. His final statement on this (Wright, 1902) amounted to saying that 'the amount [of erosion] necessary to accomplish the total enlargement in 10,000 years' was not inconsistent with the rates of erosion he estimated from the rock falls.24 Wright did not, perhaps, put great store by his Niagara work for it receives no mention at all in his autobiography (Wright, 1912) and he paid relatively little attention to the specifics of detailed regional arguments. He was briefly interested in the Nipissing outlet via North Bay and visited the area in 1892, but he was never directly involved in the debates over the merits of the Spencer or the Taylor/Gilbert regional interpretation, and presumably was happy enough for his friend, the more prestigious Upham, to make the arguments. Wright was either interested in site-specific topics (in this case his two Niagara contributions), or else in very broadly painted pictures, as seems

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Figure 4.2 Wright's diagram of the Niagara Gorge. The right-hand one was in Wright (1884) and lacks a scale. The left-hand one is an extended version of the earlier one and includes a scale and north point (from Wright, 1889, 1892). Refer to Figure 4.5 for an accurate rendering. The Whirlpool is four times too long, and the even width of the water in the Gorge (as drawn) suits Wright's argument that "we are favoured in our calculation by the simplicity of the geological arrangement." (Wright, 1892, 335)

to be evident in his books, and his accounts of trips to Greenland and Asia (Wright, 1912). He shared with Upham a penchant for ignoring or overlooking inconvenient facts or sources, for his map of the Niagara Gorge (Wright, 1892) is hopelessly out of scale. It grossly simplifies the geography of the Gorge to the point of caricature, even though it has a scale and north point (Figure 4.2). More accurate maps had long been available, for example in Lyell (1845) and from the United States Lake Survey of 1875. Wright's cartographic 'simplification' permitted a less complicated argument, that is, that the rate of retreat had been constant throughout time, an assumption necessary to his simplistic calculation, but one which was to be hotly debated by various authors for the next two decades.

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J.W.W. Spencer (1852-1921) Spencer began his research on the Great Lakes region in search of ancient river outlets, now buried in drift, to the various Great Lakes, for he believed that they were created by fluvial, not glacial, erosion (Figure 4.3). He detected the present tilt on the Great Lakes shorelines from careful mapping, perhaps most clearly on the enlarged predecessor of Lake Ontario which he named Iroquois, and in extrapolating these trends back in time came to the conclusion, from which he never seems to have shifted, that the immediate postglacial environment of the region was marine. The changing levels of these marine incursions, and their interactions with the topography around the Great Lakes basins, were, according to his accounts, controlled by the crust slowly rising towards the northeast. Like others, Spencer thought that Niagara might be read as a key to the changing sequence of events, and as time went by his interpretation of events within the Niagara Gorge became more detailed and more defined. Two main phases of interest can be detected. The first culminated in a long paper published in 1894 entitled The Duration of Niagara Falls (Spencer, 1894b), and it made reference mainly to his previous papers, particularly those which related to episodes in the history of the Upper Great Lakes. He made an elaborate computation of the age of the Gorge which he established as 32,000 years. At about the time this paper was published F.B. Taylor (1895) and G.K. Gilbert (1890a, 1895) were evolving a different interpretation of the developing Great Lakes, and in 1898 Taylor developed an interpretation of the Whirlpool Rapids Gorge that connected it to a specific, and (they surmised) lengthy, diversion of Upper Great Lakes waters past North Bay and on to the Ottawa River via the Mattawa River. Spencer responded to this alternative by undertaking a very detailed examination of the entire Niagara River: its geology, the physical form of the extant and buried Gorge, the retreat of the crest line, and its hydrology. This was his second main phase of interest. A private survey of the crest line which he undertook, and indeed his entire study, was taken under the umbrella of the Geological Survey of Canada25 and emerged, with a large fold out map, as The Falls of Niagara (Spencer, 1907). The response was mixed. Gilbert (1908) took issue with the mechanics assumed in the 'laws of erosion' which Spencer employed to bolster his highly detailed computations of recession rates, and Spencer (1908) in reply argued that Gilbert's points were minor and only affected his computations marginally. J.W. Gregory, perhaps knowing less of the details, gave them a sympathetic and detailed review in Nature (Gregory, 1908) and paraphrased the same review anonymously for the Geographical Journal* (Anonymous, 1907). However, he did take issue (in both reviews) with Spencer's insidious sniping at Gilbert over the matter of priorities, and he noted Spencer's 'engaging certainty' over the age of the Gorge. Spencer's published record, on Niagara at

Figure 4.3 Spencer's map of the preglacial rivers of the lake basins. It is still reproduced today (see McKenzie, 1990). It derives from Spencer's resistance to the notion that the basins were excavated by glacial erosion.

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least, is replete with priority claims directed at Gilbert, Taylor and Upham (all on different occasions) and he undertook a classic historical review (Spencer, 1898) of the 'to set the historical record straight' type identified by M.T. Greene (1985,100). However, the targets of these attacks seem to have neglected them, at least in writing. Spencer's dating of the Gorge (1894a) was taken as quite definitive by F.J. North (1965, 94), who quoted it as a close confirmation of Lyell's famous estimate. Thus dogmatic certainty, and the Proceedings of the Royal Society, bestowed an authority that more sceptical competitors could not match! Very late in his career Spencer (1910) acknowledged that ice dams were a factor in the evolution of the Great Lakes, but it was too late in the day to effect an integration with the Taylor/Gilbert version and it is likely that the only people to notice the shift were Leverett and Taylor (1915, 48) in their carefully annotated bibliography. Even so, according to a footnote in Leverett and Taylor (1915, 471), Spencer reverted to his older marine views during the IGC Field Trip to the Gorge in 1913.

G.K. Gilbert (1843-1918) According to Pyne (1980) Gilbert yearned to produce a great classic study on the Pleistocene of the east to complement his Henry Mountain (Gilbert, 1877) and Lake Bonneville (Gilbert, 1890b) masterpieces. However, his administrative duties at the United States Geological Survey under the then Director, J.W. Powell, hindered this attempt and the best that he could manage never amounted to more than 'a fractured inquiry' cobbled together during vacation times (his familial home was Rochester, New York). His most comprehensive accounts of the lake history, and its impact on Niagara Falls, are the papers identified here as 1890a and 1895—both written before the full impact of all of Spencer's and Taylor's field investigations of the tilted Great Lakes, and their various outlets, became known. He quickly came to regret an early foray into dating the Gorge (Gilbert, 1886) when he mentioned, as a minimal age, 7,000 years. Thereafter this was cited by Wright, and Upham especially, as an authority for a 'short' postglacial date, long after Gilbert (1894) had officially renounced it and claimed an agnostic stance on the age of the Gorge. Gilbert managed to maintain an interest in Niagara in various ways, not least by handing his field notes over to F.B. Taylor (Pyne, 1980,117), whom he seemed to treat as his field surrogate. He wrote the interpretative text on the back of a topographical map26 of the river circulated for the Pan-American Exposition in 1901, he undertook an official study of earth movements in the Great Lakes region (Gilbert, 1898) to complement the historical studies of tilted shorelines of Spencer and Taylor, he found an indirect way to estimate depths in the Gorge before Spencer made detailed soundings (Gilbert, 1896), and he ordered Carvill Hall to make the crest line survey of 1905. This last survey was the basis of a final major paper entitled Rate of Recession of Niagara Falls

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Figure 4.4 Gilbert's famous diagram of Niagara Falls (Gilbert, 1890a). It has been very widely disseminated and is still found in modern textbooks illustrating waterfall retreat in general, and Niagara in particular. The original caveat'... illustrating a theory of the process of erosion' was never subsequently used, even by Gilbert!

(1907), although, as the practical engineer he always was, he disputed (Gilbert, 1908) Spencer's 'laws of erosion' at Niagara in a review for Science of Spencer's 1907 memoir. His most enduring monument is a diagram whose very first caption indicated that it was 'illustrating a theory of the process of erosion,' a qualification that all subsequent authors (including Gilbert), forgot to include when they reproduced it (Figure 4.4).

F.B. Taylor (1860-1938) Frank Bursley Taylor had frail health and wealthy father. He managed to complete only two years of geology at Yale (Leverett, 1939). Thereafter he drove round the Great Lakes, doing field work which laid the basis for the modern interpretation of the evolution of the Lakes, travelling in a carriage supplied by his father, and with a privately hired doctor as a companion. He remained privately financed until 1900, when he became associated with the United States Geological Survey, for which he worked on several quadrangle studies,27 the Niagara Folio (with E.M. Kindle, 1913) being the one of interest here. The famous memoir, jointly authored with Frank Leverett (1915), on the Pleistocene of Indiana and Michigan and the Evolution of the Great Lakes, established the basis of the modern interpretation for the Great Lakes.

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During the first half of the 1890s he published half a dozen papers on the uplifted strandlines around the upper Great Lakes and his first attempt to integrate these was in Taylor (1895), a paper he later tagged as 'worse than useless' (Leverett and Taylor, 1915, 472). At that time he identified a substantial marine incursion—the Warren Gulf—across the entire Great Lakes region, and separating two Lake Algonquins, a position he quickly moved away from. In 1898 he published an interpretation of lake history connecting the period of the Nipissing Great Lakes with the cutting of the narrow Whirlpool Rapids Gorge — a radically new interpretation that is not hinted at by other interpreters who saw it either as a small pre- or interglacial feature that was exhumed in the postglacial, or as a feature cut by a change in what Spencer called 'the physics of the gorge/ Taylor came increasingly to see little use in the Gorge as a means of dating the postglacial, and insofar as he would speculate on an age it was in excess of 30,000 years, possibly as much as 50,000 years. Later, however, he reduced the estimate to 25,000-30,000 (Taylor, 1913), and in the light of a revised interpretation, to as little as 18,000-20,000 (Taylor, 1933). In these matters then he was in essential agreement with Spencer (and Gilbert was publicly agnostic on the age), and although Taylor never committed himself to very specific rates for parts of the Gorge, he did publish a diagram estimating the river volume at various stages in the Gorge's history. Perhaps the most commonly reproduced diagram of Taylor's, developed and extended from the one in the 1898 paper, is that which appears below as Figure 4.5, keying 'five named divisions of the gorge' to events in the Great Lakes evolution. From as early as 1896 (Taylor, 1896, 233) he took over field investigations begun by G.K. Gilbert, and the Introduction to the Niagara Folio reveals that much of the basic mapping for that Folio was also begun by Gilbert in 1897. Taylor's view of the evolution of the Great Lakes, which was probably discussed with Gilbert, was given in full in Leverett and Taylor (1915) and more specifically for the Niagara Gorge in Kindle and Taylor (1913). Most of this also appeared in the Guide Book for the IGC Field Trip A4 in Taylor (1913). Long after the classic period of Niagara debates was over a paper published by Johnston (1928), using a series of bridge foundation boreholes from the head of the Whirlpool Rapids Gorge, caused Taylor to re-evaluate his interpretation of that Gorge (Taylor, 1930). He incorporated the new interpretation (Figure 4.6) in the IGC Field Trip Guide A4 in 1933 (Taylor, 1933).

W.E. Upham (1850-1934) Upham came to Niagara after learning his Pleistocene geology in New England (where he met G.F. Wright), and then in the far west, where he is best known for the publication of The Glacial Lake Agassiz (Upham, 1896). He wrote quite extensively on the eastern

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Taylor's (1913) correlation of Gorge divisions with lake stages.

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Figure 4.6 The diagram showing Taylor's revised interpretation (1933) of the Whirlpool Rapids Gorge, and especially the newly postulated Cantilever Gorge.

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Pleistocene, but he seemed to share with G.F. Wright a fondness for the broad conceptual sweep, and he was not overly careful about the use of his sources. He never acknowledged Gilbert's 1894 renunciation of his 7,000 year estimate for the Gorge. Taylor (1898, 82, footnote) rebuked him for citing authorities on the Nipissing period North Bay-Mattawa River-Ottawa River diversion who were known to have changed their minds, and Spencer (who was easily irked) wrote a note: simply as a protest against anyone forming a conclusion as to my work on the history of the great lakes, or forming judgments of the history of the lakes themselves, upon the strength of Mr. Upham's citations from my writings. (1894c, 135)

In addition Upham was very reluctant to shift his stance and always downplayed the importance and duration of the Nipissing outlet at North Bay for it ran counter to his view of a 'short' postglacial (Upham, 1898). Several papers and abstracts used almost identical concluding paragraphs harping on this theme, and cited Gilbert (1886) as 'announcing' the age of the Gorge as 7,000 years. He maintained a unitary view of the Ice Age long after most others in North America had accepted Geikie's multiple view, and indeed it is not clear that he ever properly relinquished it. His memorial to Wright (Upham, 1922) quotes Wright's similar views with approval. His own memorial (Emmons, 1935), many years later, is almost insultingly brief and hints at a troubled career.28 Even his famous memoir on Lake Agassiz contains a textual interpolation by Chamberlin differing from Upham on several points of interpretation. It cannot be said that his views on Niagara contributed in a novel way to the debate, at least as it was seen by the protagonists, but his reputation ensured that the other actors responded to his papers, even when the points were easily rejected. It is not clear that he ever did substantial field work in the region during the period in question, but his insistence on a 'short' postglacial, which he linked via Dana's ratios of the lengths of geological periods (Upham, 1893) to the contemporary 'age of the earth debate,' was another reason why his papers attracted attention. He made one suggestion that has not been subsequently noticed. In both his Agassiz memoir (Upham, 1896,233) and in Upham (1901) he suggested that Lake Agassiz waters may, for a time, have been routed down the Niagara River from the upper Great Lakes.29 Doubtless his contemporaries dismissed this idea as an unjustified speculation.

After the War: Some Second Thoughts Serious debate on Niagara was concluded by the 1907 studies of Spencer and Gilbert, and the Niagara Folio of Kindle and Taylor in 1913, whose text was used for the International Geological Congress Field Guide of the same year. Thereafter, the Great War

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and the increasing age of the main participants (Wright, Spencer and Gilbert all died before 1921), and the lack of any new initiatives, stifled debate. Coleman (1924) simply reproduced Taylor's map account in a short pamphlet for the British Association field trip to the Gorge. Antevs (1925) used Taylor (1913) in his reckoning of postglacial time and Schneider (1928) rehearsed once more the various inconclusive arguments bearing on the age of the Gorge. However, there was a brief flurry of activity toward the end of the 1920s. New surveys were made of the crest line (Boyd, 1928,1930), and W.A. Johnston (1928) reexamined boreholes drilled for the foundations of the Cantilever Bridge at the head of the Whirlpool Rapids Gorge. Spencer (1907,147-149) had published one of these bores and concluded that they represented backfill from Gorge wall collapse which produced talus in the Gorge. Johnston, however, reproduced nineteen, constructed a cross-section, and from logs for the drills concluded that they represented glacial drift overlain by local talus. This implied that the Whirlpool Rapids Gorge was almost entirely an exhumed extension of the St. David's Gorge, and that there had existed a short enlarged section exactly at the Cantilever Bridge. Taylor (1930) saw some force in the new argument and adapted his interpretation to accommodate it. He incorporated the new interpretation — although not exclusively, for both views are treated—into his section of the 16th IGC Field Guide (Taylor, 1933). Nevertheless, subsequent accounts of the Gorge rarely mention Taylor's revised interpretation (e.g. Calkin and Brett, 1978), and it is still unclear whether the revised view can be sustained in the light of modern knowledge. Antevs (1931) utilized the newer interpretation in his continued efforts to date the retreat of the ice in eastern Canada. The final, posthumous, say may be granted to A.P. Coleman (1941), who, citing Spencer (1907), Taylor (1913), and Johnston's new interpretation, concluded in a section on Niagara Falls as a Chronometer, that: The age of Niagara has been variously estimated at from 7,000 to 50,000 years, and as a chronometer it has proved a disappointment because of the unexpected complications entering into its history. So there was no final resolution. A definitive date for Niagara was never to come from the Gorge itself, but from an unexpected source, radiocarbon dating. This technique emerged in the postwar period (Libby et al., 1949) and eventually and indirectly yielded an approximate date of 12,500 years for the time since the ice last retreated from the Niagara region.30 But it was not from evidence within the Gorge, but from organic remains in the late-glacial regional context within which Niagara was found. Thus came about the downfall of Niagara.

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Notes 1 F.T. Thwaites (1927), reviewing the multiple glaciation controversy, also noted the 1890s as the peak decade for writings. 2 Ramsay (1859, 212) may have been the first to make this specific suggestion for the Niagara Gorge. 3 For a recent and popular account of this topic see Albritton (1986). Upham (1893) expressly connected an estimate of Niagara's age to a 100-million year estimate for the age of the earth. It was common practice to estimate durations as ratios, see Thwaites (1927) for examples with respect to the durations of subdivisions within the Pleistocene. 4 See Schultz (1983) and Eagan (1986) for accounts of the multiple ice age debate in North America. Both agree that it was accepted by the mid 1890s, although its reception was a somewhat delayed in Canada, and for a near contemporary review of the matter see Thwaites (1927) who noted that interest in the matter peaked in the 1890s. 5 Later to become Lord Kelvin. It was Kelvin's small estimates of the age of the earth that geologists and evolutionists disputed, see footnote 3. 6 A point noted subsequently by Adams (1905). 7 This was perhaps because, in a special report attached to the Fourth Annual Report of the State Survey, he had superimposed the 1875 US Lake Survey on Hall's 1842 map to show the recession. According to Anon, Scientific American 53 (1885), 201, there was a survey in 1883, by Thomas Evershed, which is represented by a map, at about 1:10,000, in New York (State) Commissioners for the State Reservation at Niagara (1884). It too shows substantial recession from the 1875 crestline, but it seems to be highly erroneous compared to the 1886 survey and later ones. Probably for this reason it was shelved. Evershed is mentioned in later issues of Scientific American as involved with attempts to develop water power from the Falls. He was almost certainly the man who was directed to accompany James Hall during the Hall survey of 1841-42, which was published in 1843 (Hall, 1843,402, footnote). 8 This remark by Hall was prescient, for Gilbert (1907) did detect errors in the Hall survey, but affecting the American Fall, which was not at issue here. In fact, minor inconsistencies were common when surveys were compared, see below. 9 Wright (1892), however, read it to date the postglacial as beginning at 40,000. 10 The only exception is Pohlman's extreme figure of 3,500 years computed in 1888, but going the rounds informally from as early as 1882 as a result of conference papers delivered by Pohlman. 11 Gilbert must have been replying to an advance copy of Geikie's third edition, for his letter to Nature is dated and published two months before the date at the end of Geikie's Prefacel 12 Probably Spencer 1894b is the paper indicated, and for Upham, 1894. 13 A confirmation of this position is provided by Spencer himself (1894b, 462, footnote) in which he cites five papers by himself, and one by Gilbert, as sources for his "Sketch of the Lake History and Nativity of the Falls." A similar pattern persisted in Spencer's later papers.

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14 Spencer did not believe in substantial glacial erosion and devoted considerable field time in Europe to this matter (Spencer 1888a). For a discussion in relation to the basins of the Great Lakes see Spencer (1888b, 197-199). 15 This we now recognize as isostatic rebound as the land recovers from the load imposed by the ice sheets. Gilbert and Upham believed in this particular mechanism from an early time in the period. 16 Pyne (1980, 117) and see the acknowledgement to this effect in Kindle and Taylor (1913, "Introduction"). 17 For an interesting interchange between Spencer and Gilbert on the interpretation of landforms which might, or might not, be the shorelines of Lake Iroquois in just the area where an ice dam might, or might not, be expected to be. See Geological Society of America, Bulletin 3 (1891): 488-495. 18 The period of the Nipissing Great Lakes. 19 A very recent field guide prepared for the CANAMQUA1990 meeting cites Taylor's revised interpretation (McKenzie 1990, 70), but does not discuss it. 20 By this I mean that there was little subsequent debate, although the age of the Gorge remained unresolved. Kindle and Taylor (1913) note quite openly that Spencer's account (1907) is different, and that they will not discuss it. 21 Spencer was not involved in the IGC Field Guide (for A.P. Coleman wrote the brief descriptive section on Lake Iroquois), but he did go on the trip, according to F.B. Taylor's testimony (Leverett and Taylor, 1915, 471). 22 However, Wright fell foul of T.C. Chamberlin of the USGS, and other 'official' geologists (e.g. WJ McGee), over the multiple glaciation issue, see Schultz (1983). 23 The only new part of the idea was that the date applied to postglacial time, not the age of the earth. 24 In fact Wright's estimates from the rock falls indicated too rapid a retreat so that to achieve his measure of 10,000 years he was obliged to find arguments that would enable him to extrapolate a slower rate of 'one-seventh the rate observed at the exposures measured,' over the whole of postglacial time. Thus it cannot be said to be an unequivocal estimate, although his friend Upham took it at face value, as he continued to do for Gilbert's (unwise, regretted and revoked) 1886 estimate for the Gorge as a whole. 25 The Canadian Survey was undoubtedly aware that G.K. Gilbert had ordered a new survey of the crest line by the USGS in 1905, and that a comprehensive geological study, which would emerge in 1913 as the Niagara Folio (Kindle and Taylor, 1913), was also underway, for Gilbert had been mapping this area since 1897. Absorbing Spencer's survey was a convenient way to maintain an equal interest in geological matters along the International Boundary, although there had never been a Canadian survey. According to Zaslow (1975, 237) Bell, the Acting Director of the GSC at the time (who hired Spencer), was fiercely criticized, but the move was justified upon grounds of the economic interests in the Falls. When Low subsequently became Director, he confirmed Spencer's appointment.

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26 This is almost certainly the map which accompanies Grabau (1901). 27 He also worked for the Canadian Geological Survey in 1908. 28 Subsequently I have found somewhat similar judgements to my own on Upham in Thwaites (1927). 29 Recent work (Lewis and Anderson, 1989) currently supports this suggestion for a short period between 11,000 and 10,500 BP. 30 Such as, for example, might be inferred from Prest's map of ice positions (Prest, 1969). Tovell (1966) put a date of 12,000 BP for the initiation of the river at Queenston, and this date is also given in Karrow (1969), and is cited in the IGC Guidebook for Field Excursion A43 (Sly and Lewis, 1972).

References Note: a very helpful source with extracts from many of the papers is Dow (1921). Adams, A.D. 1905. Recession of Niagara Falls. Scientific American, September 2nd, 178. Albritton, C. 1986. The Abyss of Time. Los Angeles: Tarcher. Anonymous. 1907. The History of the Niagara Falls. Geographical Journal, 30: 420-421. [This is a review of Spencer (1907) and is almost certainly by J.W. Gregory, as it paraphrases Gregory (1908).] Antevs, E. 1925. Retreat of the Last Ice-Sheet in Eastern Canada. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 146. . 1931. Late Glacial Correlations and Ice Recession in Manitoba. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 168: 20-24. Belt, T. 1875. Niagara—Glacial and Post-glacial Phenomena. Quarterly Journal of Science n.s. 5: 135-156. Blackwell, E.R. and Allen, Z. 1843. On the Volume of the Niagara River as Deduced from Measurements Made in 1841 by Mr E.R. Blackwell and Calculated by Z. Allen. American Journal of Science 46: 67-73. Boyd, W.H. 1928. A New Method of Determining the Rate of Recession of Niagara Falls. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Section IV, XXII: 1-12. . 1930. The Niagara Falls Survey of 1927. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 164. Calkin, P.E. and Brett, C.E. 1978. Ancestral Niagara River Drainage: Stratigraphic and Paleontologic Setting. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 89: 1140-1154. Coleman, A.P. 1924. An Outline Guide to the Geology of Niagara Falls. Guide to the General Excursion to Niagara Falls, Thursday, August 14,1924, prepared for the British Association for the Advancement of Science.

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. 1941. The Last Million Years. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Croll, J. 1875. Climate and Time in their Geological Relations. London: Dalby & Ibister. Dow, C.M. 1921. Anthology and Bibliography of Niagara Falls. 2 volumes. Albany, N.Y.: State of New York. Eagan, W.E. 1986. The Multiple Glaciation Debate — The Canadian Perspective. Earth Sciences History 5: 144-151. Emmons, W.H. 1935. Memorial of Warren Upham. Proceedings of the Geological Society of America for 1934,281-294. Geikie, J. 1874. The Great Ice Age. London: Ibister (later editions in 1877,1894). Gilbert, G.K. 1877. Report on the Geology of the Henry Mountains. United States Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. . 1886. The Place of Niagara Falls in Geologic History (Abstract). Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 35: 222-223. . 1890a. The History of Niagara River. A lecture read to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Toronto, August 1889, published in Sixth Annual Report of the State Reservation at Niagara, 1888-89, 61-84. . 1890b. Lake Bonneville. United States Geological Survey Monograph 1, Washington: United States Government Printing Office. . 1894. The Niagara River as a Geologic Chronometer. Nature 50: 53. . 1895. Niagara Falls and their History. National Geographic Society Monograph 1, No. 7: 203-236. . 1896. Profile of the Bed of the Niagara in its Gorge. Abstract, American Geologist 18: 232. . 1898. Recent Earth Movements in the Great Lakes Region. Eighteenth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey, Part 2,595-647. . 1907. Rate of Recession of Niagara Falls. United States Geological Survey, Bulletin 306. . 1908. The Evolution of Niagara Falls (review of Spencer, 1907). Science 28: 148-151. Grabau, A.W. 1901. Guide to the Geology and Paleontology of Niagara Falls and Vicinity. New York State Museum Bulletin 45. Greene, M.T. 1982. Geology in the Nineteenth Century. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. . 1985. History of Geology. In Kohlstedt, S.G. and Rossiter, M.W., eds., Historical writing on American science. OSIRIS, 2nd series, 1: 97-116. Gregory, J.W. 1908. Niagara as a Geological Chronometer. Nature 79: 11-12. Hall, J. 1843. Geology of New York. Part 4. Albany, N.Y.: State of New York.

106

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Hansen, A.M. 1894. Succession of Glacial Deposits in Norway. Journal of Geology 2: 123-144. Hobbs, W.H. 1912. Earth Features and their Characteristics. New York: MacMillan. Johnston, W.A. 1928. The Age of the Upper Great Gorge of the Niagara River. Royal Society of Canada, Proceedings and Transactions, 3rd series, XXII (4): 13-29. Karrow, P.P. 1969. Stratigraphic Studies in the Toronto Pleistocene. Geological Association of Canada, Proceedings 20: 4-16. Kindle, E.M. and Taylor, F.B. 1913. Niagara Folio. U.S. Geological Survey Atlas, No. 190. [Note: the field (book) edition of this folio was published in 1914, and is identical except in size.] Leverett, F. 1939. Memorial to Frank Bursley Taylor. Proceedings of the Geological Society of America for 1938,191-200. Leverett, F. and Taylor, F.B. 1915. The Pleistocene of Indiana and Michigan and the History of the Great Lakes. United States Geological Survey, Monograph 53. Lewis, C.P.M. and Anderson, T. W. 1989. Oscillations of Levels and Cool Phases of the Laurentian Great Lakes Caused by Inflows from Glacial Lakes Agassiz and Barlow-Ojibway. Journal of Palaeolimnology 2: 99-146. Libby, W.F, Andersen, E.C. and Arnold, J.R. 1949. Age Determination by Radio-carbon Content: World-wide Assay of Natural Radio-carbon. Science, n.s. 109: 227-228. Lyell, C. 1845. Travels in North America. 2 vols. London: John Murray. . 1847. The Principles of Geology. 6th ed. London: John Murray. McKenzie, I., ed., 1990. Quaternary Environs of Lakes Erie and Ontario. Waterloo, Ontario: Escart Press. New York (State) Commissioners of State Reservation at Niagara. 1884. Annual Report of the Commissioners of the State Reservation at Niagara. Albany, N.Y.: Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Company. North, F.J. 1965. Sir Charles Lyell — Interpreter of the Principles of Geology. London: Arthur Barker. Numbers. R.L. 1988. George Frederick Wright — from Christian Darwinist to Fundamentalist. Isis 79: 624-645. Pohlman, J. 1883. Life History of the Niagara River (Abstract). Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 32: 302. . 1886. The Niagara Gorge (Abstract). Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 35: 221-222. . 1888. The Life-history of Niagara. Transactions of the Institute of Mining Engineers 17: 322-328. Prest, V.K. 1969. Retreat of Wisconsin and Recent Ice in North America. Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1257a.

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Pyne, S.J. 1980. Grove Karl Gilbert: A Great Engine of Research. Austin and London: University of Texas Press. Ramsay, A.C. 1859. On Some of the Glacial Phenomena of Canada and the Northeastern Provinces of the United States during the Drift Period. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 15: 200-215. Rudwick, M.J.S. 1985. The Great Devonian Controversy. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Sack, D. 1989. Reconstructing the Chronology of Lake Bonneville: An Historical Review. In Tinkler, K.J., ed., History of Geomorphology: from Hutton to Hack. London: Unwin Hyman, 223-256. Schneider, J-M. 1928. A propos de 1'erosion aux chutes du Niagara. Comptes rendus des seances de la Societe de Geophysiques, Meteorologie et Astronomic (Geneve) 10: 319-322. Schultz, S. 1983. The Debate over Multiple Glaciation in the United States: T.C. Chamberlin and G.F. Wright 1889-1894. Earth Sciences History 2: 122-129. Scientific American. 1885-1894. Short, usually unsigned articles on bridges or power at Niagara listed by date, author (if known) volume and page: 1885 Supplement no. 482; 1885 (R.A. Proctor from Newcastle Weekly Chronicle); 52: 328; 1885 (paper by Benjamin Rhodes read to annual convention of the American Society of Civil Engineers); 53: 165; 1885 53: 201; 1887 57: 344; 1888 (reprinted from Engineering and Mining Journal) 58: 337; 1890 (abstracted from The Electrical Engineer) 62: 154; 1890 (reprinted from Engineering and Mining Journal) 62: 212; 1890, 62: 326; 1894, 70: 67. Secord, J.A. 1986. Controversy in Victorian Geology: The Cambrian-Silurian Dispute. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Sly, P.G. and Lewis, C.F.M. 1972. Guidebook. Field Excursion A 43: The Great Lakes of Canada— Quaternary Geology and Limnology. Montreal: XXIV International Geological Congress. Spencer, J.W.W 1888a. Glacial Erosion in Norway and in High Latitudes. Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada 5 (4): 89-98. . 1888b. Notes on the Origin and History of the Great Lakes of North America. Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 28: 197-199. . 1894a. Niagara Falls as a Chronometer of Geological Time. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 56: 145-149. . 1894b. The Duration of Niagara Falls. American Journal of Science, 3rd series, 48: 455-472. . 1894c. The Age of Niagara Falls. American Geologist 16: 135-136. . 1898. An Account of the Researches Relating to the Great Lakes. American Geologist 21: 110-123. . 1907. The Falls of Niagara: Their Evolution and Varying Relations to the Great Lakes; Characteristics of the Power, and Effects of its Diversion. Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa.

108

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT . 1908. Side Issues Bearing on the Age of Niagara Falls. Science, n.s. 28: 754-759. . 1910. L'evolution des chutes du Niagara. La Geographic 22: 105-118.

Taylor, F.B. 1895. Niagara and the Great Lakes. American Journal of Science 149: 249-270. . 1896. Correlation of Warren Beaches with Moraines and Outlets in Southeastern Michigan (abstract). American Geologist 18: 233-234. . 1898. Origin of the gorge of the Whirlpool Rapids at Niagara. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 21: 59-84. . 1913. Guidebook No. 4, Excursion Bl, Niagara Falls and Gorge, Taylor, F.B., 8-70 [the text is taken mainly from Kindle and Taylor (1913, see footnote, page 8 of this entry], Coleman, A.P., Excursion A4 — Iroquois Beach, 71-77. XII International Geological Congress, 1913. . 1930. New Facts on the Niagara Gorge. Michigan Academy of Sciences, Papers 12: 251-265. . 1933. Niagara Falls and Gorge, in Newland, D.H., ed., The Paleozoic Stratigraphy of New York. International Geological Congress (XVI), 1933, Guidebook 4: Excursion A-4: 78-103. Tesmer, I.H. 1989. A History of Geology in Western New York. Buffalo: SUNY College at Buffalo. Tesmer, I. H. and Bastedo, J.C., eds., 1981. Colossal Cataract: The Geologic History of Niagara Falls. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Thwaites, F.T. 1927. The Development of the Theory of Multiple Glaciation in North America. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences 23: 41-164. Tinkler, K.J. 1985. A Short History ofGeomorphology. London: Croom Helm. . 1987. Niagara Falls: The Idea of a History and the History of an Idea, 1750-1845. Geomorphology 1: 69-85. Tovell, W.M. 1966. Niagara Falls: Story of a River. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Upham, W.E. 1893. Geologic Time Ratios, and Estimates of the Earth's Age and of Man's Antiquity. Bibliotheca Sacra 50: 131-149. . 1894. The Niagara River since the Ice Age. Nature 50: 198-199. . 1896. The Glacial Lake Agassiz. United States Geological Survey, Monograph 25. . 1898. Niagara Gorge and Saint David's channel. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 9: 101-110. . 1901. Preglacial Erosion in the Course of the Niagara Gorge, and its Relation to Estimates of Postglacial Time. American Geologist 28: 235-244. . 1922. Memorial to George Frederick Wright. Geological Society of America, Bulletin 33: 15-30. Winchell, A.N. 1878. The Recession of the Falls of St Anthony. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 34: 886-901.

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Wright, G.F. 1881a. An Attempt to Calculate Approximately the Date of the Glacial Era in Eastern North America, from the Depth of Sediment on One of the Bowl-shaped Depressions Abounding in the Moraines and Kames of New England. American Journal of Science, 3rd series, 21: 120-123. . 1881b. An Attempt to Estimate the Age of Palaeolithic-bearing Gravels in Trenton, New Jersey. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History XXI: 137-145. . 1884. The Niagara Gorge as a Chronometer. Bibliotheca Sacra XLI, No. 162: 369-376. [Noted favourably in Science, 1884, III (65): 556.] . 1889. The Ice Age in North America, and its Relation to the Antiquity of Man. Akron, Ohio: Appleton. . 1892. Man and the Glacial Period. Akron, Ohio: Appleton. . 1899. New Method of Estimating Age of the Niagara Falls. Appleton's Popular Science Monthly LV: 145-154. -. 1902. The Rate of Lateral Erosion at Niagara. American Geologist XXIX: 140-143. -. 1912. The Story of My Life and Work. Oberlin, Ohio: Bibliotheca Sacra Company. Zaslow, M. 1975. Reading the Rocks. Ottawa: Macmillan of Canada and the Geological Survey of Canada.

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5

Climate of the Niagara Region Tony B. Shaw A mild climate which favours extensive cultivation of tender fruits and grapes is the distinctive feature of the Niagara Region. Due to its location just north of the 43rd latitude, the Region has a continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. However, its peninsular shape with Lake Ontario to the north and Lake Erie to the south helps to moderate seasonal temperatures, so that extreme damaging temperatures with respect to plant growth are rarely experienced. Not all areas of the Niagara Region are equally desirable from the point of view of human activity and plant growth. The interaction of climate and topography has given rise to some fairly distinct local climatic zones. The moderating influence of the Lakes is felt especially in that narrow belt bounded by Lake Ontario to the north and the Niagara Escarpment to the south where most of the tender fruit production is concentrated. Above the Niagara Escarpment and to the south of it, in the area known as the Scarpbrow Plain, winters are more severe and the probability of winter injury to tender fruit is greater, except on the Fonthill Kame. Good air drainage, attributed to the relatively steep slopes of the Kame, together with well-drained, light-textured soils, make this area uniquely suited for tender fruit production. Further south, the moderating effects of Lake Erie are felt along an area approximately ten kilometres inland from the lake shore. This chapter examines various aspects of climate, including temperature distribution, the effects of topography on microclimate, precipitation, and climatic variability, and attention is given to their influence on agriculture and tourism. The possible impacts of a human-induced climatic change on the local economy is also discussed.

Ill

112

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Synoptic Weather As in most of southern Ontario, the daily weather in the Niagara Region is highly variable. Beginning in the fall, Polar and Arctic air masses sweep into southern Ontario and may bring a diversity of weather conditions as they cross the Great Lakes Region. With the onset of winter the frequency of moving cyclones increases as they push northeast out of the American Mid-West and east from Alberta. The Niagara Region lies directly under a major storm track running northeast from the Mid-West, up through the Ohio Valley, over the Great Lakes Region and thence through the St. Lawrence Valley. Occasionally, during the winter, warm moist unstable subtropical air streams may be swept northeast by cyclonic storms that move out of the Mid-West. Along the warm front and north of the centre of low pressure, a mixture of weather conditions, ranging from fog through freezing rain to snow, prevail. Precipitation in the form of snow can be enhanced considerably as cold dry winds traverse the Lakes. With respect to the Niagara Region, the configuration of topography and the orientation of the Lakes to the prevailing winds are such that the resulting snowfall tends to be of light to moderate intensity bordering a narrow area along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. As is typical of southern Ontario, spring weather is highly variable and very turbulent, with high wind speeds and frequent cyclones as the transition from winter to spring progresses. Cold spells interspersed with warm spells are common in the months of March and April as migratory cyclones move through the Region in response to large-scale temperature differences. Damaging winds and ice storms are common at this time; and fruit trees in bloom are also likely to suffer freeze damage when a prolonged warm spell is followed by a rapid drop in temperature. Summer weather is dominated by strong radiative heating and widely scattered precipitation of convective origin. Cyclonic storms are infrequent as the Polar Front Jet is normally north of the Great Lakes Region at this time of the year. Frequent high pressure systems accompanied by lower wind speeds at the surface result in warm summer days. Occasionally, cold fronts associated with polar air masses move through the Region bringing widespread heavy thunderstorms and leaving behind refreshingly cool, clear air.

Temperature Temperature distribution The moderating effect of the Lakes and the variable weather caused by the movement of air masses are reflected in the distribution of mean daily temperatures in the Region. The temperature normals for the period 1950-80 for a number of representative stations show that annual daily mean temperatures range from 8.0 to 9.0°C (see Table 5.1).

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

113

Table 5.1 Distribution of Mean Daily Temperatures for Niagara Region, 1951-80 (in ° C). Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

MEAN Fort Erie Port Colborne Ridgeville St. Catharines Airport Vineland Stn. Welland Grimsby Niagara Falls Virgil Smithville

—4.4 —43 — 5.3 —4.3 —4.1 —4.9 —4.2 —4.6 —4.0 —5.5

—4.1 —4.0 —4.6 —37 —3.6 —4.5 —3.7 —4.0 —3.4 —5.2

0.1 0.0 —0.1 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.6 1.0 — 0.3

6.0 5.9 6.7 7.2 6.9 7.2 7.3 7.2 7.4 6.8

12.4 12.2 13.1 13.0 12.5 13.2 13.2 13.5 13.4 12.7

18.4 18.2 18.1 19.0 18.4 18.7 19.1 19.3 19.3 17.8

21.2 21.3 20.9 21.7 21.5 21.5 22.1 22.0 22.2 21.0

MEAN MAXIMUM Fort Erie Port Colborne Ridgeville St. Catharines Airport Vineland Stn. Welland Grimsby Niagara Falls Virgil Smithville

— 0.4 — 0.7 —2.0 — 0.4 — 0.7 — 1.2 — 1.0 — 0.9 —0.1 — 1.6

0.1 —0.1 — 1.0 0.3 0.0 —0.5 — 0.2 0.2 0.6 — 0.9

4.6 4.2 3.9 5.0 4.3 4.7 44 4.8 5.3 4.0

11.2 10.5 11.4 12.6 11.4 12.4 118 12.4 12.9 12.1

17.7 16.8 18.2 18.8 17.7 18.9 18.4 19.0 19.5 18.9

23.4 22.4 22.7 24.6 23.5 24.3 242 24.6 25.4 23.9

MEAN MINIMUM Fort Erie Port Colborne Ridgeville St. Catharines Airport Vineland Stn. Welland Grimsby Niagara Falls Virgil Smithville

— 83 — 7.8 —8.5 — 81 —7.5 —8.5 — 7.4 — 8? — 7.9 —9.4

— 82 — 7.8 — 8.1 — 75 — 7.1 —8.5 —7.1 — 7.7 — 7.4 —9.3

— 42 —4.0 —3.9 — 3.6 — 2.9 —3.8 —2.7 —3.5 —3.3 —4.6

08 1.4 2.1 20 2.3 1.8 2.8 21 1.9 1.5

68 7.5 8.0 71 7.2 7.4 7.9 7.9 7.2 6.5

EXTREME MAXIMUM Fort Erie Port Colborne Ridgeville St. Catharines Airport Vineland Stn. Welland Grimsby Niagara Falls Virgil Smithville

12.8 13.3 12.8 14.4 20.0 20.0 194 22.2 16.7 14.4

15.6 13.3 14.5 15.6 18.3 18.3 172 17.8 15.6 12.8

21.7 217 23.3 24.6 25.6 26.7 26.1 26.1 25.6 22.2

27.2 261 27.8 28.9 29.4 29.4 306 28.9 28.9 29.4

— 26.0 —31.0 — 24.5 — 10.0 — 23.9 —25.0 — 24.0 —8.9 — 25.0 — 24.5 —21.0 — 10.0 — 22.2 — 25.7 — 17.7 —8.3 — 23.3 — 25.6 — 18.9 —9.4 —32.8 —31.1 — 27.8 — 18.3 — 25.0 —26.1 — 21.7 — 16.1 — 25.0 —25.0 —20.0 — 13.5 — 22.8 —20.6 — 18.0 —8.3 — 27.8 —25.6 —22.8 —9.4

EXTREME MINIMUM Fort Erie Port Colborne Ridgeville St. Catharines Airport Vineland Stn. Welland Grimsby Niagara Falls Virgil Smithville

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Year

20.9 21.1 20.5 21.0 20.8 20.7 21.4 21.4 21.4 20.2

17.3 17.5 16.4 17.0 17.0 16.7 17.3 17.3 17.5 16.3

11.3 11.4 10.3 10.9 11.0 10.8 11.2 11.1 11.2 10.3

4.9 4.9 3.9 4.7 5.1 4.8 5.1 4.6 5.0 4.3

— 0.8 — 0.8 — 1.9 — 1.0 — 1.0 — 1.7 — 1.1 — 1.2 —0.8 —2.4

8.6 8.6 8.2 89 8.8 8.6 9.0 8.9 9.2 8.0

25.7 25.3 25.4 27.3 26.5 26.8 27.1 27.2 28.3 27.0

25.2 25.1 24.7 26.3 25.5 25.8 26.0 26.2 27.2 26.1

21.8 21.6 20.4 22.2 21.6 21.7 21.7 22.0 22.8 22.2

15.6 15.3 14.0 15.6 15.3 15.6 15 1 15.5 16.1 15.7

8.5 8.1 6.9 8.3 8.5 8.4 82 8.0 8.7 8.4

2.8 2.5 1.0 2.3 2.2 1.8 19 2.1 2.7 1.4

13.0 12.6 12.1 13.6 13.0 13.2 131 13.4 14.1 13.1

134 13.9 13.4 132 13.2 13.2 13.9 139 13.2 11.6

16.7 17.3 16.4 16.1 16.5 16.1 17.1 16.8 16.1 15.0

16.6 17.1 16.2 157 16.0 15.6 16.6 16.4 15.6 14.1

12.8 13.3 12.3 11.8 12.4 11.8 13.0 12.6 12.2 10.4

71 7.5 6.6 62 6.7 6.0 7.2 6.8 6.3 4.7

1.4 1.7 0.9 09 1.7 1.1 2.0 1.1 1.2 0.1

— 44 —4.1 —4.8 — 44 —4.3 —5.1 — 4.0 —4.5 —4.2 —6.1

42 4.7 4.2 41 4.5 3.9 4.9 4.5 4.2 2.9

31.0 30.0 30.6 32.1 32.8 33.9 361 35.0 32.5 32.8

31.5 306 32.2 32.9 36.7 36.1 361 34.4 35.6 35.0

33.5 33.0 33.3 35.6 39.4 37.8 40.6 35.6 36.7 35.6

31.7 306 35.0 35.6 39.4 37.8 394 38.3 36.7 33.9

31.2 30.0 32.8 33.3 36.7 35.0 37.8 35.6 36.7 33.3

25.6 272 27.2 28.9 31.7 32.2 317 32.8 29.4 27.8

21.1 200 25.0 22.2 27.2 25.6 261 24.4 23.0 25.6

17.2 16.7 15.6 17.8 19.4 20.6 183 18.3 19.4 17.2

33.5 330 35.0 35.6 39.4 37.8 406 38.3 36.7 35.6

—4.5 —3.5 —3.5 — 1.7 — 2.2 —6.1 —2.8 —4.4 — 1.7 —4.4

1.0 2.2 2.8 1.7 1.7 1.1 2.2 2.2 1.1 0.6

7.0 8.5 5.0 8.3 6.7 3.9 6.7 5.6 7.2 5.6

May June July Aug.

0.0 — 6.1 4.4 0.0 — 6.1 5.6 1.1 —3.9 5.5 0.6 —5.0 6.1 4.4 —0.6 —6.7 2.8 —2.2 —8.9 0.0 —7.2 4.4 0.0 —6.7 5.0 0.6 — 6.1 3.3 1.1 — 0.6 —9.4

— 12.0 — 20.0 —31.0 — 11.1 — 26.0 —26.0 — 12.0 — 26.0 —26.0 — 10.6 — 22.5 —25.7 — 14.4 — 26.0 —26.0 —20.0 — 27.8 —32.8 — 13.9 —27.2 —27.2 — 12.2 —24.0 —25.0 — 11.1 — 18.9 — 22.8 — 11.1 —23.3 — 27.8

114

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

As would be expected, those locations that are in close proximity to the Lakes show higher annual means than do the inland stations. However, the inter-station variations are not significant across the Region. As is typical of most mid-latitude continental locations, the coldest temperatures are in January and the warmest in the month of July, averaging about -4.7° C and 21.4° C, respectively. Nonetheless, the annual temperature range is comparatively narrower for stations at this latitude, owing to the moderating influence of the Lakes and the low relief. Although the Region as a whole has a more favourable climate than most of Ontario, the climate is by no means homogeneous. A variety of microclimates exist, resulting from the interaction of topography and the Lakes with the regional and local circulation systems. The pattern of these zones is reflected in the distribution of extreme minimum and maximum temperatures for the representative sites. The area to the north of the Niagara Escarpment, generally known as the Lake Ontario Plain, stands as a separate climatic zone and is considered to be the mildest area in winter and summer. However, even this zone is far from being climatically homogeneous, as it displays a variety of microclimates. Above the Escarpment, winter and summer temperatures are, comparatively speaking, more extreme, with the exception of the area known as the Fonthill Kame. Here, the steep topography of the hill facilitates the drainage of cold air under radiational frost conditions and thereby helps to moderate the temperatures along the slopes. Consequently, the Fonthill Kame and the Lake Ontario Plain are the two pre-eminent areas of tender fruit production. They will be discussed in greater detail later.

Growing season The chief constraint on most crops grown in a temperate region is that of temperature, which affects the physical and chemical processes within plants. It is the daily and seasonal fluctuations that are of particular concern, as these determine the lower and upper threshold of temperature beyond which growth ceases, as well as the minimum levels that are harmful to the crop (Treidel, 1978). A long growing season coupled with a long frostfree period and infrequent occurrences of extreme minimum temperatures will normally favour a stable agricultural system. Using a base temperature of 5° C, the effective growing season starts around April 16 and ends about November 12 for most perennial and annual crops. It should be noted that growing degree days represent only a crude index of energy availability and that the threshold growth temperature value differs among crop species. Accumulated growing degree day totals for the Niagara Region are significantly higher than those for most other areas of Ontario and attest to the large energy income and storage during the growing season.

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

115

Frost-free season As in most parts of Canada, the lower threshold and lethal minimum temperatures limit the production of certain crop species to certain regions. For example, the production of tree crops in the Niagara Peninsula and elsewhere in the country is limited by low temperatures during the winter and at blossom time. A pattern of alternate freezing and thawing in winter is also a serious limiting factor (Treidel, 1978). Moreover, the frequency of occurrence of frosts and the length of the frost-free season will especially determine the suitability of an area for the production of horticultural crops. In addition to the effects of air masses and the Lakes on air temperature, the influences of such factors as topography, slope, elevation, exposure and vegetation operate at the micro-scale. They determine the rate at which the ground surface warms up or cools down and consequently, the onset, duration, and retreat of the frostfree season. This complex interplay of physical factors in the Niagara Region result in a highly variable pattern of frost formation. For the Region as a whole, the last frost of the spring is most likely to occur on April 15, with 90% probability, with Grimsby having the earliest date on April 1 and Virgil the latest on April 20 (see Table 5.2). There is a 90% probability that the fall frost will commence in the first week of November for the Region as a whole. The mean frost dates for representative stations in the Region show moderate inter-station variations and can be attributed largely to a combination of physical factors at the individual site. The main large-scale effect of the Lakes on the area is to delay the onset of the frostfree season during the spring and to prolong it during the fall.

Extreme minimum temperature Rarely has extreme maximum temperature posed as serious a threat to human and agricultural activities in the Niagara Region as extreme minimum temperature. As mentioned previously, the chief danger to perennial tree fruit production, particularly tender fruit, is from low temperature, both during the winter and at blossom time in the early spring. The term winter-kill is often used to describe freeze damage to perennial crops which are exposed to low temperatures beyond their threshold limit. This hazard is the most important cause of crop losses in the Niagara Region and in Ontario as a whole. The degree of sensitivity to freezing temperature differs according to the type of crop and the stage at which it is most susceptible to damage. The severity of damage usually depends on the general health of the trees, soil moisture conditions, the length of the freeze period, soil type and orchard management practices. In particular, peach, sweet cherry and vinifera or hybrid grapes are the most temperature-sensitive fruit crops, following in descending order of sensitivity by sour cherry, apricot, pear, plum

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

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Table 5.2 Average and Extreme Frost Dates for Niagara Stations.

a Q o 6

First Frost (Fall)

Shortest

Last Frost (Spring)

First Frost (Fall)

»

Longest

Last Frost (Spring)

'

Earliest

Earliest

1

First Frost (Fall)

a Q o o

Port Colborne

16

192 A p r i l

Oct 21 16 Apr 14 May 11 Sept 23 Nov 11 Apr 14 Nov 5

204 May 4

Sept 23 141

Ridgeville

19

177 Apr 28

Oct 23 19 Apr 10 May 24 Oct 2

Nov 11 Apr 10 Nov 11

214 May 4

Oct 2

St. Catharines 21

173 May 1

Oct 22 61 Apr8

May 27 Sept 22

Nov 11 AprS

Nov 6

211

Vineland

30

175 Apr 28

Oct 21 75 Apr5

May 25 Sept 28 Nov 13 AprS

Oct 31

Welland

29

161 May 4

Oct 13 99 AprS

May 29 Sept 10

AprS

Oct 25

Grimsby

30

184 Apr 25

Oct 27 55 Apr8

May 25 Sept 30 Nov 25 AprS

Virgil

13

166 May 5

Oct 19

Niagara Falls

26

172 May 3

Oct 23 36 Apr 7

Fort Erie

13 166 May 4

Smithville

8

Oct 18

141 May 17 Oct 6

13 Apr 25 May 24 Oct 3 May 25 Sept 23

13 Apr 14 May 21 Oct 3 8

Apr 27 May 30 Sept 17

Probability of Last Spring Frost (90%)

Extremes Based on Full Period of Record

Last Frost (Spring) Last Frost (Fall)

i

Last Frost (Spring)

Station

Frost-Free Period (Days)

Averages Based on 1951-80 Period of Record

Apr 18

150

Apr 12

134

Apr 16

208 May 10 Oct 5

147

Apr 12

199 May 22 Sept 10

110

Apr 20

Nov 6

211 May 24 Oct 10

120

Apr 11

Apr 25 Nov 6

194 May 24 Oct 18

146

Apr 25

Nov 15 Apr 14 Nov 14 213 May 12 Oct 10

150

Apr 18

147

Apr 14

119

-

Nov 9

Nov 6

May 10 Sept 22

May 1

Nov 5

187 MayS

Oct 29 May 7

Oct 29

174 May 30 Sept 27

Nov 5

Oct 3

and apple. However, cold hardiness differs widely with cultivars within each species and depends partly on the rootstalks on which the cultivars are grafted. According to Mercier and Chapman (1956), during the period from 1925 to 1954 injurious temperatures (-25° C) to peach buds in the tender fruit belt of Niagara could be expected in 2 out of 30 winters for St. Catharines, 3 out of 30 winters for Vineland and 4 out of 30 winters for Grimsby. No wood damage temperature lower than -28° C was recorded during this period. They concluded that this area, where tender fruit was already well established, was the most climatically suitable area in Ontario. An examination of climatic records for the period 1955 to 1984 shows a frequency of 1 in 30 winters when freezing temperatures fell below -25°C for the above sites. During the spring, freezing temperatures caused by the advection of cold Arctic air or by radiation frost can also lead to freeze damage to tree fruits that are in the bloom stage. Such crops as peach and cherry bloom quite early in the spring and are likely to be damaged by spring frost. Open flowers, growing buds and small young fruits, depending on the tree species, can be damaged by freezing temperatures ranging from -1°C to -4°C. Peach is the most sensitive of the tree crops and requires

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117

the least number of sunshine hours to initiate bloom. Peach blossoms cannot tolerate temperatures lower than -3°C. They are, therefore, more susceptible to frost damage during the spring, when this lethal temperature could occur. For this reason, peach production is largely limited to areas in close proximity to Lake Ontario. The cool lake temperature delays blossoming in the spring until much of the danger of spring frost has passed. The accumulation of an effective number of growing degrees normally occurs approximately between the middle of April and the middle of May. This is the bloom period for tender fruit trees, and consequently they are more susceptible to freeze damage at this time. Damaging freezing temperatures have been recorded in 2 out of 30 years for stations in the eastern half of the Fruit Belt and 6 out of 30 years for stations in the western half. Extreme freezing temperatures are normally associated with Arctic air that flows into southern Ontario unmodified by movement across land and lake surfaces. Under strong anticyclones, winds will move into the Great Lakes Region from the northeast. If a large area of the lake surface is covered by ice, then this air remains cold and dry as it moves across the Niagara Fruit Belt. During the night and under a clear sky, strong radiational cooling of the ground will accentuate freezing to sub-zero level, at which bud and wood damage to tender fruit and grapes are likely to occur. Rarely does the entire surface of Lake Ontario freeze over, due to the large reservoir of heat stored over the summer. However, it appears that the severity of damage in the Niagara Fruit Belt is highly correlated with the extent of the ice cover in Lake Ontario. The percentage of the lake covered by ice and the location of the ice cover with respect to onshore air flow are critical in determining how seriously freezing temperatures will damage crops. In recent decades, fewer severe winters have occurred, and consequently there have been lower incidences of crop damage due to winter kill. However, risks of crop damage could potentially increase as farmers become impelled by market forces to replace crop varieties that are more climatically adaptable by those that are dictated by consumers' tastes.

Effects of Topography on the Microclimate Although the Lakes exercise their moderating influence over the whole of the Niagara Peninsula, the regional climate is far from homogeneous. A number of distinct microclimates exist and these result largely from the interaction of the Lakes and major topographic features with local circulation systems. Two notable and distinct microclimates are those found to the north of the Niagara Escarpment along the Lake Ontario shoreline and on the Fonthill Kame.

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Lake Ontario Plain Below the Niagara Escarpment a combination of slope features and air flow patterns give rise to a number of linear microclimatic zones. Closed, circular airflow patterns can be established due to differential rates of warming and cooling of the Lake and the adjacent land area. The Lake absorbs and stores vast amounts of heat, which it releases during its unstable period (winter) when the temperatures of the surrounding air and land are cooler than that of the lake surface. During the summer the cooler lake surface moderates the warmer temperature of the surrounding land areas as the cool lake breeze penetrates inland. The strength and the distance inland of this onshore flow depends on the temperature difference between the land and water. The larger the temperature difference the greater the strength of the lake breeze. Usually the lake breeze is strongest in the warmer months of July and August when the air temperature over the land is at its highest. As the land cools down more rapidly than the Lake at night, the onshore flow gradually reverses into an offshore flow. The strength of this flow can be accentuated by strong radiational cooling of the land under clear, calm nights and by steep slopes. On the relatively steep north-facing slopes of the Niagara Escarpment cold air drains northward thus reducing the danger of cold-injury over a broad area comprising the steep Escarpment slopes and a narrow area some distance from the base of the Escarpment. Simultaneously, the moderating effects of Lake Ontario are felt along an adjacent area where temperatures are kept relatively cool during the spring and summer and comparatively mild during the fall and into the early winter. In the very flat areas of the Lake Plain, winter cold and spring frosts tend to be more severe when cold air drains off the Escarpment slopes and settles in this zone (Figure 5.1). The Niagara Escarpment also influences the winds and temperature on the Lake Ontario Plain on a daily basis. Under prevailing winds from the southwest, the Escarpment acts like a shelter belt, decreasing the winds on the leeward side and creating a protected zone that may vary from about 0.3 km to 2.5 km from the base of the Escarpment outward. The width of this protected zone is directly related to the strength of the winds and the angle at which they traverse the Escarpment. In the winter months this protected zone is characterized by lower wind speeds and moderate temperatures. The climate of the Lake Ontario Plain belies its relatively simple and homogeneous topography. There are three generalized microclimatic zones which become readily apparent when the entire area is under weak synoptic conditions. These zones run approximately parallel to the Escarpment and each has been delineated in accordance with the relative frequency with which radiation frost will likely occur in the spring. However, in spite of their apparent homogeneity large temperature variations exist within these zones. Small scale topographic and physiographic features associated with the valleys of drainage systems and other low lying areas, together with vegetation

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119

Figure 5.1 Climatic effect of Lake Ontario with the Niagara Escarpment under radiation frost. (After Wiebe and Anderson, 1976)

cover, artificial barriers and built-up areas, create their own microclimates and help to account for the temperature variations. Where insolation is obstructed due to slope exposure and angle, and where cold air is channelled into narrow areas and depressions, there exists the ideal location for the development of cold zones (Stewart et al., 1977). Within the Lake Plain as a whole, stretching from Grimsby to Niagara Falls, the eastern half has milder winters and a longer frostfree period than the western half, as evidenced by the lower probability of cold injury to peach buds (Mercier and Chapman, 1956).

Fonthill Kame The Fonthill Kame, located in the Town of Pelham, is a kame delta composed mainly of sand and gravel deposited by meltwater from the last glacier about 13,000 years ago. This hill stands about 75 metres above the surrounding Haldimand Clay Plain (Glacial Lake Warren) and measures about 3.2 km from north to south and some 5.5 km from east to west. During the retreat of the Lake Erie ice lobe which covered the Niagara Peninsula, the ice front remained relatively stationary at the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. It ponded back meltwater from the glaciers to form a series of glacial lakes. Meltwater from the glacier flowing off the ice pack conveyed and concentrated glacial debris in the hill presently called the "Fonthill Kame". Several deltaic layers of varying thickness form the internal structure of the Kame. Generally, the layers and the deposits contained in them dimmish in thickness and particle size from northeast to southwest, the direction of channel flow. The steep slope on the

120

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north side of the Kame, the ice contact slope, contains well-sorted but poorly stratified sediments of sands, gravels, and boulders. The southern face is much gentler and is composed almost entirely of fine sand, though embedded gravels and boulders also may be found in scattered locations. This area stands out as the singular area above the Niagara Escarpment, with the combination of soil and microclimatic requirements suitable for the production of tender fruits. In the Fonthill area, as in other fruit-producing areas in Canada, the major climatic hazard to tree fruits is the occurrence of low temperatures during the winter and at blossom time. Alternating freezing and thawing or alternating warm and cold spells are also limiting factors on tree fruit production. Flower buds dehardened by a few days of moderately warm weather may then be killed by a sudden drop in temperature. Low temperatures can be accentuated during the nights with clear skies and calm conditions. The result is a strong radiational cooling of the ground and the near-surface air layers. A temperature inversion forms, where the coldest air lies at the crop level and the temperature increases upward for some height. In the uneven terrain of the Fonthill area, the cold, dense air may be induced by gravity to flow to low lying areas where it accumulates to form frost hollows. The downslope flow will also cause mixing in the near-surface air layers, transporting heat from the warmer layer above the inversion toward the cold surface layers. This net effect leaves the upper slopes under milder temperatures. It is also generally known that under clear skies and during the night, convex land surfaces are warmer while concave surfaces are colder. Restriction or modification of this drainage flow can adversely affect cold-sensitive crops. At the point of restriction, where ponding of cold air will occur, a frost danger exists, and the endangered area enlarges as the cold air lake expands throughout the area. Moreover, restriction on downslope flow can also limit mixing of the near-surface cold air with warmer air aloft. Under conditions favouring radiation frost, topography plays a major role on the rate of cooling and the spatial distribution of surface temperature. This condition appears to be a significant influence on the climate of the Fonthill Kame and its suitability for tender fruit. The steep slopes of the Kame, which project above the surrounding areas, facilitate good air drainage, thus reducing the risk to tender fruit crops from frost during winter and spring. The Kame also exerts considerable influence on the climate of the contiguous areas, especially those which are downwind from the direction of prevailing winds. The steep north and northeast facing slopes act like a shelter belt on areas to the leeside under strong prevailing winds from the southwest. In the sheltered areas air temperatures are moderated in the winter and summer months creating microclimatic conditions that are beneficial for tender fruit crops (Figure 5.2). Given the complex topography of this area, in terms of height, slope variations, slope exposure, orientation, vegetation and soil types, it may be possible to delimit three microclimatic zones:

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121

Figure 5.2 Fonthill Kame air temperature variation: an example of spatial variation of air temperature under clear, calm conditions during the winter.

1) the zone to the southwest, with relatively gentle slopes exposed to the prevailing air currents and where hardy fruits are cultivated on sandy loam soils; 2) the flat top of the Kame with cooler mean temperatures, but which may be typically warmer than the slopes under clear skies and calm conditions because of the downslope drainage of cold surface air and its replacement by warmer air from aloft; 3) the steep north and northeast facing slopes, with limited exposure to the overhead sun and good air drainage, where daytime temperatures remain cooler than on the southern slopes, thus delaying spring blossom and where night-time temperatures stay warmer due to turbulent mixing in the drainage flows (Shaw et al., 1988). The markedly different microclimate found on the Kame is largely the result of its distinct topographic features and is manifested most noticeably in its temperature distribution. A comparison of temperatures for Ridgeville, on its southern flank, with those of surrounding stations within a distance of about 20 kilometres, shows that Ridgeville has the lowest annual mean temperature (8.2° C). Mean maximum temperatures are generally lower throughout the year and mean minimum temperatures lower in the winter in comparison to those at surrounding stations.

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Slope, aspect and elevation appear to be the dominant controlling factors on the temperature of the Fonthill area. The beneficial effects are felt in terms of reduced danger of winter injury to fruit trees and of frost damage to spring blossoms and young fruits. This is in part due to the excellent air drainage afforded by the the steep slopes of the Kame. In contrast, the relatively flat areas surrounding the Kame experience the full effects of radiative cooling and heating, and in the absence of any moderating factor, daily temperature may undergo large fluctuations (Shaw, 1992).

Precipitation In the Niagara Region, as elsewhere in the mid-latitudes, frontal and convective systems produce most of the annual precipitation. Here, precipitation includes moisture that falls principally as rain and snow. Frontal precipitation which occurs at the forward boundary of air masses moving into the Niagara Region constitutes the dominant precipitation mechanism, especially in the fall, winter and spring. This type of precipitation is produced mainly by air masses of Pacific and Arctic origin and is normally associated with moving cyclones. Late spring and summer precipitation is produced by a combination of convective and frontal systems. Convective systems result from strong surface heating, are local in origin, and produce light scattered showers and occasionally intense rainfall of short duration. Frontal systems which move into the Niagara Region with less frequency in the summer are mainly Maritime Tropical in origin, interpersed with the occasional cold front from the Canadian Arctic. The moisture-bearing air masses in the Niagara Region, as elsewhere in central and eastern Canada, originate from the Pacific north and the Gulf of Mexico and are normally associated with large-scale synoptic systems. These systems may intensify as they cross the Great Lakes, especially in the fall and early winter when the lower layers of the air masses are heated by the relative warmer water surface, thereby increasing the evaporation rate and the potential for precipitation. This lake-induced precipitation is felt principally in the lower southern area of the Niagara Peninsula; the moisture-laden surface winds from the southwest, on crossing Lake Erie, deposit their moisture in the form of snow as they rise and move over the land surface. Occasionally, when surface winds are from the northeast, the same effect may be produced in the winter in the area below the Niagara Escarpment by rising saturated air blowing off the relatively warm surface of Lake Ontario. Movement of these contrasting air masses aloft is subject to control by the prevailing Westerlies, which entrain cold Arctic air streams from the north and warm sub-tropical air streams from the south in a large latitudinal meandering flow pattern across the North American continent. Their general direction of movement at the surface, the intensity of precipitation produced, and the frequency with which these air masses invade southern Ontario are in turn controlled by the Polar Front Jet Stream.

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

123

Except for the infrequent connective systems in the summer months, the chief mechanisms which produce the bulk of the precipitation over the Niagara Region throughout most of the year are largely cyclonic and frontal in nature, regional in scale and subject to the seasonal rhythm of the General Circulation.

Temporal distribution On the basis of annual temperature and precipitation distribution, the climate of the Niagara Region can be classified as humid continental according to the Koppen Climatic System. The precipitation is adequate for natural vegetation and cultivated crops, with annual totals for stations in the Niagara Region ranging from 80.7 to 99.5 cm (31.5 to 38.8 in). Even though the precipitation can be described generally as evenly distributed throughout the year, two maxima are observed in the late summer and midwinter (Figure 5.3). The latter maximum can be attributed to the frequent passage of frontal systems during the months of December and January and the unstable nature of the Great Lakes System at this time of the year. Airmass convective showers and occasional cold frontal systems are responsible for the late summer maximum. There are also two periods of precipitation minima, the one in July and a more pronounced period in February. Both periods of relatively low precipitation are related to the frequency of air masses and their stability and moisture characteristics. In general, Niagara's annual precipitation totals are adequate for the moisture requirements of most temperate cultivated crops and the naturally occurring vegetation. This amount is well distributed throughout the year and shows a precipitation maximum in the summer which corresponds to the period of high evapotranspiration demands by crops. Figure 5.4 shows the number of days with precipitation in each month of the year. Winter precipitation maximum shows good correspondence with monthly precipitation frequencies, indicating a relatively higher number of days with precipitation, whereas the late summer maximum has fewer days with precipitation. Winter precipitation is more frequent but less heavy, while summer precipitation is heavy but less frequent. Intense but infrequent convective and frontal activities in the Niagara Region account for much of the summer rainfall, while widespread but frequent frontal systems and depressions account for the relatively light mixture of rain and snow in the winter. The natural attractions of this Region for summer tourism and recreation are further enhanced by the relatively few number of days with measurable precipitation. It rains on approximately one in every four days during the summer (June to September), and much of the shower activity, although intense, is of short duration. Occasionally, periods of intense rainfall have produced flash floods, especially in urban areas where

124

Figure 5.3

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Distribution of monthly mean precipitation.

Figure 5.4 number of days with precipitation

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

125

rapid runoff is aided by the impervious nature of the surface and the limited capacity of the natural and artificial drainage systems.

Rainfall The mildness of the climate of the Niagara Region is manifested in the abundance of the precipitation which falls as rain. The form in which precipitation reaches the ground is determined largely by the temperature of the air in the lower boundary layer. When the air temperature is above 0° C the precipitation falls normally as rain; and of the Region's annual average total, approximately 84% (750 mm) falls as rain. Beginning in March the rainfall begins to increase, it peaks around mid-April and declines gradually to a secondary minimum by the end of July; it peaks again to its highest level in August, followed by a gradual decline in September, and from thence it falls to the lowest level in January and February (Figure 5.5). Rainfall in the winter months is attributed to the occasional invasion of mild Tropical Maritime airmasses from the Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic. When the upper Westerlies and the Polar Front Jet Stream are under a pronounced meridional flow pattern, mild moist air is entrained northward as far as the Great Lakes Region bringing a mixture of weather conditions. Another phenomenon known as the January thaw occurs with regularity, bringing again relatively mild weather along with occasional rain around the third week of January. This thaw is caused by a flow of warm air on the western flank of the Bermuda-Azores anticyclone, which for some unexplained reason shifts north from its usual mid-winter location. The frequency distribution of the number of days with rainfall in each month of the year shows a bimodal pattern (Figure 5.6). The highest number of days with rainfall occurs in the spring and fall and is attributed largely to an increase in frontal activity. Extreme rainfall amounts that are likely to cause flood damage also occur during these periods of high rainfall frequency.

Snowfall Snowfall in the Niagara Region can be described as light to moderate. Total seasonal accumulations average about 144 cm and range from a low of 100 cm for inland locations to a high of 177 cm for locations adjacent to and downwind from Lake Erie (Figure 5.7). The relatively high amounts in the south and southwestern portions of the Region are due primarily to lake-effect. Snowfall produced by lake-effect is most frequent in early winter when the lake surface temperature is relatively mild. The Lake may remain active as long as the greater portion of its surface remains ice-free. When a cold, dry (Arctic) air mass advects over the warm lake surface, it is heated from below and moisture readily evaporates. This raises the vapour pressure and

126

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Figure 5.5

Distribution of mean monthly rainfall.

Figure 5.6

Number of days with rainfall.

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

Figure 5.8

Number of days with snowfall.

127

128

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

reduces the stability of the air, thereby enhancing convection and cloud development. On crossing the relatively rough land surface, the onshore winds slow down, and consequent horizontal convergence induces uplift of the saturated air, causing further cloud development and lake-effect snow. The potential for heavy snowfall is enhanced by the fetch of the advecting cold air and the topography of the shore area. A long over-water trajectory and hilly terrain can induce heavy lake-effect snow on such downwind areas as the eastern shores of Lake Erie. However, these two conditions are seldom combined in the Niagara Region, where lake-induced snowfall is moderate. The area below the Niagara Escarpment has a lower snowfall accumulation total in comparison to the area above the Escarpment. This difference is attributed partly to the location of the Niagara Peninsula downwind from Lake Erie. The entire region is under the influence of the prevailing southwesterly winds, which on crossing Lake Erie in the winter months would supplement the snow produced by frontal uplift. This lake-effect snow diminishes northward as the winds cross the Niagara Peninsula. Snowfall induced by Lake Ontario on its southern shore occurs less frequently in the winter. However, heavy snowfall can be produced at times by cold dry Arctic winds advecting from the northwest and occasionally from the north and northeast across the lake surface. Of the two lakes, Lake Ontario has the greater potential to induce snowfall because of the greater reservoir of heat stored in it and a larger surface that remains ice-free throughout the winter. Yet the actual lake-effect snow in the northern areas of Niagara Peninsula remains low because seldom do the optimum over-water trajectory conditions occur. The Niagara Region has an average of 37 days with measurable snowfall. The highest number of days with snow occurs in January (11), followed by February (9), December (8) and March (6). Light snowfall is recorded in the latter half of November and the first half of April, averaging three days and one day respectively (Figure 5.8). While the snow accumulation from individual storm events may be adequate for recreational activities, the snow pack seldom lasts long. The same goes for the blanket of snow that envelopes the countryside and serves as a protective cover for the ground and short vegetation. The highly variable nature of the weather with cold spells followed by mild spells is characteristic of the snowy months of December and January. At times heavy snowfall may temporarily impede transportation, but the main hazard to winter driving is the build-up of ice on the road surface. This condition occurs when snowmelt during the day follows rapid overnight freezing. Additional snowfall serves to insulate this frozen layer from melting, making it more hazardous for motorists.

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

129

Spatial distribution of precipitation Although the mechanism of precipitation in the Niagara Region is largely cyclonic and regional in scale, local topographic and locational features exert considerable control on the way it operates spatially. The orientation of this peninsula land mass with respect to the prevailing winds, its proximity to the two Great Lakes, and the prominence of the Niagara Escarpment, ultimately determine the spatial variation in the annual precipitation totals over the Region. Over the Region as a whole, precipitation generally decreases from south to north and falls into three broad zones which run in a general east-to-west direction. The southern zone with the highest annual precipitation total corresponds to the area most likely to be influenced by lake-effect snow. The northern boundary of this zone is approximately twelve kilometres inland from Lake Erie and may in fact delimit the area most affected by moisture-bearing winds from the southwest. The middle zone represents an area of intermediate precipitation and its northern boundary corresponds roughly to the brow of the Niagara Escarpment. The zone with the lowest precipitation totals is found below the Escarpment on the Lake Ontario Plain (Figure 5.9). Much of the spatial variation in the annual precipitation totals for the Region can be accounted for by the variation in the amount of winter snowfall, which is strongly influenced by topography and aspect in relation to the prevailing southwesterly flow of moist air. An observer travelling from north to south across this Region after a snowstorm cannot fail to notice the marked increase in the amount of snow south of the Niagara Escarpment. The higher snowfall to the south is attributed largely to lakeeffect snow. Early winter storms travelling in a southwest trajectory pick up additional moisture as they traverse the relatively warm Lake Erie surface. As the saturated cold air crosses the Niagara Peninsula much of this moisture is deposited downwind from the Lake. Occasionally, much heavier snowfall occurs on the Lake Ontario Plain when cold Arctic air from the north-east is advected across the open waters of Lake Ontario. Nonetheless, average annual snowfall totals remain higher to the south of the Niagara Escarpment. The interactions between local topography and regional weather systems also produce variations in precipitation totals on the local scale. This areal differentiation is due largely to orography which can act to reduce as well as enhance precipitation. Once the weather systems cross the lakes they are most likely to be affected on land by the Niagara Escarpment, owing to its elevation and orientation to the prevailing winds which are predominantly from the south and southwesterly directions. This long sinuous feature shows up as a sharp isohyetal boundary separating an area of higher precipitation to the south from an area of lower precipitation to the north of it. When moisture-bearing winds are from the southwest, the Escarpment tends to create a rainshadow effect on precipitation falling on the Lake Ontario Plain to its north. This areal differentiation is especially noticeable with respect to the occurrence of snow and fog.

Figure 5.9 Temporal and spatial distribution of annual precipitation.

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131

Hydrological Constraints

Water balance The average overall precipitation is adequate for most field and tree crops, and since the chief supply of water for homes and industries is from a lake source, the Region seldom suffers from major drought hazards. However, crop yields and sources of potable water are frequently affected by the occurrences of dry spells during the summer months, even when annual precipitation totals appear to be normal or above normal. It is clear that the distribution of the precipitation during the year is what ultimately affects its efficacy with respect to agriculture and urban use. The annual distribution of soil moisture based on normalized precipitation values shows a period of surplus from the beginning of January to the end of May. With a gradual decrease in precipitation and an increase in evapotranspiration accompanying late spring and summer, the soil moisture declines and a deficit condition usually occurs by July (Figure 5.10). Even though August receives the highest monthly rainfall total in the year, this is offset by high evapotranspiration demands so that soil moisture deficit may last well into September. For field crops which are not deep-rooted and grown especially in sandy loam soils, a period of moisture stress is most likely to occur in the months of July and August. However, the greatest risk to agriculture and municipal water supplies occurs in July when precipitation is the lowest of any month while evaporation and evapotranspiration rates are at their highest.

Non-effective precipitation When considering the moisture gain of the soil, it is not realistic to count all of the precipitation received. Some loss occurs because of surface runoff, infiltration and percolation. Immediately following rainfall some of the moisture also evaporates before it gets a chance to move downward through the soil; thus, the plant does not get to benefit from all the precipitation received. Although there are several ways of defining non-effective precipitation or dry spell, it is defined in this study as a sequence of seven consecutive days occurring when precipitation fails to satisfy the demands of potential evaporation and evapotranspiration. A frequency analysis of non-effective precipitation can provide information on the likelihood of moisture stress during the growing season as well as serve as a guide for restrictive watering practices or rationing. The analysis covers the period from the beginning of April to the first week of November for each week of the growing season and is based on a 30-year normalized rainfall record covering the period 1950 to 1980 for two representative stations. A considerable degree of fluctuation in the frequency occurrence of non-effective precipitation is observed throughout the growing season. The frequency increases

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THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Figure 5.10 Water budget (30 year normal) for selected stations in Niagara. (P, PE and AE refer to the following respectively: precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and actual evapotranspiration.)

at the beginning of May and by the end of that month prolonged periods with dry spells are well established for the Niagara Region. The frequency peaks in June and gradually declines by the end of August. The Niagara District Airport station has a comparatively higher frequency of periods with non-effective precipitation for the greater part of the growing season when compared with Welland, but both stations show a very sharp decline by the end of October (Figure 5.11).

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

133

Figure 5.11 Frequency of dry spells during the growing season, 1951-80, when potential evapotranspiration is greater than precipitation.

Unless adequate moisture is stored in the soil by the end of the spring there is very little likelihood that even the normal rainfall amounts will meet the moisture requirements of cultivated field crops and vegetation in general during the growing season. Reduced winter precipitation could mean severe moisture stress for crops at the beginning of spring and could necessitate supplemental irrigation.

Climate Variability Mean annual precipitation totals are useful in planning for agriculture and in the construction of hydrological projects. Also of considerable importance is the knowledge of the interannual variability, especially with respect to the extreme amounts. An analysis of Niagara's annual precipitation totals as represented by the Niagara District Airport station shows that the distribution is characterized by a high degree of interannual variability. Extreme annual precipitation totals based on the last 75 years of climatic record range from the lowest total of 527 mm recorded in 1941 to the highest total of approximately 1076 mm in 1945. In 55 percent of the years the annual precipitation totals fell below the mean of 788 mm during this period. In spite of the high degree of interannual variability, the precipitation distribution shows definite trends over the last five decades. Using five-year running means, the large fluctuations have been smoothed out in order that significant trends can be more easily identified. Figure 5.12 shows that the trend over the last five decades has been one which is generally upward moving. The decades of the 1940s and

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THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

1960s were characterized by low precipitation while an upward trend can be observed in the last two decades. The year 1988 is the only anomalous year in the recent decade when drought conditions were pervasive. It is uncertain whether this generally increasing trend is one that is naturally occurring trend or one that results from induced greenhouse warming. A similar examination of annual mean temperatures shows considerable variability from one decade to the next. The period from the mid-1920s to the late 1950s shows a warming trend followed by a period of cooler temperatures up to the early 1980s (Figure 5.13). The last ten years shows an increasing trend. Since the keeping of instrumental records, global mean temperatures are said to have been the warmest in the 1980s, but this is not reflected in the records for the Niagara Region. The St. Catharines data show the 1940s and 1950s to be the warmest years in the the Niagara Region over the last one hundred years and that the temperatures of the 1980s appear to be close to the norm. In looking only at the decadal changes in temperature and precipitation without the benefit of the long-term record, one can easily be led to conclude from this that the climate is changing. There are no definite trends in the temperature and precipitation records that would suggest that the climate in the Niagara Region has changed or is changing over the long term. The climate is characterized by natural variability which appears to be normal for climates in the mid-latitude region of the northern hemisphere. However, this does not imply that the global climate is not changing since climate variability at the regional and local scales may mask any slight rise in the global mean temperature.

Climatic Change The last decade has seen major disasters on a worldwide scale, associated with extreme meteorological and climatic events and variability in the weather and climate. In addition, average global temperature in the 1980s is said to have been the warmest since the beginning of reliable instrumental record in the mid-nineteenth century. These have led to questions about global and regional climatic changes. In spite of natural climate variability, it is believed that a real warming of the global temperature of 0.3° C to 0.6° C has taken place over the last century (Follard, Karl and Vinnikov, 1990). The size of the warming over the last century is broadly consistent with the predictions of climate models but is also of the same magnitude as natural climate variability. There is no certainty whether the sole cause of the observed warming is related to the human-made greenhouse effect or to natural climate variability. Alternatively, this variability and other human factors could have masked a larger greenhouse warming, thus making it more difficult to detect. At the present time, evidence of global warming is strongly supported by the retreat of most mountain glaciers in the world since the end of the nineteenth century and

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

Figure 5.12

Distribution of annual precipitation totals for St. Catharines, 1940-90.

Figure 5.13

Distribution of annual temperature for St. Catharines.

135

136

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

increased melting of the ice margin in West Greenland over the last century. Evidence of warming is also supported by the fact that global sea level has risen over the same period by an average of 1 to 2 mm per year (Warrick and Oerlemans, 1990). Since regional temperature changes are likely to differ considerably from the global average, the effects of global warming are likely to be more intense in some regions than others. Within regions the effects are likely to bring mixed benefits. Some ecosystems will be stressed while others will increase in abundance and/or range. Productivity of some crops will increase while others will decrease. In the cold temperate zone winter temperatures will be moderated, thereby reducing heating costs, while summer temperatures and the cost of cooling will soar. The shipping season within the Great Lakes will increase but at the risk of lower lake levels with consequent reduction in the tonnage of materials an individual vessel can transport. Current models are unable to make reliable estimates of changes on the local scale. As part of the Great Lakes Basin, it is conceivable that the Niagara Peninsula will experience an even longer growing season and milder winter temperature than most areas. This may diminish the meteorological hazards for fruit crops caused by low freezing temperatures in winter, but it may induce budburst early in the spring with a corresponding increase in the risk of frost damage. Moreover, orchard and field crops could experience an increased frequency in the occurrence of moisture stress days as a result of higher summer temperatures. The quantity and quality of drinking water in municipal reservoirs are also likely to be affected. This situation of course will depend a great deal on changes in precipitation and the accompanying changes in evaporation. These changes at the local level will be directly related to changes in the large-scale weather regimes, to the extent that these shift the position of depression tracts or anti-cyclones. In this scenario, the weather could become more extreme and variable and could have a major impact at the local level.

Conclusions Its location between the two prominent Great Lakes of Erie and Ontario has been the most dominant local influence on Niagara's climate. Given its latitude and location with respect to the major storm tracts and the large latitudinal sweep of the Polar Front Jet, the Region should experience extreme conditions associated normally with a continental climate. Instead, the moderating influence of the adjacent lakes throughout the year is such that the Region's climate is characterized by relatively mild winters and warm summers. The Region owes the distinctive features of its climate not only to these large bodies of water but also to such prominent topographic features as the Niagara Escarpment and the Fonthill Kame. The interaction of these local physical features with the regional weather systems has created a unique climate well suited for viticulture and the production of tender fruits. In other respects, the mild features

CLIMATE OF THE NIAGARA REGION

137

of the climate are highly conducive to outdoor recreational activities in the summer and winter. Although the climate appears to be homogeneous when viewed on a regional scale, a closer examination reveals many distinct microclimates on the local scale. These microclimatic variations can be easily identified since their boundaries correspond very closely to those of major topographic features and areas within which certain temperature-sensitive crops can or cannot be grown. This is best exemplified by the two distinct microclimate areas created by the Niagara Escarpment and found to the north and south of it. Natural hazards that are meteorological and climatic in origin pose only moderate risks to the Region's economy in general. Droughts, tornadoes, hail and extreme temperatures occur infrequently, but they have been known to cause widespread damage, especially to fruit trees. As far as tender fruits are concerned, spring frosts still pose major risks at the flowering stage of development of the crops. It is difficult to determine from the relatively short climatic record for the Region whether its climate is experiencing any major changes that may be related to natural causes or human-induced global warming. The precipitation records show that although annual totals vary considerably from year to year and on a decadal basis, an increasing trend is apparent over the last three decades. The mean annual temperature also shows variability from year to year with some general trends within decades. There is a noticeable cooling trend in the 1960s and 1970s followed by a warming trend in the 1980s. The latter appears to be normal for this century. Further analysis of precipitation and temperature data should prove helpful in understanding long-term climatic changes and their implications for the Region's economy.

References Folland, C.K., Karl, T. and Vinnikov, K.Y.A. 1990. Observed Climate Variations and Change. In Houghton, J.T. et al., eds., Climate Change: The IPCC Scientific Assessment. New York: Cambridge University Press. Mercier, R.G. and Chapman L.J. 1956. Peach Climates in Ontario: 1955-1956. Report of the Horticultural Experimental Station and Products Laboratory, Vineland, Ontario. Shaw, A.B. 1992. An Assessment of the Land Use Impact on the Microclimate of the Fonthill Kame. Report prepared for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Toronto. Shaw, A.B. et al. 1988. Feasibility Study for Assessing and Modelling Microclimatic Conditions on the Fonthill Kame. Report prepared for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Toronto. Stewart, R.B., Mukammal, E.I. and Wiebe, J. 1977. Delineation of Frost Prone Areas in the Niagara Fruit Belt. Downsview, Ontario: Atmospheric Environment Service.

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Treidel, R.A. 1978. Handbook of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology.

Ottawa: Fisheries and

Environment Canada. Warrick, R.A. and Oerlemans, H. 1990. Sea Level Rise. In Houghton, J.T. et al., eds., Climate Change: The IPCC Scientific Assessment. New York: Cambridge University Press. Wiebe, J. and Andersen, E.T. 1976. Grape Climatic Zones in Niagara. Vineland Station, Ontario: Horticultural Institute of Ontario.

6

Forests in the Niagara Landscape: Ecology and Management Michael R. Moss The Niagara Peninsula, in the latter part of the twentieth century, has the appearance of a heavily wooded landscape, despite the fact that it is one of the most highly urbanized and agriculturally developed areas in Canada. Such wooded landscapes are typical of southern Ontario. Even around the most highly urbanized and industrialized centres of southern Ontario the proportion of wooded land is likely to be at least 20 percent (see MacDonald, 1987, 70), a figure that increases significantly within more rural environments. It is often assumed that what we see now as the forests and woodlots of areas like Niagara are but remnants of the former, extensive, deciduous forest cover that dominated this southern part of Ontario before the major impact of European settlement in the first half of the nineteenth century. However, to adopt such an attitude means that we ignore the dynamics and the changes that have taken place and will continue to take place within these forest and woodland communities. These communities evolve and change quite naturally, but they are also subject to a whole range of human-induced impacts which reflect economic, social and behavioural conditions as well as changing attitudes to, and perceptions of, the role of these landscape units, economic, ecological and environmental. The history, development and current status of these forest regions, and the possible course of their future development, are all factors that have to be considered when one seeks to understand this critical and dominant element of Niagara's somewhat unique landscape. Without an understanding of aspects of forest ecology effective sustainable development and land use planning cannot take place. Virtually all facets of regional land use development and planning require a knowledge of the vegetation cover. The fields where this awareness is particularly important are planning for sustainable agricultural production and the maintenance of its resource base, recreational area 139

140

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

planning, site rehabilitation, natural and conservation area planning and management, as well as responses to the need to accommodate the purely aesthetic value of wooded landscapes in both rural and urban areas. This chapter will attempt to address many of these issues by looking at both the regional forest pattern and specific local case studies. The case studies have been selected to illustrate the nature of forest dynamics and change as they relate to present and future environmental planning problems in Niagara. The goal is to understand forest history and change and the forces and events, both natural and man-made, that have made the issues listed above a matter of priority.

The Early Forests After the retreat of the last ice cover from the Niagara Peninsula around 14,000 years ago the area gradually became vegetated and forested. There is, however, an almost total lack of evidence as to what this early forest cover must have been within the Peninsula itself, although within the Lake Ontario basin of southern Ontario several pollen profiles do permit some generalizations about the probable postglacial vegetation sequence. These reconstructions of changing vegetation communities from this early time period are made possible primarily by the extraction of pollen grains preserved in lake and river sediments and in peat deposits. Other organic remains from different strata within these deposits also permit the materials to be dated by carbon-14 methods. Hence a fairly accurate account of the time and nature of postglacial vegetation change in the Lake Ontario basin is possible. MacDonald (1987) has summarized the results for several sites within the basin and, although there are local variations, the general pattern reveals the early dominance of spruce (Picea spp.) around 12,500 to 10,500 years ago, the subsequent dominance of pines, both jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and white pine (Pinus strobus), around 10,500 to 7,500 years ago, and the eventual establishment of more typical deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous communities from 7,500 years ago to the present. Common species in this latter community were birch (Betula spp.), hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), ash (Fraxinus spp.), elm (Ulmus spp.), oaks (Quercus spp.), maples (Acer spp.), beech (Fagus spp.), hemlock (Tsuga spp.) and pine. Within the Peninsula itself Terasmae et al. (1972) have shown that for two pollen cores taken from locations where Fifteen Mile Creek enters Lake Ontario (Figure 6.1), the pollen assemblages indicate that pines were an early and an important constituent of the surrounding forest from the earliest times, with oaks gradually increasing in dominance up to the present. Recently, more detailed pollen analysis has added further evidence to the sequence of events described above. Donaldson's (1987) work in Wainfleet Marsh indicates that a mixed deciduous forest has existed throughout the life of the Marsh, being dominated at various times by alder (Alnus spp.), particularly up to 4,470 ±140 BP, with beech and maples becoming important later. Throughout the 5,000-year period represented by this profile, birch, oak and pines have been

FORESTS IN THE NIAGARA LANDSCAPE

141

Figure 6.1 Major biological features of the Niagara Peninsula and locations of places mentioned (Chapter 6).

important, with spruce, hickory, basswood (Tilia americana) and elm also occurring. Hemlock reached a peak around 2,800 BP, a feature common to many parts of the Great Lakes basin (Barnett et al., 1985). Donaldson's findings date only from 5,100 ± 140 BP and their starting point dates from a cooler and moister climatic phase. This period also coincides with the initiation of Wainfleet Bog, which is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 2 above. Additional more detailed site analyses of vegetation sequences have recently been identified by Tinkler et al. (1992) for two locations in Humberstone Bog, another referred to as the Crown Site in the centre of the Peninsula, and a profile from the Wignell Drain Bog, located just east of Port Colborne. Details of this site are shown in Figure 2.6 above. Throughout this time period not only were features such as Wainfleet Bog initiated, but lake levels were changing, drainage patterns evolving, and the whole hydrological balance was developing towards a more stable state. It can be assumed that a whole range of other events were changing both site development and habitat across the Peninsula, and that these changes would be reflected, for example, in a whole range

142

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

of localized vegetation sequences. Site-specific sequences reflect both local habitat conditions and more broadly based climatic shifts and lake level changes. This resulted in quite different successional pathways for forests on bog sites, on sandier sites, such as around Fonthill and the Lake Ontario shoreline, and on the more poorly drained clay soil areas that dominate much of the Peninsula. In an extensive study of southern Ontario forest remnants Maycock (1963) was able to show the different site preferences for all tree species, the most common ones being simply grouped by MacDonald (1987) into (i) those of dry sites, predominantly white pine (Pinus strobus) and white oak (Quercus alba), (ii) those of mesic sites, such as sugar maple (Acer saccharuni), beech (Fagus grandifolia), and red oak (Quercus rubra), and (iii) those of wet sites, for example, elm (Ulmus americana) and silver maple (Acer saccharinum).

Forests at the Time of European Settlement Landform and soil development, climatic variability, lake level and hydrologic balance are all factors that have to be considered in any attempt to understand the nature of the forest cover as it first appeared to early European settlers two centuries ago. One further factor cannot, however, be ignored; this is the impact of native Canadians on the forests. The nature of this impact in Niagara is rather poorly documented but it is likely to have matched that described for other parts of southern Ontario. There would have been a system of agriculture that began to have some impact 1500 years ago and involved the clearance of forest, particularly on mesic sites, by slash and burn techniques, with the land being cultivated for maize, beans and squash until it became infertile, usually after some twenty years. At this time new sites were cleared and the abandoned fields left to regenerate. This reforestation tended to favour the increased dominance of white pine, oak and poplar (McAndrews, 1976). The problem in the case of Niagara is that so little is known about the size and, therefore, the impact of native groups. It has been suggested (Burghardt, 1969) that from 1653 to 1780 the Peninsula was devoid of native villages, although the local dominance of white pine at the time of European settlement might suggest that for periods before the mid-seventeenth century the size of the native population could have been quite significant. The generally accepted character of the forest cover of Niagara at the time of European settlement is predominantly deciduous. Rowe (1959) includes the area in his Deciduous Forest Region—Niagara Section, a region dominated by broadleaved trees. Species listed as being common at this time are also named in the various township reports documenting forest cover in the early nineteenth century. These are discussed below. Hills (1958), in his study of Ontario forest regions, identified a series

FORESTS IN THE NIAGARA LANDSCAPE

143

of forest associations within his Lake Erie Forest Region, into which the Peninsula falls. The major associations recognized were maple-beech-oak, oak-hickory-elm, oak-ash, elm-ash-oak, and tulip tree-walnut-ash. Braun (1950,322) classified the Peninsula as a beech-maple forest region but recognized that it was in transition to a hemlock-white pine-northern hardwood forest. Such general observations as to the assumed "climax" forest of the area, and the assumption that these "climax" forests existed at the time of European settlement, have often been deduced from surviving areas of forest and existing woodlands, and from successional evidence contained within them. Such sites, however, are often poor indicators of the original forest cover. Their isolation over more than a century, human impact, and natural evolutionary change are factors that should suggest a need to re-evaluate these generally accepted conclusions. For example, the lack of awareness of the apparent major role played by white pine in the Niagara forests calls for a reassessment. A major difference between these types of broad regional description and data from more local sources arises in a consideration of the occurrence of needleleaf species. According to Rowe (1959,44): There is ... a poor representation of needleleaf species though eastern hemlock (Tsugo. canodensis) is sometimes scattered through upland forests, white pine (Pinus strobus) occurs locally in small stands on coarse textured soils. However, in analyzing one data source Moss and Hosking (1983) noted that although hemlock was recorded in only one of the Niagara townships white pine was listed as occurring in virtually every other, the one exception being Willoughby Township. Reconstruction of the vegetation patterns existing at the time of early European settlement, at both the township and the county level, has been shown to be extremely useful for understanding many past and present-day environmental conditions. Such reconstructions, usually derived from land survey records, have provided a means of appreciating the dynamics of forest communities and the nature of community change. They have also been used as an important data source in attempts to integrate ecological data into the environmental planning process (Chanasyk, 1970). Moreover, increasing recognition is being given to the significance of vegetation cover in the settlers' perceptions of land value and in the role of vegetation in the evolution of rural landscape patterns (Wood, 1961; Kelly, 1970,1975; Peters, 1972a, 1972b; Harris et al., 1975). For many of the northeastern states of the United States there now exist detailed maps of early nineteenth-century vegetation patterns. For southern Ontario, however, such extensive and detailed reconstructions have not been possible because of the great variation in the quality and quantity of information recorded by the original land surveyors. Examination of the records or diaries held in the offices of the Lands and Surveys Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) reveals that the

144

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

vegetation record is particularly poor for some of the earlier settled regions, such as the Niagara Peninsula, whereas for areas settled later the records have have been successfully used to reconstruct vegetation patterns at either the township, the county or the regional level. There are, for example, excellent maps of Mono Township (Harris et al., 1975), Tuscarora Township (Pyle, 1969), North Dumfries Township (Clarke, 1969), the northern part of Simcoe County (Heidenreich, 1973), and the Haldimand-Norfolk region (Chanasyk, 1970). But, because of the very early date of European settlement in Niagara, equivalent studies are not possible except for the southwestern part of the area along the Lake Erie shore, which was settled later. Here, for example, a reconstruction of the early settlement vegetation cover of Wainfleet township is possible. Figure 6.2 illustrates a 30 km2 area of Wainfleet Township with forest associations mapped according to an interpretation of the survey data compiled by the land surveyor Burwell in 1811 (Moss and Davis, 1989). However, for the purposes of obtaining a broader regional picture of the situation at about this time another source is available. An extensive survey, undertaken by Robert Gourlay in 1817 and published in 1822 as Gourlay's Statistical Account of Upper Canada (Gourlay, 1822; Mealing, 1974), provides the only extensive survey of that period in which information on the forests was reported in a reasonably consistent manner suitable for ecological analysis (Moss and Hosking, 1983). Gourlay attempted to compile data on the human and physical resources of Upper Canada as they existed in 1817. His sampling unit was the township, and inhabitants of each township then settled were asked to respond to a list of thirty-one questions, one of which requested information on "The kinds of timber produced, naming them in order, as they most abound" (Gourlay, 1822,270). It is evident from the responses that the words "timber produced" were intended to refer to an identification of the tree species present. As a result Gourlay was able to produce a general account of the nature of the forests of extreme southern Ontario (Gourlay, 1822,150-151). A part of this description gives a clear overview of conditions at this time. In 1784, the whole country was one continued forest. Some plains on the borders of Lake Erie, at the head of Lake Ontario, and in a few other places, were thinly wooded: but, in general, the land in its natural state was heavily loaded with trees; and after the clearings of more than 30 years, many wide spread forests still defy the settler's axe. The forest trees most common are, beech, maple, birch, elm, bass, ash, oak, pine, hickory, butternut, balsam, hazel, hemlock, cherry, cedar, cypress, fir, poplar, sycamore (vulgarly called button wood, from its balls resembling buttons), whitewood, willow, spruce. Of several of these kinds there are various species; and there are other trees less common. Chestnut, black walnut, and sassafras, although frequent at the head of Lake Ontario, and thence westward and southward, are scarcely to be seen on the north side of that lake and the St. Lawrence.

FORESTS IN THE NIAGARA LANDSCAPE

145

Figure 6.2 Wainfleet Township: major forest associations existing in 1811 in a 30 km2 section of Wainfleet Township. Data from the survey records of Burwell. (From Moss and Davis, 1985 and 1989)

For a majority of the townships in Niagara forest data were submitted and these have been tested for their authenticity and accuracy and used in mapping the original early nineteenth century forest cover of Niagara (Moss and Hosking, 1983). Figure 6.3a indicates the townships for which data were produced. Table 6.la lists the frequency of occurrence of the forest species, and 6.1b lists the dominant associations derived from these data. These associations are mapped and shown in Figure 6.3b. The two dominant forest associations are a pine-oak association in six townships and a

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THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Figure 6.3a The townships of Niagara in 1817 that provided a response to Gourlay's questionnaire. (A broken line for a township boundary indicates a joint response from two adjacent townships.)

Figure 6.3b Map of forest associations based on the 1817 township data. Forest associations have been interpolated for those townships not responding to Gourlay's questionnaire. The letters added to the associations indicate a third co-dominant species (B - black walnut; C chestnut; H - hickory; M - maple; O - oak). (Based on Moss and Hosking, 1983, Figure 3)

147

FORESTS IN THE NIAGARA LANDSCAPE

Table 6.1a Niagara Forests According to Gourlay (1822): Frequency of Occurrence of Species and Species Group by Township.

Saltfleet

•

•

•

•

• • • •

•

• •

•

•

• •

•

•

• •

•

rt naiuimano LJ

tf4'

orimsDy Louth — ,

• •

Caistor/Canboro

• •

• • • •

Pelham

•

Thorold

• • • •

•

•

Wainfleet

• •

• •

•

•

• •

—

•

L.

Crowland

• •

• • • •

Willoughby

• •

•

Humberstone Bertie

• •

• • • •

•

• •

•

•

•

• •

•

•

• •

• • • • •

•

• •

•

• • •

Source: based on Moss and Hosking (1983).

Table 6.1b Niagara Forests according to Gourlay (1822): Dominant and Subdominant Forest Associations. Dominant and subdominant associations White pine/oak association White pine/oak with hickory White pine/oak with maple White pine/oak with beech White pine / oak with walnut

Township Grimsby, Humberstone Saltfleet, Haldimand, Caistor, and Canboro Pelham, Grantham Louth

Maple/beech association Maple/beech with oak Maple/beech with basswood Maple/beech

Stamford, Bertie Crowland Thorold, Wainfleet

Oak/elm association Oak/elm with maple

Willoughby

Source: based on Moss and Hosking (1983).

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THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Figure 6.4 The forest associations of extreme southern Ontario in 1817 according to Gourlay. Associations for non-reporting townships have been interpolated. Additional letters indicate a third co-dominant species (A - ash; B - black walnut; C - chestnut; M - maple; O - oak; P - white pine; W - walnut). Inset: a possible refinement of the Deciduous/Conifer-Hardwood forest boundary. (Based on Moss and Hosking, Figures 3 and 4)

maple-beech association in five townships. An oak-elm (with maple subdominant) association was encountered in Willoughby Township. These data, together with other township reports from across southern Ontario, permit the possible re-definition of the location of the Deciduous Forest-Conifer Hardwood forest zones as defined by Rowe (1959) and subsequently used in many ecological and biophysical analyses. The boundary between these two major forest associations may have resembled that outlined in Figure 6.4. This map also places the Niagara forests in their broader, southern Ontario context. One of the more interesting components of the Niagara forests consisted, and still consists, of the Carolinian elements, so-called because they are a group of genera and species existing at their very northern limits and having affinities extending as far south as the Gulf states and northern Florida. Soper (1962) examined the distribution of these genera and species and placed his northern limit for their ranges as a line from Toronto to Grand Bend on southern Lake Huron. Soper's distribution maps of these Carolinian genera (Dioscorea, Morus, Asimina, Magnolia, Liriodendron, Sassafras,

FORESTS IN THE NIAGARA LANDSCAPE

149

Cassia, Gleditsia, Gymnocladus, Nyssa, Campsis) show strong representation in Niagara. This presence is also revealed by more recent maps of individual species, for example, hop tree (Ptelea trifoliata); tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera); cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata); American chestnut (Castanea dentata); and red mulberry (Morus rubra) (Ambrose, 1984, 1987; Ambrose et al., 1987). Soper hypothesized that the Niagara Peninsula was one of the major routes for the migration of a majority of species into Ontario after deglaciation. That these southern elements existed alongside the more northern Conifer-Hardwood forests in the Peninsula is not without its ecological interest. Now that so much effort is being put into preservation of Carolinian species and habitats and attention is being focused often on purely deciduous forest sites one may perhaps suggest that many areas previously not considered to be pristine Carolinian habitats, because of a strong coniferous element, may be reconsidered and the number of potential natural areas and conservation sites correspondingly increased.

The Twentieth-Century Forests While general evolutionary changes took place within the forests from the disappearance of the last ice cover to the end of the eighteenth century, such changes would have been far more gradual and much less severe than those that have taken place since then. By far the greatest change and impact would have to be the direct and indirect consequences of the clearance of the forests for agriculture. The rural economy has, and will continue to have, an impact on the forests which remain. As the agricultural economy changes, with an inevitable reduction in the number of acres required for production, the forest remnants are likely to expand and many new forest communities will evolve as components of the future rural landscape of Niagara. Examples of these processes will be illustrated by reference to detailed case studies in Wainfleet Township where habitat change, species change and woodlot remnant evolution are examined. The process of natural reforestation on abandoned farmland is examined for the Welland-Fonthill area. Quite extensive areas of the Peninsula were never cleared for agriculture, although they may have been locally logged or "high-graded" for more valuable timber species. Here too, the processes taking place within these landscape units must be understood since such units are becoming increasingly important as areas for recreation, conservation, wildlife habitat protection and their purely aesthetic value, as well as for their role in the natural functioning of the Peninsula's ecological balance. These themes will be discussed with reference to case studies on the Niagara Escarpment at Grimsby, in the Short Hills Provincial Park, and for the Welland area, where the localized impact of atmospheric pollution appears to have had a sustained and lasting impact on local forest sites.

150 Table 6.2

THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Wainfleet Township: Change in Percentage Species Composition, 1811 and 1979. Species alder black ash white ash basswood beech birch chestnut elm hemlock ironwood

1811 3.3 12.6 4.1 15.0 13.6 0.5 1.9 11.1 0.9 0.3

1979 — — 20.1 6.9 12.4 4.3 — 1.3 1.4 —

Species hard maple soft maple black oak red oak white oak jack pine white pine poplar sycamore other hardwood

1811 13.9 3.9 0.9 1.3 8.5 — 5.4 — 2.7 —

1979 9.7 20.1 — 11.8 2.8 0.3 0.7 7.0 — 1.6

Source: Moss and Davis (1985,1989).

Forest Communities in Agricultural Areas Wainfleet Township.

Detailed studies in Wainfleet township (Moss and Davis, 1985,1986,1989) have shown some major changes in both species and habitat. Data for this exercise came from two sources, the original land surveyors' records dating from 1811, which were used as the basis for Figure 6.2, and the forest inventory undertaken by the OMNR in 1979. Table 6.2 lists the tree species encountered in both surveys and expresses these as percentages of the total species listed. The most obvious change is a reduction in the numbers of species from 17 in 1811 to 13 in 1979 (although in this latter figure OMNR may have grouped small numbers in the "other hardwood" category). Major changes in composition show increases in soft maple (Acer saccharinum), white ash (Fraxinus americana) and red oak (Quercus rubra), and decreases in elm (Ulmus americana) and white pine (Pinus strobus). Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana), black ash (Fraxinus nigra}, black oak (Quercus velutina), chestnut (Castanea dentata), sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) and red alder (Alnus rubra) have disappeared. Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and various species of poplar (Populus spp.) are the only new species listed in the 1979 inventory, perhaps reflecting their roles as pioneer species in secondary succession on abandoned farmland (see below). Using a standard classification of habitat types for northern deciduous forests (Art and Marks, 1973; Cottam et al., 1973) comparisons can be made between the 1811 and the 1979 situation. Such changes are important because they, in part, reflect not only species change but also biophysical change, particularly in soil-hydrological conditions. They are particularly important for the evaluation of the role of the species in changing wildlife habitats. These changes are shown in Table 6.3. The upland and lowland conifer habitats have disappeared and there has been also a significant reduction in the northern hardwood habitat as well as in the mixed upland conifer/nor them

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151

Table 6.3 Wainfleet Township: Change in Major Habitat Types as a Percentage of the Total Forested Area, 1811 and 1979. Habitat type lowland conifer upland conifer northern hardwood lowland hardwood mixed upland conifer / nor them hardwood mixed northern and lowland hardwood mixed northern and other hardwood others

1811 2.1 2.9 61.4 9.1 10.8

1979

8.4

12.1

1.5

—

3.8

37.2

—

37.5 12.4 5.8

Source: Moss and Davis (1985,1989).

hardwood habitat type. Slight increases are encountered in the lowland hardwood and mixed northern and other hardwood types. The large percentage of the forest cover currently classed as "other" probably indicates the fact that many areas are undergoing quite marked species change as they develop during the processes of secondary succession and of forest area expansion. Figure 6.5 shows the change in wooded area in a 30 km2 section of Wainfleet Township for the periods 1934 to 1979. This map is based on information derived from air photo cover and should be compared with Figure 6.2. Related data are given for a number of indices for these two dates and also for the intervening years, 1955 and 1965 (Table 6.4). These indices are standard spatial interaction and connectivity indices used in landscape ecological analysis (see Moss and Davis, 1989, for full explanation). For the purposes of simplification, data for only one woodlot will be presented here (woodlot 1 in Figure 6.2). This woodlot lies in the south of the study area within a large tract originally dominated by a black ash/soft maple association. The extent of this woodlot in 19134 and in 1979 is shown in Figure 6.5. The 1979 resurvey shows that it is now dominated by soft maples with birch, basswood, and red oak. The data in Table 6.4 (Part I) indicate an increase in perimeter and area over the 1934 to 1979 period and a corresponding increase in the dissection index (DI). This change in dissection index is very revealing because it indicates that there is more 'edge' or ecotone community relative to the actual core, or true micro-habitat, of the woodlot. Edge communities tend to be more xeric, have more extreme microclimates, support more shrub-type species and are generally atypical of the woodlot as a whole. Wildlife species also change to reflect these changing conditions. Other measures show that the distance to the closest edge of the nearest neighbouring woodlot (i.e. the re index)

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1934

1979 2

Figure 6.5 Wainfleet township (30 km section; see also Figure 6.2). Extent of forest and forest change between 1934 and 1979. The cross-hatched area is woodlot number 1 discussed in the text. (From Moss and Davis, 1985 and 1989)

has decreased over this time period, marking the expansion of woodlots towards one another. Other distance measures, for example, the mean distance to the nearest edge of all other neighbours (the Re index) reveals an increase, whereas the mean distance to the centres of neighbouring woodlots (the Rc value) has decreased due to the coalescing of several separate woodlots to form one large unit by 1979. The connectivity index (CI) points to the degree of isolation with respect to other woodlots. In 1934 the woodlot had no connection by hedgerows or fencelines to any other woodlot but connections began to appear in 1955 and 1965. By 1979, after the joining of several smaller woodlots, the new enlarged area was left once again without direct linkages. Such connections are, however, critical to the continuing viability of woodlots. Beyond a certain, quite limited distance total isolation means that woodlots receive little or no seed input from adjacent communities, either by wind, birds or animals, a process which is essential for the sustained viability of the woodlot. Such basic data for each woodlot within each township can then be aggregated for the total study area (Table 6.4, Part II). These aggregate data show that, as the size of woodlots has increased from 1934 to 1979, the distance to the nearest (re, rc) and to all neighbouring woodlots (Re, Rc) has increased, as did the isolation index (n). The isolation index gives an indication of the accessibility of woodlots to others in the

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Table 6.4 Wainfleet Township Woodlots: Spatial and Interactive Data. I

Description of individual woodlots (for one woodlot only): perimeter Area Year (km) (km2) DI

1934 1955 1965 1979 II

III

4.34 5.17 4.18 6.59

0.328 0.378 0.410 0.552

2.18 2.39 2.12 2.50

e rc Re RC CI 44 770 738 1,403 0 8 670 852 1,667 1 8 704 474 1,336 1 15 83 863 184 0 r

Description of woodlot interaction (relates interaction between all woodlots): mean size median r r Year (ha) size c e Re RC II 4.1 101 503 540 1934 11.1 956 2 4.8 91 580 573 1,058 2 1955 11.1 124 643 465 7.8 950 5 1965 11.8 112 578 994 1,473 9 5 1979 14 Description of regional landscape pattern (shows descriptors of regional landscape pattern): total total area number of forested % of twp. perimeter metres of Year woodlots forested (km) edge /ha (ha)

1934 1955 1966 1979

47 38 37 41

511 447 425 590

17.32 15.15 14.41 20.00

65 67 66 78

127 149 155 133

DL

SSI

IDI

70.15 63.14 59.91 68.40

4.99 6.18 5.19 5.17

0.006 0.006 0.004 0.016

Source: Moss and Davis (1985,1989).

landscape. One that is centrally located is not necessarily the most accessible, because of its distance from other neighbours. Data on all woodlots is then incorporated into total township data (Table 6.4, Part III), which show that the decrease in number of woodlots has been accompanied by an increase in the total wooded area (17.3 to 20% cover of the area or 511 to 590 ha). The related DL index, the landscape dissection index, has accordingly decreased, indicating that the total edge to area ratio has decreased over the total study area, giving a reduction in the total amount of ecotone or "edge" habitat.

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The SSI index (the size space index) indicates that overall the woodlots are fairly small and separated by comparatively large distances and thus there are fewer possibilities of great numbers of connecting links. The pattern is one of woodlot aggregation. That is, woodlots tend to be clustered together, in this case on land less favourable to agriculture. This might appear contradictory to the interpretation given of the SSI number but, in this case, in a large "sea" of agricultural land-use, the remnant woodlots tend to occur as "islands" on contiguous tracts of land less suitable for cultivation. Thus the forest remnants appear to be aggregated or clumped. These types of analysis and the results they generate are important considerations from several perspectives. Not only do we need to observe and understand the nature of these wooded areas as discrete communities with unique ecosystem characteristics but we must realize that the changing spatial interrelationships and patterns described above for the landscape relate directly to the viability of these woodlots as functional units in landscape sustainability. Short distances from neighbouring seed sources are as essential for seed dispersal by birds as connecting links by hedgerows and fencelines are for dispersal by animals. If distances are too great and connections across open fields do not exist then an essential regenerative factor disappears. Likewise, if the size of the unit becomes too small it may cease to be a viable unit in its own right (Weaver and Kellman, 1981). Also with a decrease in size of unit the ratio of "edge" to "core" habitat changes — an edge habitat being markedly different from the typical core of the forest in having distinct microclimatic and hydrological conditions and plant and animal species assemblages. Each woodlot must therefore be looked upon as being both a community in its own right and also as one which has critical links with other woodlots in the same area. As an individual woodlot changes so will its relationships to its neighbours. Therefore, its internal dynamics have much broader spatial implications, particularly where these relate to the viable characteristics and environmental function of woodlots as wildlife habitats, as controllers of hydrological balance and as media of atmospheric gaseous exchange. Individual woodlots have, perhaps, limited spatial impact on these processes, but taken over larger areas, for example, parts of townships, their role in environmental stability and in sustaining the resource base becomes more fundamental and apparent. Certainly their dynamics need to be understood in land use planning—perhaps nowhere are they more important than where land use is ceasing to be predominantly agricultural. Welland-Fonthill: secondary succession. When agricultural land is abandoned it either becomes urban/industrial land or it slowly reverts to a natural or seminatural state — a process known as secondary succession. In 1976 it was estimated that 25.5 percent of all land or 32.6 percent of all non-urban land in Niagara was undergoing secondary succession (Moss, 1976). Since that date, despite a great deal of urban expansion on prime agricultural land, an increased percentage of the remaining

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agricultural land has been affected by this process. The proportion is likely to increase again as the 1989 Free Trade Agreement with the United States begins to affect the total area of crops grown. For instance, there has been an estimated reduction of up to 33 percent in the acreage of vines required for grape production over the next few years. This decrease amounts to a total of some 8200 acres. Studies conducted on this extensive rural landscape process at three sites in the Welland-Fonthill area (see Figure 6.1) show some common features underlying the process but, once again, a good deal of between-site variability in terms of the species involved (Moss, 1976). The common features are the early occupation of each site by one or two shrub species, and then by tree species within five years of the land being abandoned. This is followed by a rapid decline in the importance of these species as they are replaced by a closed canopy of three or four different tree species after 15 to 20 years. The trees forming this initial closed forest are, however, relatively short-lived and are gradually replaced, within another 10 to 15 years, by a more diverse arboreal community of species more typical of the deciduous forests of the region. The details of trends in these three study sites are given in Figure 6.6. Site one, 5 km north of Welland, shows the early dominance by hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) and Viburnum spp. shrubs, which are then replaced within 10 years by a mixture of the tree species, trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and birch (Betula papyri/era). Gradually, some 20 or more years after being abandoned, a closed canopy forest form is dominated by oak (Quercus bicolor), black cherry (Prunus serotina) and red maple (Acer rubrum). Site two, which is only 1.6 km to the west of site one, shows a similar general pattern but differences in species involved. The early shrub phase is dominated by nannyberry (Viburnum lentago), with elm forming the early tree species some 15 years after being abandoned. Within 40 years a more mixed closed canopy is encountered with black cherry, red maple, beech, sugar maple and white ash essentially occurring as equal dominants. Site three, immediately south of Fonthill, is located on better drained sandy loam soil of the Pelham Loam series, in contrast to the heavier, relatively poorly-drained, clay loams of the Caistor Loam series of sites one and two. This site shows an early dominance by the shrubs dogwood (Cornusflorida) and sumac (Rhus typhina), followed by the early dominance of the trees white ash and white pine. Then a first wave of closed canopy dominants, sugar maple, hickory (Garya ovata), and beech, is subsequently replaced by a second wave, with beech remaining important and with black oak (Quercus velutina) and hickory (Carya glabra) gradually assuming more important roles. Consequently, what we see evolving are new, diverse forest communities dominated by species often not recorded in the documents relating to the early forest cover. How this set of processes, measured for individual sites over time, interacts with processes which are also spatially related, as outlined above for Wainfleet, remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that the forest communities within the agricultural areas are changing, evolving, and adopting new characteristics as land use demands

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Figure 6.6 Trends in succession on abandoned farmland at three sites north of Welland (see Figure 6.1). The x axis indicates probable sequences up to the time of data collection (1975) and into the decade beyond. The dates in brackets refer to air photographs used in this study. (From Moss, 1976, Figures 4, 6 and 7)

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157

change. If rural land use planning adopts some of the principles now being applied in Europe with respect to issues of sustainable development and maintenance or enhancement of the land resource base, there will be a great need to document and understand more fully the nature of a range of biotic processes such as those discussed above, in the broad context of landscape ecology and agro-ecosystem analysis.

Forest Communities in Non-agricultural Areas Just as the former agricultural lands and their islands of woodlots and forest remnants have undergone change so too have areas which were never completely cleared for agriculture and continue to form extensive tracts of forest encompassing only small islands of agriculture. In the context of Niagara these tracts form extensive natural zones, which, it is to be hoped, are now primarily established in recognition of their aesthetic value as preserves for low-intensity recreation purposes, and as environmental components performing essential biophysical functions on a regional scale. Three case studies are discussed here. The first, the situation on the Niagara Escarpment at Grimsby (Figure 6.1), is introduced to illustrate the natural community dynamics of the forested scarp face and the relationships the forests have with other biophysical processes in an environment relatively untouched by human activity. The second case illustrates the potential use of forest information in planning for management, in this case in the Short Hills Provincial Park site, north of Fonthill; this is an area selected for preservation partly because of its unique forest cover. The third case study in this section deals with some of the consequences and impacts of atmospheric pollution on the vegetation of the area around the city of Welland. It is used here to illustrate how, often indirectly, human activities can affect the natural environment in a manner that is not immediately obvious. It contrasts with those changes that must be recognized as naturally occurring events and are discussed in the first two case studies in this section. The Niagara Escarpment (Grimsby). The most prominent forested landscape feature in the region is the Niagara Escarpment. Forest cover on its scarp face is almost complete throughout the full length of the Peninsula. These forests illustrate many features of those of southern Ontario, and range from areas that have previously been cut over and regenerated, possibly several times, to areas showing minimal human impact. The Escarpment also illustrates the incredible variety of micro-habitats and unique sites that can exist on one landscape feature. The scarp face is cut by a number of re-entrant valleys (Straw, 1968) which form protected sites ideal for the investigation of the dynamics of vegetation change. They also provide opportunities to study the interrelationships of vegetation cover with the geomorphic processes which occur on the scarp face.

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Figure 6.7 Grimsby, Forty-Mile Creek: the location of cross-sections (see also Table 6.5) showing the major vegetation associations and their relationships to slope and aspect. (From Moss and Rosenfeld, 1978, Figure 4)

One such site occurs just south of Grimsby where Forty Mile Creek cuts through the Escarpment (Figure 6.1). This valley is aligned southwest to northeast, and is approximately 1.2 km in length and 0.25 km in width at its widest part (Figure 6.7). Gourlay's survey (Gourlay, 1822; Mealing, 1974) listed 12 tree species in Grimsby township (Table 6.1a). Of these 10 are still encountered in the gorge section of Forty Mile Creek. Chestnut, listed ninth in importance by Gourlay, could have been present in the gorge until the chestnut blight outbreak of the 1930s and elm has more recently suffered a similar fate due to Dutch elm disease. There is no evidence that the forest was ever "clear cut" and many valuable timber specimens of a significant age (100 or more years) remain. White pine, which is not found here now, was listed as the most important species by Gourlay in 1822. Figure 6.7 shows the contrasts in forest types within the gorge and the associations identified are summarized in Table 6.5. The methodology on the basis of which these decisions were made is to be found in Moss and Rosenfeld (1978). In the valley as a whole the south-facing slope (i.e. the north side) is considerably richer with a total of twelve species, six of which (trembling aspen—Populus tremuloides, basswood — Tilia americana, hickory, butternut—Juglans cinerea, hawthorn, and white ash) do not occur on the north-facing slopes (i.e. south side). There are no species which occur only on the north-facing slopes, although paper birch (Betula papyri/era) is of only

FORESTS IN THE NIAGARA LANDSCAPE Table 6.5

Forty Mile Creek, Grimsby: Dominant Forest Associations on the Valley Sides.

South-facing slope unit association (no vegetation) IS IIS

159

sugar maple

North-facing slope unit association IN sugar maple with trembling aspen and hemlock

IIN1 IIN2

red oak with sugar maple sugar maple with beech and basswood

11151 beech and red oak with hemlock

IIIN1 cedar

11152

hemlock

IIIN2 cedar with sugar maple and red oak IIIN3 sugar maple with red oak and occasional beech and butternut

IVS

hemlock with paper birch and cedar IVN1 cedar IVN2 sugar maple and red oak IVN3 sugar maple with beech and occasional red oak

Source: Moss and Rosenfeld (1978).

minor importance and hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is of minor importance on the southfacing, as compared with the north-facing, slope. Trembling aspen is the only species to occur on the south-facing slope only. More detailed slope/aspect/species relationships appear in the following discussion of each section of the gorge. Near the head of the gorge nearly vertical valley walls result from rockf alls resulting primarily from seasonal frost action. Here the cross profile indicates longer, gentler slopes on the south-facing side owing to the increased activity of rock talus creep. While no apparent difference exists in the size distribution of talus on the opposing slopes the pronounced contrast in aspect, especially during the low sun angle seasons, is sufficient to cause a significant disparity in the number of freeze/thaw cycles influencing talus creep and rockfall in the late fall and early spring. Consequently the steeper, less active north-facing slope (69°) is completely devoid of vegetation whereas the lower angle (42°) south-facing slope is dominated by sugar maple with both trembling aspen and hemlock present. The valley asymmetry continues downstream, where a dolomite outcrop produces a pronounced structural bench and waterfalls on the south-facing slope, while a steep talus slope forms an uninterrupted 53° plane on the north-facing side. Numerous welldeveloped recent slumps have occurred in the shales beneath the dolomite bench, indicating oversteepening and saturation of the lower shale slope. Although the slight dip

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of the bedrock supplies groundwater to the south-facing slope, the principal moisture contrast must be attributed to the macroporosity of the surface materials (i.e. weathered shale vs. dolomitic talus above the structural bench). The vegetation associated with the more uniform north-facing slope is a community dominated throughout by sugar maple, whereas the south-facing slope can be subdivided into two units at the position of the dolomite bench; an upper slope unit dominated by red oak with sugar maple subdominant and a lower slope unit almost exclusively dominated by sugar maple with beech subdominant. Three other species also occur in this lower slope unit but are of minor importance. The process asymmetry of the valley walls is perhaps best illustrated in the middle reaches of the gorge, where the interactions among processes have apparently reached a steady state. The free transport of debris on the north-facing slope is interrupted by a pronounced structural bench, above which talus and rock fall debris has accumulated, creating a convex profile. The south-facing slope, by comparison, conforms to a more regular concave profile, where corresponding outcrops are greatly reduced in prominence. A pair of stream terraces dominate the valley floor, although the terrace on the south-facing slope has been breached by debris avalanches. Valley asymmetry at this point is affected by several factors, such as a pronounced contrast in the rate of debris transport due to slope gradient and the vigorous removal of debris at the base by stream erosion. The rate of weathering disparity is accentuated by the increased number of freeze/thaw cycles and by moisture availability accelerating frost action on the south-facing slope, while the greater waste cover thickness retards weathering processes on the north-facing slope. The rates of mass wasting may be directly inferred from the contrasting slope angles, a notion that is reinforced by the dendrochronology of the forests on these slopes: that is to say, the stands on the southfacing slopes are considerably younger than those on the opposite side. The higher rates of debris production and supply from the south-facing slopes have resulted in a lower basal slope angle on that side compared to the oversteepened basal slope opposite. The pronounced structural bench on the north-facing slope divides that slope into two distinct forest communities, the upper unit being co-dominated by red oak and beech with hemlock as an important subdominant. The lower unit stands out in marked contrast to all other vegetation units in the gorge in that it is almost exclusively dominated by the conifer and hemlock, together with another species of more northern affiliation, paper birch, which is a minor subdominant. The location of these species in the lower, more shaded part of the valley is no doubt a direct reflection of their more northern affinities. By contrast, the south-facing slope in this section of the valley can be subdivided into three units; the two most extensive being separated by a structural bench. The upper unit has a community dominated almost exclusively by cedar (Thuja occidentalis) on the steep to vertical slopes of the Lockport dolomite caprock formation and its

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associated talus slope. The mid-slope unit is a much richer community of sugar maple and red oak as co-dominants, with beech, hickory, dogwood, and cedar playing important subdominant roles. In the lower, more shaded unit, sugar maple assumes a single dominance. Down-valley from this section one encounters increasing slope stability although even here aspect contrasts are visible. Figure 6.7 shows that the lower valley walls are dominated by structural benches and debris avalanches occur on the north-facing slope. But the vegetation throughout this slope unit is a uniform community of hemlock with paper birch and cedar subdominants. By contrast, the south-facing slope is dominated morphologically by solifluction and talus creep processes, a factor which here too reflects moisture availability and frost frequency differences. These are associated with vegetation dominated, as in other mid-slope units, by sugar maple and red oak. This association gives way toward the valley bottom to a community still dominated by sugar maple but with beech replacing red oak as the subdominant. The steep, short, upper unit associated with the dolomitic caprock is a pure cedar stand as in the middle reaches. In summary, although few broad statements can be made, Figure 6.7 does indicate some general environment/plant community relationships. Aspect and slope steepness factors have been described above, the steeper north-facing slopes showing a strong relationship with conifers and northern hardwoods, especially paper birch. These communities give way upstream to almost pure sugar maple stands. On the south-facing slopes sugar maple occurs on all but the steepest slopes where cedar assumes dominance. Sugar maple is associated with red oak in the mid-slope units, but changes to an association with beech in the lower sections, a possible reflection of lower slope angle and increased moisture availability downslope. Only in areas of higher relative instability on the south-facing slope does the admixture include species more generally associated with pioneer habitats on more favorable sites (e.g. trembling aspen) and species of northern, more exposed affinities, such as hemlock. Just as diversified as the forest cover are a number of geomorphic features related to current and relatively recent mass wasting events such as debris avalanches, landslips, talus slopes etc. All of these features occur at other locations along the length of the Escarpment and relationships between them and the forest cover also bring out some interesting associations. The distribution of these geomorphic features is shown in Figure 6.8a. Debris avalanches (including some wasted blocks) occur at three locations on the south-facing slope and five locations on the north-facing slope. On the south-facing slopes sugar maple plays an important role in succession in all three but is associated with a variety of other species, e.g. black cherry, cedar, red oak, hemlock and paper birch. On the debris avalanches on the north-facing slope hemlock and paper birch occur in succession in nearly all units.

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Figure 6.8 Grimsby, Forty-Mile Creek: (a) the range and extent of major geomorphic features, (b) dates calculated by tree-ring analysis for length of time, from 1975, of the last major surface movement sufficient to cause forest destruction, (c) isoline map indicating age of trees within the valley on sites unaffected by mass movements. (From Moss and Rosenfeld, 1978 and Moss and Nickling, 1989)

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Vegetation succession on the active talus slopes is, however, quite different in nature, with two quite distinct types occurring; on some talus cedar is important with sugar maple and red oak increasing in significance, whereas on other talus slopes hemlock dominates with ash and sugar maple becoming important only later in the process of succession. Sugar maple is associated with all solifluction-like movements but it too had been associated, particularly in the early stages of succession, with quite different species: hemlock, butternut Quglans cinerea), red oak and paper birch. A wasted block unit, dominated early in succession by hemlock, is being subsequently replaced by a community of sugar maple and paper birch. On the sole landslip hemlock and sugar maple are evolving as co-dominants. It is quite evident, therefore, that it is impossible to identify here any common trends in the succession process when these types of geomorphic activity have taken place. Hemlock and sugar maple both have a dominant role to play in succession on all types of earth movement but they are not common throughout nor are they always interassociated with the same species. Forest succession in relation to type of mass movement therefore appears to present a somewhat random series of trends rather than a single sequence of species changes. Putting a date on these events places the spatial processes described in a temporal framework. Core samples from mature trees can be used to date the occurrence of the geomorphic events. Only the oldest date for each unit is recorded (Figure 6.8b), thus indicating the latest possible time of movement of the various surface materials before revegetation. Only one feature, a landslip, is older than 200 years. Its dominant species, hemlock and sugar maple, appear to be firmly established and are successfully reproducing. Four units are somewhat older than 100 years. In each case, associated vegetation appears to be successfully reproducing itself although there are no common patterns in terms of the species involved. Two units, both older than 75 years, show sugar maple to be evolving as the dominant species as succession proceeds, almost to the exclusion of other species. The importance of cedar on certain slope units is unlikely to remain at its current level as the process continues and its weight in the data may reflect localized invasion of this species from the rock face and talus deposits associated with the dolomite caprock immediately above. But on certain vertical rock faces, both here and at other cliff sites along the Escarpment, Larson and Kelly (1991) have recently found cedar specimens that have existed for up to 800 years and which they consider to be parts of one of the oldest and most extensive old-growth forest ecosystems in North America. This apparent stability on these cliff units contrasts markedly with the great degree of species change over the remainder of the scarp surface. Two units, both on the north-facing slope, are the youngest features with the earliest dates recorded being 45 years in both cases. They are of quite different character (debris avalanche and a wasted block feature) and their successions display entirely different compositions. In one, sugar maple, paper birch, and ash retain their relative

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roles throughout succession, although hemlock has been important. The other unit, however, still shows the importance of pioneer shrub species. The cedars and sumac found here are specimens of insufficient size to be classed as trees. It therefore appears that no common trends in terms of species and community development can be identified. What is common is that within a period of about 45 years a closed forest community becomes firmly established on virtually all these topographical features. This is a similar time period to that encountered in the secondary succession study detailed previously for the Welland/Fonthill area. In addition to these data for tree ages on mass-wasting features information was obtained by coring fifty additional randomly selected mature trees throughout the length of the valley. Mapping the information (Figure 6.8c) shows that within the valley as a whole the individuals appear to be generally older in the bottom, with a concentration of younger individuals growing in the mid-slope units. This is no doubt a reflection of the greater slope instability related to slope evolution in this section of the valley. The dates for trees on the individual units where localized earth movements have taken place indicate that some are considerably older than the adjacent communities, whereas others are much younger. What becomes very evident from this information is the fact that the vegetation on the mass movement features can remain as a distinct community for up to 200 years without assuming any of the broader, general "climax" patterns of the valley sides. This is no doubt, in part, a reflection of the distinctively different environment created by the occurrence of localized mass wasting events and the degree of persistent distinctiveness this creates within the area as a whole. As has been the case with other similar findings, this particular study reveals that a whole new series of small isolated forest communities is being brought into existence, as a result, in this particular case, of the very localized mass movements of surface materials. These open up the forest cover and permit the enrichment of the valley flora by providing additional, diverse habitats in which the adjacent dominant and subdominant species compete with new species from outside the valley. This development has given rise to a whole series of additional communities, which appear to be remaining distinct in terms of species content and show no apparent convergence with the broader general climax pattern of forest associations in the valley. Put in another context, the scarp face, as a unique environment, coming under the jurisdiction of the Niagara Escarpment Commission and the preservation policies of the Niagara Escarpment Act, is a forest community of extreme variability and diversity, which undergoes change in its characteristics over a very limited time period — a matter of a couple of decades or a planning cycle. Sites now identified as having unique properties are likely to change within this period to something else, whereas quite new and quite natural habitats — different and unique — are likely to arise at any number of sites. The question to challenge the resource managers is how best to cope with these environmental dynamics in a land use planning scenario where the

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procedures and resources employed by the managers are intended to preserve very localized, unique habitats. The Short Hills Provincial Park. Given that the focus of the preceding study directed our attention toward an understanding of what has gone on in the past and continues to operate now, the one which follows focuses on information which can be used for predictions on which future resource management strategies may be based. One of the more extensively forested areas in Niagara, besides the Escarpment itself, is the Short Hills Provincial Park (Figure 6.1), a relatively small area (approximately 6 km2) but one of quite marked variety in forest types and in habitat diversity. In an analysis of the Niagara landscapes in terms of scenic attributes the Park stands out because of high scenic value (Moss and Nickling, 1980,1989). For these reasons, and for others relating to its land use history and the uniqueness of its fauna and flora, particularly its Carolinian elements (see page 148 above), the area was, in 1971, designated as a provincial park. And in the planning for this park a marked preference was given to preserving the forested areas with the planned walking trails and pathways being routed via distinctive forest stands (Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources, 1977). Much of the forest cover of the park area appears to have remained relatively undisturbed from at least the 1920s. Indeed, early aerial photographs for that time indicate little or no major changes in the amount and distribution of forest cover, as compared with its current state. Historically the area was initially a centre for a tanning industry, but because of the highly accentuated topography little agricultural land clearance took place except in some of the narrow valley bottoms and on the flatter upper slopes. Although the Ministry's Master Plan distinguishes "upland" and "lowland" habitats, with the uplands generally dominated by maple-beech associations, such simple distinctions are difficult to appreciate given the great variety of forest types within the area. Nevertheless the area does indicate to some extent, what may have been the nature of the original forest cover of much of the Region, provided we put aside notions of a simple ubiquitous climax forest cover of maple and beech, occurring as overall dominants before the time of European settlement. Ecologically the park area is very much an outlier of the southern forest with its Carolinian elements, together with admixtures of the northern elements. As in many other parts of the Region the original land surveyor's records are of minimal value for reconstructing the early nineteenth century vegetation associations but, as at other sites, it would appear that species such as white pine were much more important dominants than has been generally assumed. Here then, as elsewhere in the Region, the forest cover and its status should not be viewed as static, or based on some assumed pristine condition existing at the time of European settlement; a continuous transition of communities exists between different

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Figure 6.9 Short Hills Provincial Park: location of forest stands, dominant species and the continuum index value calculated for each stand.

habitats reflecting both natural evolution and the varying, but largely unknown, impacts of human activities. The latter, however, appear to have been events of minimal significance in much of this area. The existence of such forces does mean that we must consider their implications for planning and managing these forest areas. This is particularly the case with the scenario of park planning, since the key elements in the design strategy for the park were developed around the existence of a series of different, and somewhat unique, forest stands. These forested areas and the designated "unique" stands are shown in Figure 6.9.

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167

The question now arises as to how these stands should be "managed". Should they be preserved as the unique communities they are now, or should they be allowed to evolve naturally? The latter strategy would undoubtedly mean change in the very characteristics by which they were originally identified. If this normal evolution is to be accepted, what will be the composition of these stands in 20 or 40 years' time? Should not planning and design take account of the probable developments? To predict is always difficult but it must be accepted that with the biophysical environment, as with socio-economic factors, prediction is essential for sound planning. If we accept, for example, that forest stands will change, how can degrees and types of change be indicated? In what follows the degrees of change likely to occur are described. Figure 6.9, in addition to showing the stand composition, also presents a numerical value or a 'continuum index' designated for each stand. This index indicates the likely degree of change in species composition over the next few decades. The closer that a forest stand is to a value of 3,000 the closer it is to an assumed regional climax and, by implication, the smaller is the change likely to occur in the composition of the stand — see Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg (1974, 276) for the methodology and Moss and Nickling (1989) for similar applications of ecological theory to the aesthetic assessment of the biotic components of landscape in this and other parts of southern Ontario. In the case of the Short Hills area the stand designated 'upland forest with white pine' (index value 1,160) is likely to undergo the greatest degree of species change, as are the hemlock (index value 1,505) and elm-ash-maple stands (index value 1,505 and 1,760, respectively) in the southeast of the park. Least change is to be expected in the so-called 'upland forest' site in the east of the park. Field monitoring of seedling and sapling establishment would tend to verify these assumptions, although it would be unwise, in such cases, to attempt to predict future species composition. What emerges from this case study is that once again the dynamism of the forest has to be recognized and evaluated and an understanding of the underlying significance and nature of these processes has to be built into the management strategies of this important recreational area. Welland: Atmospheric Pollution and Vegetation. Finally, the issue of atmospheric pollution is introduced. The preceding studies have each focused essentially upon vegetation dynamics and change where the impact of human activity or natural change was directly upon, or initiated naturally from within, the community itself. In the case of the Grimsby study the role of the geomorphic or landform component, its dynamics and its consequences for the forest cover were brought into the discussion. Now the role of the atmosphere is introduced as a factor to be directly considered in a situation where pollutants in the atmosphere cause an alteration to the atmospheric environment, which in turn, because of the natural pathways between the atmospheric and the biotic components in any landscape system, will affect the nature, distribution and characteristics of the vegetation cover (Moss, 1978).

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The City of Welland (Figure 6.1) is a major source of atmospheric pollution due to industrial emissions of sulphur and nitrous gases. In this case it is not so much the vegetation characteristics themselves that are the focus of discussion but the significance and pattern of the accumulation of sulphates in this biotic component. The accumulation of such elements in vegetation can become a matter of serious concern beyond a certain value and under certain conditions, since they will become toxins and inhibitors of normal physiological activity. In extreme cases accumulation of such toxins, together with related stress factors, can lead to the total destruction of the vegetation cover of an area. At the very least the efficiency of normal physiological activities will be altered. This must inevitably have broader environmental implications, since the biotic component in any ecosystem or land system is the most active one in that system, and any decrease in the effectiveness of this organic component will significantly alter the sustainability properties of the land resource base of which it is a part. Vegetation was sampled from within a 10 km radius of the source (Moss, 1975a). The location of these sampling points is shown in Figure 6.10 and the results are presented in Table 6.6. Samples of herbaceous vegetation were clipped from one square meter quadrats and arboreal accumulations were taken from oak leaves — either white oak (Quercus alba), black oak (Quercus nigra) or swamp white oak (Quercus macrocarpa). The results for sulphate accumulation in herbaceous vegetation, although suggesting some general trends over distance, do point to the irregular nature of the pattern of accumulation. Figure 6.11 shows that, with the exception of two points about 4.0 km from the source, the amounts of sulphate (SO4~2) in herbaceous vegetation decrease only very slightly over a distance of 8.0 km in an easterly direction. One major problem is to explain the reason for the comparatively low values (588 and 802 ppm) found at points 4.0 km from the source. To the west, only three locations were sampled for herbaceous vegetation, these showing a sharp rise over 0.6 km from 267 to 1,400 ppm SO4~2, and a subsequent drop to 527 ppm at 6.1 km. No significant correlations could be found between any of these data sets and distance from the source, but as with the soil SO4~2 accumulation (Moss, 1975a) the data are obviously non-random and do appear to warrant further investigation. In sampling the woodland vegetation more consistency is possible in terms of the material sampled. Quantities of sulphate measured ranged from 190 to 1,250 ppm. Reference to Figures 6.10 and 6.11 again indicates no simple linear trend either to the west or to the east of the source. As in the case of the herbaceous vegetation, the pattern shows two areas to the east with relatively high values, one occurring at 3.2 km and the second at 8.2 km; that is, both in the downwind direction. Interesting comparisons can be made by studying the two sets of data, herbaceous and arboreal. The mean concentration in herbaceous vegetation for all sites is 974.15 ppm (1,047.0 ppm to the east, and 731.3 ppm to the west of the source) and in oak

FORESTS IN THE NIAGARA LANDSCAPE

Figure 6.10 Welland: location of sampling points and SO4 (From Moss, 1975a, Figure 5)

2

169

content of vegetation in ppm.

Figure 6.11 Welland: the relationship between SO4~2 in vegetation and distance from the major atmospheric pollution source in Welland. (From Moss, 1975a, Figure 6)

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THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Table 6.6 Welland SO4 tance from Source.

2

Content of Vegetation (Herbaceous and Arboreal) Related to Dis-

Area to the west of source

Distance (km) 1.8 2.8 6.1 1.8 2.8 4.4

SO4~2 content SO4~2 content herbaceous arboreal samples samples (ppm) (ppm) 267 1,400 527 190 740 554 405

Area to the east of source

Distance (km) 0.6 1.2 1.6 2.9 3.2 3.8 4.0 5.4 5.7 6.2 1.3 2.2 3.2 3.3 3.5 5.4 7.2 7.8 8.3

SO4~2 content SO4~2 content herbaceous arboreal samples samples (ppm) (ppm) 1,150 1,280 1,120 1,120 1,120 588 802 1,150 1,130 1,010 488 270 1,250 583 270 273 521 496 1,030

Source: Moss (1975a).

leaves is 546.64 ppm for all sites (576.4 ppm to the east, and 472.25 ppm to the west). These results show quite marked contrasts which may be attributable either to selective atmospheric absorption of SC>2 (sulphur dioxide) or to absorption of SO4~2 from the soil. Further evidence for the difference in absorptive selectivity between herbaceous and arboreal vegetation may also be seen in cases where samples from the two vegetation types were collected from adjacent sites. In most cases, herbaceous samples were collected less than 0.4 km from arboreal samples. In five of these cases, the arboreal vegetation showed values of about one-half, or less than one-half, of the herbaceous SO4~2 values. At one site the difference was smaller (190 ppm for oak leaves and 267 ppm for herbaceous samples) and at only one site was the difference both small and reversed (1,250 ppm for oak leaves and 1,120 ppm for herbaceous samples).

FORESTS IN THE NIAGARA LANDSCAPE

171

The explanation for these results must be sought by investigating the patterns of atmospheric sulphur distribution in the area, and the supply of excess sulphur to the ground surface. Two independent but related surveys were conducted to measure ground level concentrations of gaseous atmospheric sulphur (Moss, 1975b). The pattern which emerges from these measurements is one of three well-defined and distinct areas of concentration, the most distinct of which is the area immediately downwind (i.e. to the east) of the pollution source. Here atmospheric sulphur values reach a concentration exceeding 1.00 mg 803 (sulphur trioxide)/100 cm2/day. This area is separated from the other two zones of higher concentration, which occur due west and due east beyond troughs with lower values ranging from < 0.40 to < 0.60 mg SO^/IOQ cm2/day. Both secondary concentrations give values in the range of > 0.50 to < 0.70 mg SOs/lOO cm2/day. These secondary concentrations are centred at 5.0 to 6.5 km from the source, the secondary concentration to the east being most clearly defined. This latter zone also corresponds precisely with the area in which the rise in both soil and vegetation SO4~2 is seen to occur. One possible explanation of this pattern could be that the high concentrations, 0.8 to 1.6 km downwind, are due to the normal looping effects of dispersion of atmospheric gases from the industrial sources under prevailing westerly wind conditions, and that the more distant zones of secondary concentration come into existence whenever calm atmospheric conditions exist. In such a situation an urban-generated atmospheric circulation system may come into being with the zone of maximum fallout now being located some greater distance downwind. Other pertinent information which may further an explanation of the existence of these zones comes from the concentrations of SO4~2 found in precipitation. Precipitation was measured near Welland at three sites, one within the industrial zone, a second 4.0 km to the northwest in a residential zone, and the third 4.0 km to the northwest of this in a rural zone. It was found that the highest SO4~2 concentrations occurred at the industrial site (mean monthly value, 30.2 ppm) but the second highest concentration was found at the more distant rural site (mean monthly value, 14.0 ppm) and the lowest concentration (11.2 ppm) occurred at the intermediate site (Moss, 1975b). There would therefore appear to be sufficient justification for accounting for the distribution of soil and vegetation SO4~2 concentrations by reference to the existence of urban-induced mesoscale air circulation patterns. These results therefore owe part of their significance to the information they provide about the relationship between vegetation and its atmospheric environment. The figures show that woodland ecosystems exhibit consistently lower SO4~2 accumulations than grassland sites. This is possibly due to the fact that the microenvironment within these wooded stands is to a large extent divorced from the ambient atmosphere, and that the tree canopy provides a very useful barrier to the accumulation, in the woodland soil, of SO4~2 as it falls from the atmosphere. Whatever the explanation of this situation may be it does have implications for both the conservation and

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THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

the rehabitation of environments near urban and industrial centres such as Welland, Port Colborne and Niagara Falls. Reforestation schemes using known, tolerant tree species would appear to enhance the environment more markedly, in terms of their biophysical function, than do other forms of rural land use. Such information should at least assist landscape planners to designate specific sites and areas for productive and non-productive land uses around urbanized areas.

Summary Traditionally, the role of vegetation in regional geographic analysis and in planning documents has tended to be a map of the 'assumed' climax vegetation together with descriptions and lists of species and communities. This chapter has attempted to show that in dealing with vegetation — in this case only with the forest cover — one is, in fact, dealing with perhaps the most dynamic and active component of the physical environment. That forests, trees, and woodlots are the most obvious component of a rural/urban landscape such as Niagara is without question. That they need to be recognized as such has been the main theme of this study. In isolating the more active from the more passive landscape elements (Moss, 1983) the biotic component emerges as perhaps the most critical and important element in our environmental systems. The cases presented here have focused upon aspects of this vegetation component and have been selected for study because they each represent a different illustration of how and why vegetation information can and should be used in many aspects of planning and development, whether for land use planning and allocation, or for designation of natural areas and of sites for conservation, preservation and rehabitation or a wide range of potential recreational uses. As agriculture changes, and in Niagara it will probably do so more quickly in the 1990s than at any other time in the recent past, some quite practical issues relating to reforestation will come to the fore. Yet for an understanding of all of these forces and for seeing them in the context of the present, and in future scenarios, one is also dependent upon a knowledge base and information sources that will permit inferences to be made regarding the way the present situation has evolved. Only by looking at these problems in a temporal and spatial dimension can our knowledge of the dynamics of this critically important component of our environment be more fully and effectively used.

References Ambrose, J.D. 1984. Rare Species of Rutaceae. In Atlas of the Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario. Ottawa: National Museum of Natural Sciences. . 1987. Rare Species of Fagaceae. In Atlas of the Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario. Ottawa: National Museum of Natural Sciences.

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Ambrose, J.D., Kavanagh, K. and Keddie, C.J. 1987. Rare Species of Magnoliacea. In Atlas of the Rare Vascular Plants of Ontario. Ottawa: National Museum of Natural Sciences. Art, H.W. and Marks, P.L. 1973. Primary Productivity Profile of New York and Massachusetts. Preliminary IBP/EDFB Report No. 72-39. Barnett, P.J., Coakley, J.P., Terasmae, J. and Winn, C.E. 1985. Chronology and Significance of a Holocene Sedimentary Profile from Clear Creek, Lake Erie Shoreline, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 22: 1133-1138. Braun, E.L. 1950. Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America. Toronto: Blakeston. Burghardt, A.F. 1969. The Origin and Development of the Road Network of the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, 1770-1851. Annals, Association of American Geographers 59: 417-440. Chanasyk, V. 1970. The Haldimand-Norfolk Environment Appraisal. Vol. 1, Inventory and Analysis. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Treasury, Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs. Clarke, M.F. 1969. The General Composition of the Forest of North Dumfries Township, Waterloo County, Ontario, 1871. Unpublished BA thesis, Department of Geography, University of Waterloo. Cottam, G., Howell, E., Stearns, F. and Kobriger, N. 1973. Productivity Profile of Wisconsin. IBP/EDFB Report No. 72-142. Donaldson, C. 1987. A Paleohistory for the Wainfleet Bog. Special topic paper, Department of Geological Sciences, Brock University. Gourlay, R. 1822. Statistical Account of Upper Canada with a View to a Grand System of Emigration. London: Simpkin and Marshall. Harris, R.C., Roulston P. and DeFreitas, C. 1975. The Settlement of Mono Township. The Canadian Geographer 19: 1-17. Heidenreich, C.E. 1973. A Procedure for Mapping the Vegetation of Northern Simcoe County from the Ontario Land Survey. In Gentilcore, R.L. and Donkin, K., eds., Land Surveys of Southern Ontario. Cartographica, Monograph No. 8, Toronto, 105-113. Hills, G. A. 1958. Soil-Forest Relationships in the Site Regions of Ontario. In Proceedings of the First North American Soils Conference. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Agricultural Experimental Station Bulletin. Kelly, K. 1970. The Evaluation of Land for Wheat Cultivation in Early Nineteenth Century Ontario. Ontario History 62: 57-64. . 1975. The Impact of Nineteenth Century Agricultural Settlement on the Land. In Wood, J.D., ed., Perspectives on Landscape and Settlement in Nineteenth Century Ontario. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 64-77. Larson, D.W. and Kelly, P.E. 1991. The Extent of Old-growth Thuja occidentalis on Cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment. Canadian Journal of Botany 69: 1628-1636.

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MacDonald, G.M. 1987. Forest of the Hamilton Region: Past, Present, and Future. In Dear, M.J., Drake, J.J. and Reeds, L.G., eds., Steel City: Hamilton and Region. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 65-84. Maycock, P.E. 1963. The Phytosociology of the Deciduous Forests of Extreme Southern Ontario. Canadian Journal of Botany 41: 379-438. McAndrews, J.H. 1976. Fossil History of Man's Impact on the Canadian Flora: An Example from Southern Ontario. Canadian Botanical Association Bulletin Supplement 9: 106. Mealing, S.R. 1974. Robert Gourlay, Statistical Account of Upper Canada. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. Moss, M.R. 1975a. Spatial Patterns of Sulphur Accumulation by Vegetation and Soils around Industrial Centres. Journal of Biogeography 3: 205-222. . 1975b. Spatial Patterns of Precipitation Reaction. Environmental Pollution 8: 301-315. . 1976. Forest Regeneration in the Rural /Urban Fringe: A Study of Secondary Succession in the Niagara Peninsula. The Canadian Geographer 20: 141-157. . 1978. Sources of Sulfur in the Environment: The Global Sulfur Cycle. In Nriagu, J.O., ed., Sulfur in the Environment, Pt I: The Atmospheric Cycle. New York: John Wiley, 23-50. . 1983. Landscape Synthesis, Landscape Processes and Land Classification: Some Theoretical and Methodological Issues. Geojournal 7: 145-153. Moss, M.R. and Davis, L.S. 1985. The Nature and Significance of Spatial Change in Forest Cover in the Landscape Evolution of Rural Southern Ontario, c. 1810-1980. In Smith, R.T., ed., The Biogeographical Impact of Land-use Change: Collected Essays. Leeds: Biogeography Study Group, Institute of British Geographers, Biogeographical Monographs, No. 2, 85-96. . 1986. Evolution of Natural Areas in the Development of the Rural Landscape of Southern Ontario, Canada. V Meeting of the IGU Working Group, Landscape Synthesis. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Laboratori de Paisatge, 131-140. . 1989. Evolving Spatial Interrelationships in the Non-productive Land-use Components of Rural Southern Ontario. Department of Geography, Occasional Papers in Geography No. 11, University of Guelph. Moss, M.R. and Hosking, PL. 1983. Forest Associations in Extreme Southern Ontario c. 1817. A Biogeographical Analysis of Gourlay's Statistical Account. The Canadian Geographer 27: 184-193. Moss, M.R. and Nickling, W.G. 1980. Landscape Evaluation in Environmental Assessment and Land Use Planning. Environmental Management 4: 57-72. . 1989. Environmental and Policy Requirements: Some Canadian Examples and the Need for Environmental Process Assessment. In Dearden P. and Sadler, B., eds., Landscape Evaluation: Approaches and Applications. Victoria, B.C.: Western Geographical Series No. 25,177-192.

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Moss, M.R. and Rosenfeld, C.L. 1978. Morphology, Mass Wasting and Forest Ecology of a Post-glacial Re-entrant in the Niagara Escarpment. Geografiska Annaler Series A, 60A: 161-174. Mueller-Dombois, D. and Ellenberg, H. 1974. Aims and Methods of Vegetation Ecology. New York: John Wiley. Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources. 1977. Short Hills Provincial Park: Master Plan. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Peters, B.C. 1972a. Early Perception of a High Plain in Michigan. Annals, Association of American Geographers 62: 57-60. . 1972b. Oak Openings or Barrens: Landscape Evaluation on the Michigan Frontier. Proceedings, Association of American Geographers 4: 84-85. Pyle, D. 1969. Methods of Analysing Original Vegetation Cover Using Early Land Survey Records. Unpublished MA thesis, McMaster University. Rowe, J.S. 1959. Forest Regions of Canada. Ottawa: Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Forestry Branch, Bulletin 123. Soper, J.H. 1962. Some Genera of Restricted Range in the Carolinian Flora of Canada. Transactions of the Royal Canadian Institute 34: 3-56. Straw, A. 1968. Late Pleistocene Glacial Erosion along the Niagara Escarpment of Southern Ontario. Bulletin, Geological Society of America 79: 889-910. Terasmae, J., Fortescue, J.A.C., Flint, J.J., Gawron, E.F., Winn, R.W. and Winn, C.E. 1972. Palynology and Chemistry of Sediment Cores from Southern Ontario Related to Man's Activities on the Environment. St. Catharines: Brock University, Department of Geological Sciences, Research Report Series No. 10, Studies in Paleoecology No. 1. Tinkler, K.J., Pengelly, J.W., Parkins, W.P. and Terasmae, J. 1992. Evidence for High Water Levels in the Erie Basin during the Younger Dryas Chronozone. Journal of Paleolimnology 7: 215-234. Weaver, M. and Kellman, M. 1981. The Effects of Forest Fragmentation on Woodlot Tree Biotas in Southern Ontario. Journal of Biogeography 8: 199-210. Wood, J.D. 1961. The Woodland-Oak Plains Transition Zone in the Settlement of Western Upper Canada. The Canadian Geographer 5: 43-47.

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Part II

HUMAN IMPACTS

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7

The Early Settlement of Niagara W.B. Turner If there is one (spot) on earth intended for a paradise more than another, it is this. (Gourlay, 1966a, vi)

Settlement of the Niagara Peninsula occurred long before Europeans arrived, so the story of settlement must begin with the aboriginal peoples. European interest at first concerned the eastern side of the Niagara River as well as the river route itself, from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, but this interest focused on control of a trade route rather than on settlement. Permanent European habitation began in the late eighteenth century as a by-product of warfare and was established first on the west bank, at each end of the Niagara River. This chapter looks at the interaction between geography and human habitation in the Peninsula from pre-contact times to approximately 1830, and discusses early aboriginal settlement, the French period after 1600, and the British era which began in 1759.

Physical Background to Settlement Throughout this period physical geographic factors, particularly landforms and water courses, were the dominant elements affecting settlement. (Among non-physical factors, strategy and commerce must be considered the most significant.) The principal water and land features have already been discussed, but need to be touched upon here, both because they deserve emphasis and in order to eliminate ambiguity. Water needs to be mentioned first because it has probably been the single most decisive physical factor. The eastern end of Lake Erie and the western end of Lake Ontario provide the major definition of the Niagara Peninsula. In human terms, these two bodies of water have sometimes acted as giant moats, but more often as transportation routes that were more convenient than those by land. Almost as crucial in defining the Peninsula 179

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HUMAN IMPACTS

and influencing human contact is the Niagara River with its famous Falls. The river has never been difficult for people to cross, except on a few occasions during the War of 1812, when crossings were opposed by armed defenders. The river has exercised its influence not along an east-west line but rather northwards and southwards, along its actual course, because that was the passage connecting two Great Lakes through land that was difficult to walk over. Other rivers and streams have played their parts in influencing European-American settlement and, probably, that of aboriginal peoples earlier. Chippawa Creek (officially the Welland River) and the Twenty Mile and Twelve Mile Creeks were probably the most important as influences on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century settlement, because of the water power they provided to mills and the shelter their estuaries gave to industries and ships. The Niagara Escarpment and, just inland from Lake Erie, the lower Onondaga Escarpment, influenced human habitation from pre-contact to modern times. The Niagara Escarpment, sometimes referred to simply as "the Escarpment" or even "the mountain," is the most significant land feature of the Peninsula, and it certainly hindered early movements of people. But other geographic characteristics deserve mention because they either assisted or impeded settlement. There are fertile soils, though more abundant and with better drainage along the Niagara River and the Lake Ontario shore than along the southern lakeshore where the heavy clay is poorly drained. There is the favourable climate for a variety of crops, including fruit, and the abundance of fish, birds and game for food. Movements of people, as well as their settlement, were decisively shaped by these characteristics and not until the opening of the Welland Canal in 1829 was a man-made structure able to circumvent or supplement geographic features. Up to that date, the most successful settlers were those who used geographic features instead of trying to resist or disregard them. Aboriginal inhabitants and later French residents simply took what they found and made no significant attempts to change conditions beyond building shelters, including Fort Niagara, and making paths. Even the portage road which the French built on the east side of the Niagara River made only a slight impression on the land surface. Great changes were to come only after British occupation of Fort Niagara in 1759, for it was soon followed by permanent settlement. Continuity strongly characterizes the Peninsula's history. The lakes, the Niagara River, as well as other rivers or creeks, the Falls, the Escarpment, soil and climate all continue to influence life in this part of the Ontario. In another sense, the legacy of the past remains alive for many Peninsula residents in the form of historic structures, names of places, historical conferences, and publications. Much of this history is visually available to visitors who, indeed, come in large numbers to visit historic sites and view historically based events, as well as to enjoy the scenery and amenities. People can, unawares, absorb much historical information.

Figure 7.1

Neutral Indian Villages, 1580-1651. (After Noble, 1978)

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HUMAN IMPACTS

Figure 7.2 Native trading patterns in the Great Lakes Basin, 1600-53. (After Historical Atlas of Canada, I, plate 35)

Aboriginal Settlement in Niagara Even though there are no significant legacies of Aboriginal occupation on the present landscape of the Niagara Region, aboriginal habitation does nevertheless tell us about the interaction of physical geography and human settlement in this part of Ontario (Figure 7.1). Archaeological evidence indicates the existence of Neutral Indian villages from at least the fourteenth century and, along with historical records, shows that their inhabitants depended on agriculture as well as hunting and fishing for sustenance. Thus, one of the continuities of the Region is the dependence of its residents on soil and climate for important basic needs. Aboriginal occupation, movement and displacement were also affected by trade routes and warfare, factors which continued to influence later settlements. Noble (1978, 160) places the Neutrals in "an important middle position at the ends of two major trade networks." One was the French fur-trade connection with the Petun and Huron Indians to the north and the other was the route via various Indian nations southward to the Ohio River and ultimately, the Mississippi (Figure 7.2). The Niagara Peninsula was established early as a crossroads of north-south and east-west trade networks.

EARLY SETTLEMENT

183

In the years 1650 to 1655 Senecas from the east side of the Niagara River attacked the Neutrals, leaving a few survivors who dispersed in different directions. The Senecas occupied the area mainly along the Lake Ontario shore and the banks of the Niagara River. They farmed, fished, and hunted, and also benefitted from the crossroads trade. But the position had its dangers, for at the end of the seventeenth century, the Ojibwa (or Chippawa) moved from the north into the Peninsula and drove out the Senecas. This Ojibwa group became known as the Mississaugas (Historical Atlas of Canada, 1987,1, Plate 39; Hall, 1990). Apart from unintentionally establishing certain patterns of human-environmental interaction, Indian society left behind few tangible legacies. Perhaps the best known are trails along whose routes can be found modern roads. The Iroquois Trail, following the shoreline of ancient Lake Iroquois just north of the Niagara Escarpment, is officially Regional Road 81, although it retains different local names within urban areas. There is no single road that marks the course of the Mohawk Trail which ran from Queenston along the crest of the Escarpment variously diverging from or approaching the Iroquois Trail until the two merged near Ancaster. Burghardt (1969) shows that from the mouth of Chippawa Creek there extended several trails along this river into the interior, with others branching off towards Point Abino and the Iroquois and Mohawk Trails. Modern counterparts include Beaverdams Road, Lyons Creek Road (Regional 47) and Regional 27 (which has several local names). The original courses of trails along the shorelines of Lakes Ontario and Erie have been removed by erosion, but there are modern roads that follow sections of both lake shores. Finally, Indian trails following the west bank of the Niagara River are now matched by the Niagara Parkway. These trails do not appear on a French map of 1688 (Figure 7.3) which does trace Indian trails at other points along Lake Ontario's north shore (Gentilcore and Head, 1984). Perhaps they did not exist or were not important at that time. Burghardt's (1969) map showing those trails and others is dated c. 1770 (Figure 7.4).

The French Period The French period may be dated from 1615-16 when Samuel de Champlain explored parts of present-day Ontario and on a subsequent map depicted Lake Ontario (called Lac St. Louis) and water connections to the interior without clearly showing either Niagara Falls or Lake Erie. The Falls are clearer on Champlain's map of 1632, and by the 1650s the Niagara River and Lake Erie were much more accurately portrayed, so that the Niagara Peninsula becomes distinguishable (Gentilcore and Head, 1984). The French presence involved temporary occupation along the east side of the Niagara River, where they were able to develop a portage route around the Falls for the fur trade. They soon began to erect defences for this route. This control blended into strategic interest, with the lines of power running westward towards Detroit and southwards towards the Ohio Valley (Figure 7.5). The fur trade, missionary work,

Figure 7.3 Lake Ontario villages, trails and portages, c. 1688. (Source: Service historique de la Marine, Bibliotheque, Paris)

EARLY SETTLEMENT

Figure 7.4

185

Indian trails in Niagara, c. 1770. (After Burghardt, 1969)

Figure 7.5 French and Native trade routes in the Interior, c. 1750. (After Historical Atlas of Canada, I, plate 40)

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HUMAN IMPACTS

Plate 7.1 Fort Niagara, Youngstown, New York. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

defence of New France and expansion into the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, and military action against the American colonies were all concerns of the French, but in spite of this range of activities, there was no discernible impact west of the river. Nevertheless, a word needs to be said about Fort Niagara because, although situated on the east bank at the river's mouth, its influence eventually extended upstream on both sides and beyond. The first structure, a storehouse with a stockade, was erected in 1679 under La Salle's direction. It lasted only a few months, and its successor, Fort Denonville, built in 1687, survived for a year. What the French discovered was the great difficulty of maintaining a post there because of the distance from their Montreal base and because of Iroquois hostility. The next time the French undertook to build a fort at the mouth of the Niagara River, the officer in charge, Louis-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire, first obtained Iroquois permission. In 1726, he proceeded to erect a sturdy stone building which came to be called the "French Castle" (Plate 7.1). Surrounded by a stockade, this structure gave the French domination over the mouth of the Niagara River and the portage road which they constructed in the first half of the eighteenth century. In combination with French posts at Detroit and Michilimackinac, Fort Niagara assured "the exclusion of the English from the Great Lakes and the safe movement of goods and furs to and from New France" (Dunnigan, 1985, 6). Not surprisingly, a fort in such a strategic position played an important part in the French-English rivalry for control of the North American interior, which did not cease until the capitulation of Montreal in 1760. The previous year, the English had

EARLY SETTLEMENT

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captured Fort Niagara after a European-style siege that lasted 19 days. The long-range influence of events on this river had appeared previously and would again—another continuity of the area's history.

British Period from 1759 to 1812 Military aims motivated the first permanent British settlements on the west side of the Niagara River at both the south and the north ends. Initial British presence on west side appeared at the river's entrance in July 1764, when troops under Captain John Montressor, Royal Engineers, began to erect a fort later named Fort Erie. The purpose of this fortification was to protect an anchorage for vessels sailing on Lake Erie, thereby supporting Colonel Bradstreet's military expedition against an outbreak of defensive warfare by Indians in the west (Pontiac's uprising). The garrison was small — a return of the 46th Regiment of Foot for late March 1765 gives a total of 254 men — and, although traders were allowed in 1771 to build a storehouse, there are no records of a civilian settlement developing outside the walls (Owen, 1968). A significant treaty was made in 1764 with the Seneca, by which they granted the British government a strip of land, two miles deep on the west side of the river (and four miles on the east side) from Lake Ontario to the top of the Escarpment. The area thus transferred to British control was widened in 1781 by an agreement with the Mississauga for a four-mile-wide strip on the west bank from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie (Whitfield, 1991). These portents of future European settlement, which would bring about permanent changes to the landscape of Ontario, appeared first in the Niagara Peninsula. Even before the second treaty, some modification had already appeared with the erection in 1765 of Navy Hall and a wharf on the west bank near the mouth (Figure 7.6). The number of buildings that would exist under that name varied and they were not intended to create a European agricultural settlement. Their purpose was to provide storage for naval supplies and equipment and perhaps housing for sailors over the winter when lake navigation halted. Permanent European settlement on the west bank at the mouth of the river and at Queenston dates from 1780 during the American Revolutionary war. The Governor of Quebec, Sir Frederick Haldimand, saw military advantages in placing on that land farmers who could help supply the needs of the growing population of refugees, fighting men and their dependents at Fort Niagara. Perhaps in anticipation of such a settlement, Colonel John Butler began building log barracks for his Rangers during the fall and winter of 1778. The buildings were destroyed during the War of 1812 and their site is now marked by a plaque at the corner of Ricardo and Melville Streets in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Haldimand's instructions of July 1780 led to the placing of "four or five families" in the vicinity (Report by Colonel John Butler cited in Smy, 1984, 21). There they

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Figure 7.6 Plan of Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake, 1810. (After Public Archives of Canada Vl/440-1810)

built houses and, after receiving essential supplies, commenced farming. This was the origin of Newark or Niagara-on-the-Lake (which has known a series of names during its history, including Butlersburg, Lenox Town and, simply, Niagara). Obviously, the original landscape would change as farmers and urban dwellers needed cleared land, roads and mills. Two mills began operating on the Four Mile Creek in 1783; these too were portents of vast transformations yet to come.

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Figure 7.7

189

Routes of early penetration in Niagara, c. 1790. (After Burghardt, 1969)

Disbanded soldiers and their families settling in large numbers after the conclusion of the American War of Independence in 1783 began the transformation of the landscape into what we see today. By 1785, the Iroquois Trail "appears to have been widened . . . to a width sufficient for wagons, as far as Ancaster, fifty miles west of Queenston" (Burghardt, 1969,425). A map of that period suggests a road network obviously influenced by existing Indian trails, yet showing both deletions and additions which reflected European settlers' needs (Figure 7.7). The network was most evident in areas of highest attraction to settlers, namely, along the banks of the Niagara River north of the Falls and west along the Lake Ontario shore. By 1815, the network had become more complex, particularly in the northern half of the Peninsula, reflecting chiefly the density of settlement (Figure 7.8). Roads, whether following previous trails, natural features or survey lines, of the type made by settlers after 1784, imposed human control on the landscape to a degree never before experienced. On a smaller but more intensive scale, this phenomenon appeared with the official street plan for Newark drawn up in 1791 by D.W. Smith, Acting Deputy Surveyor-General (Carnochan, 1973).

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Figure 7.8

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Population densities in Niagara townships, 1817. (After Gentilcore, 1962)

The population grew swiftly from the time of initial Loyalist settlement in 1784 until 1812, when war interrupted Upper Canada's rapid growth. Wilson (1981a) estimates a population of about 850 around Niagara in 1784 and almost 6,000 by the eve of the War; contemporary estimates give a figure of 3,100 in the Peninsula in 1789. In addition to numbers, this new population was significantly different from that of any earlier period. For example, it was much more diverse. Besides aboriginal and mixed (aboriginal-European) peoples and British settlers, there were Blacks (free and slaves), German-speaking residents (sometimes termed Pennsylvania 'Dutch') and even, for a short time, French-speaking aristocrats who had fled the Revolution in their homeland. In terms of religion, there were Roman Catholics and various Protestant sects, including Anglicans, Baptists, Mennonites, Methodist Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Moravians, and Quakers (Coffman, 1981; Hill, 1981). This diversity of population increased after 1815 and was to continue as a characteristic of the Niagara Region.

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Plate 7.2

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Fort George, Niagara-on-the-Lake. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

Another feature of the early British period was a strong government and military presence (Wilson, 1981a, 1981b). Campbell (1937,148-149) gave this brief description of Newark in December 1791: "Opposite the fort of Niagara, on a large flat point, on the Canadian side of the river, is a town lined out, and lots given gratis to such as will undertake to build on it, agreeably to a plan laid down by government,... half an acre is allotted for the stance of each house and garden, and eight acres at a distance, for inclosures, besides a large common ty reserved for the use of the town. Several people have taken lots here already.... In the event of the fort on the opposite side being given up, it is said there is one to be erected on this side, and the ground is already marked out for that purpose." The elimination of French rivalry did not end the strategic importance of the Niagara River. This remained and, if anything, was enhanced after 1784, when the river became the boundary between British North America and the new United States. Such significance accounts for the military construction on both sides of the river at frequent intervals along its length. Fort Erie has been mentioned; other early fortifications included Fort George (begun 1796) (Plate 7.2), a blockhouse at Queenston and a small stockaded fort at the mouth of the Chippawa Creek (Weld, 1799; Heriot, 1807). During the War of 1812, additional gun positions with earthworks were placed at several points, and Fort Drummond, on Queenston Heights, and Fort Mississauga, just west of the mouth of the Niagara River, were constructed in 1814. The military presence and forts operated within a wider political and economic context, namely, the commercial importance of the Niagara River. It continued as a

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main artery of the fur trade, an enterprise that was never solely a business matter but also a means of underpinning alliances between European powers and Indian tribes. Along with that relationship between British interests and those of native peoples went the official British connection through the superintendent of northern Indians (originally Sir William Johnson). He held large meetings on the military reserve just south of Fort Niagara, and after the boundary was drawn, meetings on a smaller scale were sometimes held west of the river. A great many of these features of the British period are evident from the history of the portage road. The cartage of goods along this portage on the east bank was controlled by British government contract which, characteristically for that period, was obtained through lobbying. A group of Montreal merchants led by Todd and McGill began to campaign in 1787 to have the contract transferred from its current holder (Philip Stedman Jr.) to merchants associated with them, and also to have a road opened on the west bank. By 1790, these merchants had transferred their business to the west side under the supervision of Robert Hamilton and George Forsyth. When, in the following year, the government opened the contract for portage of its goods along the west bank, Hamilton, Forsyth and two local merchants, John Burch and Archibald Cunningham, entered a bid and succeeded with the backing of Todd, McGill and other influential Montreal merchants. Hamilton and his various associates would continue to win renewals of the contract until his death in 1809 (Wilson, 1983; Seibel, 1990). The influence of individuals on the development of the Niagara Peninsula can be seen at different periods. Obvious examples would be Haldimand and Butler, whose efforts established Newark, or Lieutenant-Governor John Simcoe, who made it the colony's capital in 1792 (Plate 7.3). Robert Hamilton was another such individual, for he used the topographic features and the political and economic conditions to achieve great wealth and influence. Worldly success on a large scale at this early time required using geography rather than ignoring or defying it. While millers, farmers and craftsmen might make comfortable lives for themselves, their ability to dominate nature could not exceed the narrow limits of contemporary technology. Hamilton fitted technology to the geographical circumstances once he had the favour of the government, which was demonstrated by the portage contract. It would be hard to exaggerate the importance of both the military and the civil authorities in the growth of the Peninsula's pioneer settlements. The military controlled all the river bank land for a depth of 60 feet from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. Hamilton and his partners benefitted enormously from the army's control because the military authorities erected the facilities that the merchants required for their business, thus saving them the burden of tying up large amounts of capital at the outset of their operation. In other words, the government built storehouses at Queenston, Chippawa and Fort Erie and allowed the merchants to use them at low cost. The army and fur trade interests remained the heavy users of the portage, but increasingly settlers heading for the southern half of the Peninsula and beyond provided

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Plate 7.3 Mrs. Tice's house, near Queenstown (Queenston), 1795, by Elizabeth Simcoe. It was located "on the mountain" (near the Escarpment edge on Mountain Road at Portage Road) five miles from the Falls. (Photo: Robertson, 1934)

Hamilton with customers and suppliers. His business, centred at Queenston, grew under his shrewd management. He erected such facilities as a tannery, a distillery and a grist mill, which took advantage of natural resources including fresh water. Queenston was a major crossing point on the river for immigrants coming into Upper Canada, and to cater to them as well as to residents, Hamilton opened a general store. This' mercantile activity of gathering, forwarding and distributing other peoples' products would long continue as an important economic activity of the Peninsula (Plate 7.4). The portage terminated at the mouth of the Chippawa Creek, where settlers had established themselves from at least 1783. Thomas Cummings, identified as the "first settler" (Seibel, 1990, 209), received a 200-acre land grant and opened a general store (Plate 7.5). He exported wheat and flour grown by local farmers and bought imported goods from Montreal merchants; and before the War of 1812 he and his son were buying also from American merchants. James Macklem was another early arrival at Chippawa. He established Macklem's Tavern, became a partner in a stage coach line, and began commercial and industrial enterprises similar to those of Hamilton's in Queenston (Seibel, 1990). Industrial activity first appeared in the British period but could not gain an influential role until the population increased and transportation improved. Both grist and

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Plate 7.4 Queenstown, 1792. The line of buildings were the barracks of the Queen's Rangers; on the right, Robert Hamilton's house and probably a warehouse. The Niagara Escarpment was probably more forested than depicted here. From a drawing by Elizabeth Simcoe. (Photo: Robertson, 1934)

Plate 7.5 Chippawa, 1806. Wooden King's Bridge crosses Chippawa Creek near its mouth. On left side (north bank), the Fort Chippawa barracks; on right side, the storehouses of Cummings and Grant and Kerby. (Photo: Corp. of the City of Niagara Falls, and George Seibel, Historian)

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saw mills were needed from the outset of permanent settlement, and they were erected by government order on the Four Mile Creek in 1783. Two years later, the government authorized grist and saw mills on the Niagara River above the Falls. By the 1790s, both types of mills were found widely scattered in the Peninsula; but mill developers faced a major problem in that the area suffered from a shortage of streams that were both "steady and accessible" (Watson, 1945,51). Smaller streams frequently dried up in the summer, while winter ice interfered with all water courses. Hence mills had to be located where springs or rivers provided moving water and within reasonable distance of pioneer communities. The outcome was to disperse the mills across the Peninsula at such locations as Doan's Ridge (inland from the Lake Erie shore just west of the Niagara River), the Short Hills (north of Fonthill), the Ancaster moraines (just west of Burlington Bay), and on the Four, Twelve and Twenty Mile Creeks (Bureau of Achives, 1906). The fact that several saw mills were erected and operated successfully for years indicates that a lumbering industry developed. An early mention is given by Heriot (1807,I,167): "Between the village (of Chippawa) and the falls there are three mills; the lower for the manufacture of flour; the two upper mills... for the purposes of sawing timber into boards, and for manufacturing iron. The latter scheme has hitherto failed of success." Lumbering along the Chippawa Creek would continue for many years (Strachan, 1968). Heriot's (1807) comment suggests attempts to establish other industrial enterprises in this early period. Not all failed, for there were woollen mills at numerous locations, iron foundries along the Niagara River and a few tanneries (Watson, 1945). A number of pioneer industrial centres were growing at Queenston, Bridgewater Mills (the location Heriot describes above) and St. Johns in the Short Hills (Duquemin, 1980). These various industrial plants were the beginning of a major manufacturing presence in the Niagara Peninsula and they had an unmistakable impact on its landscape.

British Period from 1812 to 1829 The War of 1812 created a watershed in one respect but did not alter the direction of such major developments as the increase of population, expansion of agriculture and industry, and changes to modes and scope of transportation. The watershed manifested itself in terms of the source of population, because in 1815 the British government adopted a policy of impeding American settlement in Upper Canada. Lord Bathurst, the Colonial Secretary, instructed the Governor, "You will not in any case grant lands to the subjects of the United States, and use your best endeavours to prevent their settling in either of the Canadas" (Patterson, 1921,112). Although not all movement could be stopped across a border so easily crossed, the large-scale influx so characteristic of the previous 25 years was ended (Gourlay, 1966a). During the war, the Niagara Peninsula experienced a good deal of destruction of homes, buildings and crops. In May 1813, British troops, on their retreat from

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Fort Erie, burned buildings and merchandise to deny them to American invaders. In December of that year it was American forces that burned Newark to the ground. William Hamilton Merritt rode in just as the fire was dying down and noted, "Nothing but heaps of coals and the streets full of furniture . . . met the eye in all directions. Mr. Gordon's house . . . was the only one standing" (Merritt, 1875, 31). In 1814, St. David's suffered the same fate, as did Chippawa (from both British and American troops), including the King's bridge over the Creek. While Queenston was never deliberately put to the torch, most of its buildings lay in ruins (Seibel, 1990). An American travelling from the Niagara River to Detroit in 1816 wrote, "I was most sensibly struck with the devastation which had been made by the late war, (farms) formerly in high cultivation, now laid waste; houses entirely evacuated and forsaken; provisions of all kinds scarce; and, where once peace and plenty abounded, poverty and destruction now stalked over the land" (cited in Zaslow, 1964,240). The physical damage was quickly repaired (except in Queenston), although the political and pyschological legacies remained. However, these did not affect economic development of the area and its physical effects. The population increased quickly, if contemporary figures are a reliable guide. Gourlay (1966b) estimated the Niagara District's population in 1817 at 12,548, whereas Burghardt (1969) gives a figure of 16,000 for the Peninsula. By 1836, the total had reached 32,442 (Jackson, 1976, 237, citing Rolph, 1836). Based on these figures, the Peninsula's population increased at a rate slightly less than that for Upper Canada, which went from 83,250 in 1817 to 158,027 in 1825 and to 372,502 in 1836 (Province of Canada, 1849; Gentilcore, 1962). Population concentration continued in the older settled areas along the Niagara River and the Lake Ontario shore, although there was some movement into Thorold Township, near the headwaters of Twelve Mile Creek (Figure 7.8). The road network reflected this population distribution (Gourlay, 1966a; Burghardt, 1969). In the early 1820s, the network appeared to be essentially the same as in 1815 (Figure 7.9). The main routes still ran north-south along the Niagara River, westward from Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake) to Hamilton and roughly southwestward from the Falls (Drummondville) to Wellandport and westward to Canborough, where the road joined the eastward extension of the Talbot Road which had crossed the Grand River. This latter road is the modern Highway 20 and Canboro Road (Regional 63). The population continued to be diverse in terms of national origin and religion, with a greatly increased number of Irish Catholics who, from 1824 onwards, came to construct the First Welland Canal. Population complexity increased in another sense, that is, in diversity of occupations and variations of social levels. Canal and harbour building and operation required skills new to the Peninsula's population and the expansion of industries increased the non-farming element (Plate 7.6). Jackson (1976,208) points out, "a new socio-economic element, the industrial labourer, (came) into the Peninsula."

Figure 7.9 Niagara road network and settlements, c. 1815. (After Public Archives of Canada V30/407-1815-map 15. The numbers along the Lake Ontario shoreline refer to creek names, i.e., Twelve Mile Creek, being approximate distance in miles from the Niagara River.)

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Plate 7.6 The Old Red Meeting House. A Methodist Meeting House used from 1815 to 1857 and situated at the north-west corner of the present-day Lundy's Lane and Montrose Road in Niagara Falls. (Photo: Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls, and George Seibel, Historian)

Industrial activity became even more vigorous in this period (Burghardt, 1969). It led to the growth of two small settlement nodes in the interior, namely, Canborough on Oswego Creek, based upon Benjamin Canby's saw mill, and St. Johns in the Short Hills. Duquemin (1980, 33) claims that by 1817 this village was ". . . Upper Canada's leading industrial centre". It certainly was a busy place with two saw mills, two fulling mills, three grist mills, a woollen factory, an iron foundry, a potashery, a tannery, and a brickyard. More significant industrial sites existed along the Niagara River (Seibel, 1990). Although the Bridgewater Mills were not rebuilt after the War of 1812, Street's Mills were, and a fulling and cloth mill were added to the business. Zeba Gay established a nail factory and H. Utley a clock factory. Construction of steamboats began in 1824 at Queenston, nine years before the Niagara Harbour and Dock Company opened its shipyard at Niagara. In 1832, John Levering began a shipyard in Chippawa, and in 1840, the Harbour and Dock Company did also. These enterprises joined the already established steam flour mills, a tannery, a brewery, a distillery, a potash works, and an iron foundry which later, under the name of the Macklem Iron Works, would manufacture engines for the Harbour and Dock Company's vessels (Seibel, 1990). The village of Shipman's Corners (later called St. Catharines), where the Iroquois Trail crossed the Twelve Mile Creek, had suffered little damage from the fighting. The five mills located along that stream could continue to work and were in part the reason

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that William Hamilton Merritt invested in a saw mill there. By 1818, his business activities had expanded to include a saw mill, a flour mill, a distillery, a potashery, a cooper shop, a smithy, a general store, and the extraction of salt from riverbank springs. Clearly, a pioneer industrial centre was developing. The onset of construction of the First Welland Canal hastened this development even before the waterway opened. As early as 1827 Russell Armington opened a shipyard on the Twelve Mile Creek between Port Dalhousie and St. Catharines (Styran and Taylor, 1988). (This industry would expand to at least ten separate yards of which only one still survives, Port Weller Dry Docks.) George Keefer built a mill in the woods above the Escarpment in what is now Thorold, and as the date of the Canal's opening approached, more and more mills were erected (Jackson, 1976). As population and business activity grew, not only were more roads needed but also better transportation along them. Overland public transport depended on stage coaches. These began to operate as early as 1801 when a stage ran daily between Newark and Chippawa; and by 1830 stages ran twice a day from the Falls to Fort Erie and Buffalo. This form of transport could, at times, be reasonably swift. One estimate of 1831 was that a journey between Lakes Ontario and Erie, with a three hour stop at the Falls, could be made in one day. These transportation improvements were found not only on the usually well-travelled north-south route but also along other lines of communication. In April, 1827 a stage coach began running three times a week from Niagara via Queenston, St. Catharines, Grimsby, Stoney Creek and Hamilton to Ancaster (Talman, 1933). The Portage Road continued to be the busiest land route of the Peninsula, but military and fur-trade traffic declined while civilian traffic of all sorts increased (Plate 7.7). Ferry crossings from Lewiston to Queenston began to operate year round, except under the worst ice conditions. The numbers of immigrants arriving seemed to have increased in the 1830s, as they headed to western parts of the United States or into Upper Canada. Also, in 1828, steamships began to bring passengers from various ports on Lake Ontario to Niagara or Queenston, where they could take stage coaches to either Chippawa or Fort Erie. The swiftness of these ships helped to maintain passenger traffic on the Portage Road even after the Welland Canal opened. Traffic to and from Queenston increased after 1830, when it replaced Niagara as the transfer point for mail to the United States (Seibel, 1990). (All this activity was to change in 1854, when the first steam train ran from Chippawa to Niagara, ending the need for people to travel to Queenston and make the journey up the steep Portage Road.) Chippawa prospered from travellers as well as from industry. It benefitted, too, from the opening of the First Welland Canal because it was the southern terminus until 1833, when the Canal reached Lake Erie. Although boat traffic then declined, the village became "the trading centre for the northern part of the Peninsula" (Seibel, 1990, 226), attracting shoppers from as far away as Buffalo. This prosperity was to last into the 1860s.

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Plate 7.7 Pavilion Hotel, c. 1830. Built 1822-23 by William Forsyth on the Portage Road on the site that is now occupied by the Minolta Tower in Niagara Falls. (Photo: Corporation of the City of Niagara Falls, and George Seibel, Historian)

Plate 7.8 The First and Second Welland Canals through Thorold. This 1950s view shows various canal-side industries, the grid-iron street plan laid out after 1830, and Thorold's downtown on Front Street (to the right of the canal). (Photo: Fred Campbell Collection)

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There was a good deal of interest throughout this period in a canal project. The familiar story about William Hamilton Merritt initiating the Welland Canal undertaking because of his need for adequate and dependable water supply to his mills need not be repeated here. He was not the only one interested in a canal to overcome the barrier of Niagara Falls, nor was it predetermined that his scheme or the route he favoured would be chosen (Figure 7.10). His achievement may be taken as another example of the important role of individuals in bringing about significant economic and social change (Jackson, 1976). Merritt achieved even more than any previous entrepreneur, for the canal he promoted began the process of overcoming, rather than simply adjusting to, the Peninsula's physical geographical barriers to transport. The First Welland Canal used river valleys in its northern section (Dick's Creek and the Twelve Mile Creek) and the Chippawa Creek provided the southern outlet from 1829 until 1833; but numerous locks and man-made channels were needed to overcome the rise in the land surface between Lakes Ontario and Erie, especially the Niagara Escarpment. In 1833, the Canal opened to Port Colborne, thus adding a further man-made channel, and a Feeder Canal was built between Welland and the Grand River near Port Maitland (Figure 7.11). This lessened the dependence on natural features and each reconstruction of the Welland Canal would further reduce such dependency. Also, the Welland Canals led to new or expanded settlements along their routes, a major break from the pioneer road and river-oriented settlements that had developed so far (Plate 7.8). Concern about defence against the United States continued as a legacy from the past in some respects but not in others. For example, the British government was interested in supporting the Welland Canal project because it would provide a means of moving warships, if necessary, between the lakes. The Canal's location, farther away from the American border than the Portage Road, was also seen as a strategic advantage. Even though the British government occasionally stationed regular troops at different points along the river, it was reluctant to spend money for repair and maintenance of the forts. In effect, Forts George, Chippawa and Erie were allowed to decay (Owen, 1986; Seibel, 1990). Fort Erie in 1816 had "a war-worn aspect, decayed both in strength and dignity" (Hall, 1818, 239), and by 1819 it was described as "a complete ruin" (Goldie, 1819, 31; see also Owen, 1986, 54). In 1826 a traveller visited the "ruins of old Fort George" (De Roos, 1827, 147). Only Fort Mississauga seems to have been kept up, although not to a high standard (Hall, 1818; Jameson, 1972). Interest in military defence would be pushed into the background by the demands of commercial and industrial development. Great changes in transportation and landscape would arrive with the railways in the 1850s, but the origins of these projects go back to this earlier period. In 1831 a group of businessmen (including Robert Hamilton's sons, Alexander and John) applied for a charter to construct a railway between Queens ton and Chippawa. It took them years to overcome the resistance of other business groups in Niagara, including William

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Figure 7.10 Possible canal routes between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, c. 1820. (source: Gourlay, 1966b)

Figure 7.11

Proposed routes of the Welland Canal, 1833. (After Jackson, 1976)

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Hamilton Merritt and Welland Canal-based interests, and the opposition of the British military authorities on strategic grounds. At last the Erie and Ontario Rail Road opened in 1839, but because the carriages were horse-drawn, it supplemented rather than supplanted the Portage Road (Seibel, 1990). That situation would change with the conversion to steam engines after 1852, for the introduction of steam technology there and elsewhere would herald a new age of rapid, all-year, overland transportation.

Conclusion It is convenient to look at the early history of human activity in the Niagara Peninsula in terms of the order in which the different groups predominated: the aboriginal inhabitants, the French, and the British-Americans. The first two peoples made no significant impression on the landscape but did indicate the area's capabilities for trade and agriculture. The precedents were useful to the British, who initiated modifications to the landscape by building towns and forts, laying roads, and clearing land to farm. The major impact on the Peninsula's geography truly began with the construction of the First Welland Canal (1824-29), soon to be followed by railways and large bridge structures. Those various projects introduced yet a different era, increasingly more akin to modern times than to pre-settlement and pioneer days. It would be the era of people's growing domination over physical geography. Such great changes require separate treatment. Robert Gourlay contended, from the point of view of a well-informed contemporary (1822), that the Niagara Peninsula seemed "intended for a paradise... [because] In point of climate, soil, variety, beauty, grandeur, and every convenience, I do believe it is unrivalled" (1966a, vi). As this chapter suggests, in spite of the obstacles to navigation on the Niagara River, the geographical conditions were highly favourable to settlement as well as to trade by both aboriginals and European-American newcomers. Yet taking up residence involved more than simply accommodating to physical conditions, and a deeper look reveals a negative side to the Peninsula's very desirability and its openness to trade. Its importance attracted fighting forces while its accessibility facilitated their hostile movements. It is no surprise that the history of human relations in the Peninsula recounts ample conflict, leading at times to dispersal of populations and considerable defensive building. In other words, the most negative impact on human communities has tended to come from human activities, rather than from geographical conditions. In spite of the great physical changes imposed on the landscape over the past two hundred years, the long interplay between people and physical geography in the Niagara Peninsula continues. It is a relationship that remains important and worth knowing.

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References Bureau of Archives. 1906. Statement of the Mills in the District of Nassau, D.W. Smith, Surveyor General, Newark, 7th November, 1792. Third Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario, 334-335. Burghardt, A.F. 1969. The Origin and Development of the Road Network of the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, 1770-1851. Annals, Association of American Geographers 59: 417-440. Campbell, P. 1937. Travels in the Interior Inhabited Parts of North America in the Years 1791 and 1792. Edited, with an Introduction by H.H. Langton and with Notes by H.H. Langton and W.F. Ganong. Toronto: The Champlain Society. Carnochan, J. 1973. History of Niagara. Belleville, Ontario: Mika Publishing. Coffman, B.F. 1981. The Pennsylvania-German Settlement in the Niagara Peninsula. In Burtniak, J. and Dirks, P., eds., Immigration and Settlement in the Niagara Peninsula. Proceedings of the Third Annual Niagara Peninsula History Conference, Brock University, 39-46. De Roos, F. F. 1827. Personal Narrative of Travels in the United States and Canada. London. Dunnigan, B.L. 1985. A History and Guide to Old Fort Niagara. Youngstown, New York: Old Fort Niagara Association. Duquemin, C. K. 1980. St. Johns, Short Hills: From Bloom to Doom. In Burtniak, J. and Turner, W., eds., Villages in the Niagara Peninsula. Proceedings of the Second Annual Niagara Peninsula History Conference, Brock University, 21-42. Gentilcore, R. L. 1962. The Niagara District of Robert Gourlay. Ontario History 54: 229-236. Gentilcore, R. L. and Head, C.G. 1984. Ontario's History in Maps. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Goldie, J. 1819. Diary of a Journey through Upper Canada and Some of the New England States. Gourlay, R. 1966a. General Introduction to a Statistical Account of Upper Canada [1822]. New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation. . 1966b. Statistical Account of Upper Canada [1822]. New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation. Hall, F. 1818. Travels in Canada, and the United States in 1816 and 1817. London. Hall, T. 1990. Native Limited Identities and Newcomer Metropolitanism in Upper Canada, 1814-1867. In Keane, D. and Read, C., eds., Old Ontario: Essays in Honour of J.M.S. Careless. Toronto: Dundurn Press. Heriot, G. 1807. Travels through the Canadas, Containing a Description of the Picturesque Scenery on some of the Rivers and Lakes. 2 vols. London. Hill, D.G. 1981. Early Black Settlement in the Niagara Peninsula. In Burtniak, J. and Dirks, P., eds., Immigration and Settlement in the Niagara Peninsula. Proceedings of the Third Annual Niagara Peninsula History Conference, Brock University, 65-80.

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Historical Atlas of Canada. 1987. From the Beginnings to 1800. Vol. 1, ed. R. Cole Harris. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Jackson, J.N. 1976. St. Catharines, Ontario: Its Early History. Belleville, Ontario: Mika Press. Jameson, A.B. 1972. Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada [1838]. 2 vols. Toronto: Coles Publishing. Merritt, J.P. 1875. Biography of the Hon. William Hamilton Merritt, M.P. St. Catharines. Noble, W.C., 1978. The Neutral Indians. In Engelbrecht, W.E. and Grayson, O.K., eds., Essays in Northeastern Anthropology in Memory of Marian E. White. Peterborough, Ontario: Occasional Publications in Northeastern Anthropology No. 5. Owen, D.A. 1986. Fort Erie (1764-1823) An Historical Guide. Niagara Falls, Ontario: Niagara Parks Commission. Patterson, G. C. 1921. Land Settlement in Upper Canada, 1783-1840. Sixteenth Report of the Department of Archives for the Province of Ontario, 1920. Toronto. Province of Canada. 1849. Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada 8: Appendix 1. Robertson, J.R. 1934. The Diary of Mrs John Graves Simcoe, Wife of the First Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, 1792-6. With Notes and a Biography. Toronto: The Ontario Publishing Company. Seibel, G.A. 1990. The Niagara Portage Road. A History of the Portage Road on the West Bank of the Niagara River. Niagara Falls, Ontario. Smy, W.A. 1984. The Settlement of Butler's Rangers in Niagara. In Burtniak, J., Turner, W. and Stevens, I., eds., United Empire Loyalists in the Niagara Peninsula. Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Niagara Peninsula History Conference, Brock University, 15-30. Strachan, J. 1968. A Visit to the Province of Upper Canada in 1819. New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation. Styran, R.M. and Taylor, R.R. 1988. The Welland Canals. The Growth of Mr. Merritt's Ditch. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press. Talman, J.J. 1933. Travel in Ontario before the Coming of the Railway. Ontario Historical Society, Papers and Records 29: 85-102. Watson, J.W. 1945. The Changing Industrial Pattern of the Niagara Peninsula: A Study in Historical Geography. Ontario Historical Society, Papers and Records 37: 49-58. Weld, I. 1799. Travels through the States of North America, and the Province of Upper and Lower Canada during the Years 1795, 6, 7. London. Whitfield, F.V. 1991. The Initial Settling of Niagara-on-the-Lake, 1778-1784. Ontario History 83: 3-21.

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Wilson, E.G. 1981a. Privilege and Place: The Distribution of Office in the Niagara Peninsula during the Loyalist Period. In Burtniak, J. and Dirks, P, eds., Immigration and Settlement in the Niagara Peninsula. Proceedings of the Third Annual Niagara Peninsula History Conference, Brock University, 27-38. . 1981b. As She Began: An Illustrated Introduction to Loyalist Ontario. Toronto: Dundurn

Press.

. 1983. The Enterprises of Robert Hamilton: A Study of Wealth and Influence in Early Upper

Canada, 1776-1812. Ottawa: Carleton University Press.

Zaslow, M, ed., 1964. The Defended Border. Upper Canada and the War of 1812. Toronto: Macmillan.

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8

The Early Surveys of Township No. 1 and the Niagara Peninsula Alun Hughes A casual observer contemplating Ellis's map of about 1860, showing the survey grid in the Niagara Peninsula (Figure 8.1; Winearls, 1991, #818[2]), could be forgiven for asking, "what went wrong?," especially if he or she were familiar with the highly systematic 'township and range' system of the American west and its counterpart in the Canadian prairies. For the subdivision of the Peninsula into townships and then into lots and concessions resembles nothing more than a crazy patchwork quilt. Not here the tidy six-by-six mile townships of the west, each divided into one mile square sections, and each section in turn split into half sections, quarters, and so on, providing standard units of land for allocation to pioneer settlers. Instead we have a confusion of irregular shapes, strange orientations and variable lot sizes, hardly what one would expect from that most systematic of professions, the surveyor's. So what did go wrong? The answer of course is that nothing did, apart, obviously, from the inevitable errors arising from the use of imperfect instruments in far from ideal conditions. In a sense the surveys of the Niagara Peninsula were as planned as those of the Dominion Lands Survey in western Canada. But instead of one grand scheme conceived at leisure and applied with uniformity, the Niagara surveys were a late eighteenth-century form of emergency response, impelled by the need to provide land for thousands of refugees displaced by the American War of Independence. Furthermore they were executed in piecemeal fashion over time and were subject to many changes in government policy before they were complete. This chapter traces the early surveys of the township that lay in the front line, so to speak—Township No. 1, or as it came to be known, Niagara Township. Three surveys were carried out, the last one, completed late in 1787, being the forerunner of surveys 209

Figure 8.1 The Niagara Peninsula survey grid in the mid-nineteenth century. (Winearls, 1991)

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elsewhere in the Peninsula. The Peninsula surveys are described in a postscript, and a second postscript considers later surveys in Niagara Township itself. As can be seen in Figure 8.2 (Page, 1876, 49), Niagara Township is split into two distinct portions by what is now known as the East-West Line; originally it was called the Due West or Garrison Line. The land to the north was reserved for the Crown from an early date, and apart from the section that became the townsite for Lenox (later Newark, and now Niagara-on-the-Lake), was never formally subdivided. Instead it came to be broken down haphazardly into lots of varying shape and size. South of the Garrison Line the land was systematically subdivided into lots and concessions. There were eight concessions, each 50 chains in depth, running northsouth and numbered inland from the Niagara River. Each concession was divided into 23 lots, 20 chains in width and 100 acres in area. A one chain road allowance for every concession and every second lot made for a total size of approximately 5.9 miles in width (north-south) and 5.1 miles in depth (east-west), exclusive of a narrow strip of broken fronts along the Niagara River. The first written evidence of any survey in Niagara is a letter dated May 3, 1783 from Lieutenant-Colonel John Butler, Commandant of the Corps of Rangers at Fort Niagara, to Captain Robert Mathews, military secretary to General Frederick Haldimand, Governor of Quebec, in which he states: I take this opportunity to transmit you an exact Survey of the Settlements, and will as soon as possible send you an estimate of the same specifying the quantity of Land already cleared and cultivated with the different kinds of grain planted and sown &c. I also inclose the account for surveying those Lands, which I beg you will lay before His Excellency as Sir John Johnson has positively forbid the making any charges in the contingent accounts, that is not immediately Indian expences, and Brigadier General Maclean has also refused to defray any expences of the kind whatever. (Niagara Historical Society, 1927, 51)

The account was for 24 days of surveying, included the cost of two chain bearers and one marker, and totalled £32 2s Od. It was dated April 4 (the year was unstated) and was in the name of Allan McDonell (Cruikshank, 1934,31-32).

The McDonell Survey Prior to 1775, the year that saw the start of the American War of Independence, the Niagara Peninsula was the almost exclusive domain of the Mississauga Indians. Though under British control, it was largely a wilderness of forest and swamp, broken only by occasional native settlements and long-distance trails. The main British presence was in fact across the Niagara River, at Fort Niagara in present-day Youngstown, New York, and apart from Navy Hall alongside the river in the north and Fort Erie in the south there was nothing at all on the west bank.

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Figure 8.2

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Niagara Township in the late nineteenth century. (Page, 1876)

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Fort Niagara, captured from the French in 1759, was an essential link in the chain of fortified trading posts protecting the flow of furs and supplies between the St. Lawrence and the upper Great Lakes. One of the most important was at Detroit, and it was near here that the first known land survey in what is now Ontario took place, possibly in the 1740s. The area was still under French control and was divided into long lots similar to the riverfront seigneuries along the St. Lawrence (Sebert, 1980,66). Fort Niagara was itself largely dependent on supplies imported from Britain and the lower St. Lawrence, a fact that caused the Quebec administration increasing concern as the rebels gained the upper hand in the War of Independence. From 1777 onwards the situation was exacerbated by the stationing of Butler's Rangers at the Fort and by a growing influx of Loyalist refugees and displaced Indians from New York and Pennsylvania. There were 200 troops and 348 Rangers at the Fort in December, 1778, and early in the following year over 1300 persons were listed as drawing rations, including troops, Rangers, Indians and refugees (Siebert, 1915,86). On October 7,1778 Haldimand wrote to Lieutenant-Colonel Mason Bolton, Commandant at Niagara, encouraging the cultivation of the land around the Fort to alleviate the "great expence and difficulty attending the Transport of Provisions" (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,8). Bolton's reply of March 4,1779 was mixed. A four-mile strip of land east of the Niagara River had been ceded to the Crown by the Six Nations Indians in 1764, but the treaty specifically forbade 'improvements' unrelated to the needs of the portage. Development of the land would almost certainly cause problems with the Indians. However, he and those he had consulted considered "both from the Soil and Situation the West side of the river, (the Country belonging to the Messessagues...), by far preferable to the East & where none of those difficulties and differences can arise." They felt that the opportunity existed "to make a beginning by encouraging some of the distrest Loyalists lately arrived at this Post for His Majesty's protection" (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,9-10). No doubt one of the persons consulted was Butler, who had some knowledge of the west bank, having erected barracks for his Rangers there in the fall and winter of 1778 (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,10-11). Haldimand consented to Bolton's suggestion in a reply dated June 7, 1779, but was careful to limit it to just three or four families "who are desirous to settle on the opposite side of the river, who are good Husbandmen and who discover Inclinations for improvement of Land only exclusive of every other view or pursuit" (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,12). His caution was understandable, for he gave his consent without waiting for authorization from Britain and knew that there was a risk of encroaching on Indian lands. Events moved faster the following year after Haldimand received the required authorization (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,16), and in July, 1780, he wrote letters to Bolton and Colonel Guy Johnson, Superintendent of the Six Nations, that set the stage for McDonell's survey. To Johnson he wrote,

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and to Bolton, ... which Land will be divided into several lots and distributed to such Loyalists who are capable of improving them and desirous of procuring by industry a comfortable maintenance for their families until such times as by peace they shall be restored to their respective homes should they be inclined to quit their situation at Niagara. (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,19)

That the intention was not to create a permanent settlement is clear from Haldimand's declaration that [the land] will . . . remain at all times the sole property of the crown and annexed to the Fort. Those who settle upon it are not to consider that they have the smallest right to any part thereof. They will hold their possessions from year to year which will be granted to them by the Commander in chief for the time being according to their merits. (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,19)

The aim was to serve the needs of the garrison, and all produce over and above the settlers' personal needs was to go to feed the troops, in return for which the settlers were exempt from paying rent, received free implements and would be allowed 'reasonable provisions' for twelve months. The land purchase was delayed by the need to consult the Seneca Indians who apparently held claim to land in the Peninsula. In fact the 1764 treaty with the Six Nations, to which the Senecas belonged, had ceded a two-mile strip along the west bank of the Niagara as well as the strip to the east, this with the knowledge of the Mississaugas (Smith, 1981,72). The Mississaugas were now recognized as the rightful owners, and the purchase deed was eventually signed by them (and the Chippewas) on May 9, 1781. In a letter to Haldimand Johnson stated that "the Indians are well satisfied, having received about the value of Three Hundred Suits of Cloathing," even though he had redrawn the western boundary of the land and made it "more favorable for [the] Government." Instead of following the contour of the Niagara River, which "would be attended with difficulty & could not be easily comprehended by the Indians," Johnson took a straight line south to the Chippawa Creek and then another straight line southeast to Lake Erie. Furthermore, the starting point on Lake Ontario was located, not on the Four Mile Creek as specified by Haldimand, but four miles west of Mississauga Point in the vicinity of the Six Mile Creek. The Indians therefore lost far more land they supposed. Ten days after the signing Johnson reported that the end points on the two lakes had been marked by Lieutenant Terrot of the Royal Artillery

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(Niagara Historical Society, 1927, 29-31). The ceded tract is shown in Figure 8.3 (Winearls, 1991, #665). In anticipation of the purchase, the first settlers started occupying land on the west bank in 1780. In December Butler reported that "I have got four or five families settled and they have built themselves houses" (Cruikshank, 1893, 90). Haldimand had consulted personally with Butler when the latter visited Quebec in the spring, and Butler was evidently assigned a major role in overseeing the process of settlement (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,20). By August 25,1782, when the first census of the settlement took place, it had grown to include 16 families, a total of 68 persons, and over 230 acres of land had been cleared. It should be noted that the new 'Settlement at Niagara' had no defined boundaries, and some of the settlers already occupied land in what was to become Stamford Township (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,42). At some stage the new settlement was surveyed by Allan McDonell, who probably belonged to the troops stationed at Fort Niagara. When exactly this occurred is uncertain, but clues are provided by a map in the British Library entitled The River line from Niagara falls to the four Mile pond on the West Side of Lake Enterio with its Courses & windings (Figure 8.4; Winearls, 1991, #166). The map is undated and unsigned, but could well be the "exact Survey" referred to by Butler in his letter of May 3, 1783 (Niagara Historical Society, 1927, 51). Oriented with north at the bottom, the map shows three areas of settlement: a compact group of lots alongside the Rangers' Barracks in the north, four rows (or concessions) of lots along the Niagara River, and some scattered lots above the Niagara Escarpment in the south. Several lots have the owners' names shown and the acreage, others are marked vacant, and others are left blank. That this is indeed McDonell's map is suggested strongly by a letter dated September 11,1783 from Haldimand to Brigadier-General Allan Maclean, the new Commandant at Fort Niagara, who had written concerning the granting of land in the newly surveyed area to six of his troops. Haldimand writes: I do not comprehend that part of your letter wherein you say that Colonel Butler has marked out seventy lotts of land, 30 of which are nominated for different persons — You can only mean the few farms already occupied, upon the Terms you are acquainted with, for I never delegated any other power to Colonel Butler... nor have as yet granted a single acre of Land to any person whatsoever. (Niagara Historical Society, 1927, 64-65) Haldimand's main concern was the possibility that the settlers had been promised title to their land — as suggested by the word 'nominated'—which was contrary to his wishes. He also seems to be have been surprised by the survey itself, which may have been a purely local initiative, an attempt to alleviate Loyalist concerns about security of tenure by providing proof of occupation prior to 1783. Be that as it may, the map in Figure 8.4 shows a total of 88 lots, of which 69 are in the concessions along the Niagara River, and 30 lots in all are named, which accord closely

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Figure 8.3 The 1781 purchase from the Mississaugas. (Source: Ontario Archives, AO565)

EARLY SURVEYS OF TOWNSHIP No. 1

Figure 8.4

McDonell's map of the Niagara settlement, 1783.

Haldimand Papers 85, 71-72)

217

(Source ; British Library

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if not perfectly with Maclean's figures. Moreover, the names on the map are those of the original settlers of Niagara and Stamford townships, including all but two of the names listed in the 1782 census. Very few names on the map are not in that census or two subsequent lists dated December 1,1783 and May 8,1784 (Niagara Historical Society, 1927, 69-72; 1928,19-21). The likelihood is, therefore, that this is McDonell's map and, given the April 4 date of his expense claim, that the survey was done early in 1783. One of the names, incidentally, is that of Allan McDonald, who, given the vagaries of spelling at the time, could well have been McDonell himself. It is interesting to consider what lasting imprint, if any, McDonell's survey had on the landscape. The natural assumption is perhaps that it was strictly a temporary expedient, one that was completely supplanted by later surveys, but this view may not be entirely correct. The main area of interest is the block of four concessions terminating at the Niagara Escarpment. The First Concession is divided into 18 lots, mostly 100 acres in area, and all but six containing settlers' names. The rear concessions each contain 17 lots, of which only three in the far south are named. Also of interest are four named lots in the First Concession above the Escarpment, one of them within the bounds of Niagara Township, the other three in what became Stamford. Most of the named lots were presumably occupied prior to survey, and the fact that these are spaced at more or less regular intervals in units of 100 acres indicates that though the settlement was considered temporary the settlers were allocated land in a systematic fashion. By comparing names on Figure 8.4 with those on Figure 8.7, which depicts the third survey in 1787, it can be shown that the two surveys have striking similarities. Several lots contain the same or related names, and these serve, in surveying parlance, as control points that permit us to tie the surveys together. Examples are Daniel Rose in lot 1 above the Escarpment, Elijah Phelps in lot 5 just below the Escarpment, John Depue and Charles Depue in lot 8, George Fields and Gilbert Fields in lot 15, Richard Wilkeson in lot 17, Robert Guthrie and Mrs. Guthrie in lot 20 and Captain McDonell and John McDonell in lot 23 in the far north. The lot numbers are from the later survey and are visible in Figure 8.2. The surveys do not match exactly, in that for example the 18 First Concession lots below the Escarpment on the McDonell map correspond to 20 surveyed in 1787, but given the circumstances that existed at the time — the area was forested and swampy, and the settlers' clearances were still relatively small (an average of less than 15 acres per head according to the 1782 census)—errors were not surprising (Niagara Historical Society, 1927,42). One of the missing lots may be accounted for by the fact that Michael Showers, shown to have one 100 acre lot on the McDonell map, in fact occupied two lots (numbers 13 and 14) totalling something over 150 acres. A somewhat different error occurs in the Fourth Concession, where the lots belonging to Peter Secord and Samson Lutes are displaced one lot north of where they should be, perhaps because of a failure on McDonell's part to capture the southward curve of the Escarpment.

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Interestingly enough, while the Four Mile Creek is shown correctly passing through these lots, the Four Mile Pond where it enters Lake Ontario is located much too close to the Niagara River. Despite these errors, McDonell's map seems to show two key lines that later became part of the permanent survey grid of Niagara Township. The first is the Garrison Line, abutting the lot belonging to John McDonell at the northern limit of the block of concessions, and the second is the southern boundary of the township, between the Daniel Rose and Thomas McMicking lots above the Escarpment. This suggests something more than an ad hoc survey, and there may even have been some sort of formal township plan. Whatever the truth of the matter, Haldimand clearly viewed McDonell's work as no more than an interim measure, if only because the growth of the settlement had already rendered it obsolete, and proceeded to inform Maclean of his intention to "send a surveyor to lay out those lands agreably to the plan I have before mentioned" (Niagara Historical Society, 1927, 64-65). The 'plan' was enclosed, and comprised Instructions for the survey of townships at Cataraqui (Kingston) sent the same day to John Collins, the Deputy Surveyor-General (Bureau of Archives, 1906,368-369).

The Tinling Survey The surveyor dispatched to Niagara was Lieutenant William Tinling, an Assistant Engineer in the 29th Regiment. By the time he arrived, probably in early June, 1784, the number of families had grown to almost 50 and over 700 acres had been cleared (Niagara Historical Society, 1928, 20-21). By then the status of the settlement had changed radically: it was now viewed by the government as permanent, and land was to be made available to prospective settlers. What brought about the change in policy was the signing on September 20,1783 of the Treaty of Paris, marking the formal end of the American War of Independence. Immediately the pressure on land became acute. Not only were dispossessed Loyalists continuing to flood over the border, but the Indians who had supported the British during the war were in need of land and massive demobilization of both Rangers and regular troops was impending. The government had to react quickly to avert disaster. No longer could border areas like Niagara and Cataraqui be regarded as military outposts with a minimal civilian presence serving purely military needs; they had to be opened up for large-scale civilian habitation. Negotiations for peace had been proceeding since 1782, which enabled the government to take a number of advance measures, some specific to Niagara, others applying to the whole of Upper Quebec (as present-day Ontario had been known since 1774). The prime need was a master plan for the subdivision and allocation of land, and the Instructions conveyed by Haldimand to Deputy Surveyor-General Collins in September, 1783 were the first step in achieving this. Though the emphasis was on work to be

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carried out at Cataraqui, they contained specifications for township surveys that were evidently intended for other areas also: The Method of laying out Townships of Six Miles Square, I consider as the best to be followed, as the People to be settled there are most used to it, and will best answer the Proportion of Lands I propose to grant to each family, Vizt. 120 acres, of which Six are to be in front which will make 19 chains in front and 63 chains 25 Links in depth, so that every Township will have 25 Lots in front. . . with 7 Concessions in Depth . . . by which Distribution each Township will contain 175 Lots of 120 Acres. (Bureau of Archives, 1906, 368-369)

The six-mile township was of course the American model with which some Loyalists had been familiar in New England, though the method of interior subdivision, into concessions and lots, was something new. Why Haldimand chose 120 acres as the lot size is uncertain, since the basic units for allocating land to settlers, as laid down in detailed Instructions sent from Britain to his predecessor James Murray in 1763, were 50 and 100 acres (Bureau of Archives, 1906, Ivii). At any rate Haldimand's first township plan was very short-lived, for he received Additional Instructions late in 1783, which again specified grants in multiples of 50 acres (the precise size depending on rank for discharged soldiers and Rangers and a combination of marital status and family size for others). As a result, it was necessary to make adjustments to the township surveys already under way near Cataraqui to produce lots of 200 acres, which could then be subdivided into half and quarter lots as required. This was possible because only the township outline and front concession were being laid out, the aim being to provide a minimal framework sufficient to get settlers on the land without delay. A related side-effect was the enlargement of township sizes from 6 miles square to 9 miles across by 12 miles deep (Bureau of Archives, 1906, Ixii-lxiii; Sebert, 1980,70-71). A plan for the subdivision and allocation of land was an obvious prerequisite for the orderly settlement of Upper Quebec. A second prerequisite was the purchase of the required territory from the Indians. In an effort to maintain control and to prevent speculation, the government had as early as 1764 prohibited land transactions between private individuals and the Indians. All purchases, like that along the Niagara River in 1781, were to be made through government agents, and were to be "surveyed by by a Sworn Surveyor in the presence and with the Assistance of a person deputed by the Indians" (Bureau of Archives, 1906, Ixii). These precautions were no doubt commendable, but did not prevent the Indians from relinquishing land on terms which appear scandalous by modern standards. So it was with the purchase from the Mississauga Indians, on May 22, 1784, of vast tract (estimated at the time to be 2,842,840 acres, or almost 4,500 square miles)

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extending westward from the 1781 purchase as far as the Thames River near presentday London and including the entire Niagara Peninsula. The original suggestion came from Butler, who wrote as follows to Mathews on March 31,1783: The Lands to the Twelve Mile Creek & Westward as far as Lake Erie, are in general very good & may be I believe purchased from the Indians for about five or six hundred Pounds Sterlg and under proper Regulations I think a considerable settlement might be formed in a short Time. (Niagara Historical Society, 1927, 49)

The actual cost was much higher — £1,180 7s 4d—but still worked out at only about one tenth of a penny per acre, little more than "a trifling consideration" in Haldimand's own words (Niagara Historical Society, 1928,12,30). Butler's immediate concern was to settle his Rangers and other Loyalists, but there was also the question of land for the Mohawks of the Six Nations Indians who had taken the British side during the war. Haldimand wished them to settle in the Grand River valley, and for some time they wavered between that location, Cataraqui and the Bay of Quinte (Niagara Historical Society, 1928,17-18). In the end a group of Mohawks opted for the Bay of Quinte, while the remainder under Joseph Brant chose the Grand River. Included in the 1784 purchase, therefore, was an Indian reservation extending six miles on either side of the Grand River from Lake Erie to its source, and this was formally transferred to the Mohawks on October 25 (Niagara Historical Society, 1928, 49). The surveyor responsible for the original boundary surveys of these lands is uncertain, but it was William Tinling who was sent to the Grand River the following year to lay out a townsite and farms for the Indians (Niagara Historical Society, 1928, 49). By that time he had presumably completed his work in Niagara, but unfortunately not a great deal is known about what he actually did in the area. Indeed, doubt exists as to whether he did much surveying at all, or at least surveying to any degree of accuracy. Tinling's remit, as stated in letters dated March 29 and May 24,1784 from Haldimand to Lieutenant-Colonel Arent Schuyler dePeyster, who had assumed command at Niagara, was quite specific: The Land for the Settlement is to be laid out in Lots, and distributed in like manner as in the Lower Part of the Province, for which purpose I herewith transmit to you a Book containing the King's Instructions for granting Lands. (Niagara Historical Society, 1928, 34)

and further, . . . the Surveyor will have directions in laying out the settlement to reserve the east end, comprehending the High ground above Navy Hall, across to the four Mile Run, entirely for the Crown, in order that such parts of it as shall be found the most proper may be fortified whenever it shall be necessary. (Niagara Historical Society, 1928,17)

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The second quote refers to the reservation of the northern part of Niagara Township, north of the Garrison Line, for the Crown. If a map of Lake Ontario c. 1785 (Figure 8.5; Winearls, 1991, #4) is to be believed then Tinling did everything expected of him. The map shows the results of a coastal survey carried out by Lewis Kotte and James Peachey in 1784 and incorporates a survey of the Niagara River below the Falls done by Tinling himself in 1785. It also shows several townships in the vicinity of the Bay of Quinte and Cataraqui, and an almost complete layout of Niagara Township (lacking only an eighth concession) accompanied by the notation "No. 1 Township Containing 158 [?] Lots of 100 Acres Each." The dimensions of the township are however incorrect, being compressed in both directions (more so east-west than north-south, even allowing for the missing concession), the Garrison Line lies too far south, and doubt exists as to how many of the lines shown were actually surveyed, as opposed to being drawn in on the map. It is known that Tinling surveyed the Garrison Line (Niagara Historical Society, 1917, 34), but how much he did beyond this is uncertain. The opinion of his successor, Philip Frey, in 1787 is not encouraging: The person who had been employed in the surveying business previous to me had made few and very erroneous surveys, having only laid out a few lots for particular people, many plans may have been transmitted, which may not have been effectually executed. (Niagara Historical Society, 1928,130)

One of these plans may have formed the basis for the map in Figure 8.6 (Winearls, 1991, #668). However, since this map may also be due to Frey, discussion of it is postponed till later. To be fair to Tinling, he did not have an easy time of it. In the only contemporary reference to the work he did, dated July 21,1784, dePeyster wrote to Haldimand: The Surveyor has not finished his survey which is attended with great inconvenience to him—nor are the certificates . . . yet come to hand. So soon as the survey is finished the Lots shall be drawn for, and oaths taken conformable to orders'. (Niagara Historical Society, 1928, 41^4)

Accompanying the letter was a list of 258 men, made up of existing settlers, recent arrivals and newly disbanded Rangers and troops, who had subscribed for land. The certificates were meant to identify the lot numbers drawn by each person pending the issue of formal deeds. They must have arrived eventually, for it is known that certificates were distributed by Tinling (Cruikshank, 1930,311). Part of the 'inconvenience' facing Tinling was no doubt the presence of existing settlers, who naturally enough wished to retain the lands they occupied and would not take kindly to any attempt by a surveyor to adjust their boundaries to fit a regular plan. On May 8,1784 Butler had forwarded a list of 46 settlers to Mathews, adding that, "exclusive of those about eighty of my Corps have made a beginning and cleared Lands,

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Figure 8.5 Layout of Township No. 1, possibly as surveyed by Tinling in 1784. (Source: Ontario Archives, AO1401, detail)

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expecting the Commander in Chief will permit them to enjoy their improvements." About four or five of these, including Butler himself, had cleared land in the area to be reserved for the Crown (Niagara Historical Society, 1928,19-20). Thus Haldimand's intention that "the whole, Officers and Men, shall indiscriminately draw for their Lots," this to "prevent Jealousy, and to give as much general satisfaction as possible in the Distribution of Land," no doubt had to be modified to a considerable degree (Niagara Historical Society, 1928,34). Related to this was the whole question of land tenure. During the war years there had been no security of tenure at all, and with the approach of peace the settlers became increasingly agitated to obtain "leases or some other security" for their farms. The option of returning to the United States was inconceivable; in the words of Maclean, "they would rather go to Japan than go among the Americans where they could never live in Peace" (Niagara Historical Society, 1927, 50). That concern disappeared once the settlement was placed on a permanent footing, only to be replaced by a new one, the system of land tenure itself. The Additional Instructions of 1783 stipulated that the seigneurial system inherited from the French period would remain in force in Upper Quebec, albeit with a significant difference—the King would serve as seigneur. This however did not alter the fact that the Loyalist settler in Upper Quebec, unlike his counterpart in Nova Scotia, was not to receive clear title to his land. This was a cause of major discontent, in Niagara and elsewhere, before the seigneurial system was abolished with the creation of Upper Canada in 1791 (Bureau of Archives, 1906, Ixii-lxiii, civ; Gates, 1968,22-24).

The Frey Survey If there is uncertainty over Tinling's contribution to the surveys of Niagara, there is none where Philip Rockell Frey is concerned, for it is to him that we owe the complete township layout that has survived to the present day. Of Swiss origin, Frey was still a boy of about fourteen in Tryon County, New York when the American War of Independence broke out, and after being imprisoned for refusing to join the rebel cause escaped to Fort Niagara, which he reached in 1776. He served for a while with Butler's Rangers before volunteering for the 8th Regiment, and spent the last three years of the war at Fort Detroit and Fort Michilimackinac before resuming civilian life and settling in Detroit (Green, 1939,54-63). Prey's father had been a land surveyor, and Frey himself must have done some surveying with the army, for on December 22, 1784 he was appointed "one of the Deputy Surveyors of Lands... in the Upper District of the Province of Quebec" (Bureau of Archives, 1906,307). A month later he received instructions from Samuel Holland, the Surveyor-General, appointing him to both "Niagara and Detroit as the business in our Department at the place of your abode is for the present but little . . . at Niagara your presence shall be much wanting in laying out the lots" (Bureau of Archives, 1906,

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307). That these instructions came only months after Tinling's departure seems to confirm the worst suspicions about the latter's survey, but this interpretation may not be correct. The inadequacies of Tinling's work may not have become apparent until later, and Holland could well have been referring to additional surveys beyond Niagara Township, for as more and more settlers continued to arrive there was a pressing need to open up the rest of the Peninsula, now legally purchased from the Indians. As Holland himself put it, "settlers will flash in the Province from all quarters of America & will make work enough for surveyors" (Bureau of Archives, 1906, 308). A census of June 25,1785 listed 321 adult male settlers at Niagara, and many of these had to be occupying unsurveyed land, which was not part of the administration's plan (Siebert, 1915,95). In other areas, where none of the land was surveyed, the problem was even worse: by the summer of 1786, for example, almost 150 Loyalists had occupied land near Fort Erie (Cruikshank, 1938,24). By this time, eighteen months after Prey's appointment to Niagara, the need for surveys was becoming desperate, yet he had still not left Detroit. As late as July 4, 1786 Major Archibald Campbell, Commandant at Niagara, wrote impatiently to him: ... finding from the irregularity allowed of among the first settlers upon Government lands near the place as well as from the number of people daily coming in from the American States, the necessity of making a regular survey of the whole I am to expect that you will come down for that purpose as soon as possible. (Niagara Historical Society, 1928, 90-91)

What caused the delay is uncertain. It is known that Frey was undertaking surveys along the Detroit River early in 1785, but "as but little business [was) carried on at Detroit" (Holland's words), it is unlikely that this was the reason. Another possibility is he had to wait for a survey of "the front lines of all the townships from Cataraqui round the north side of Lake Ontario, to Niagara" to be carried out. This was completed by Lewis Kotte some time in 1785 and would have provided a framework for Prey's own surveys (Bureau of Archives, 1906, 399). A third factor could well have been the time it took for decisions to be finalized in a dispersed colonial administration, for even as late as January, 1786, Holland was still discussing arrangements for Frey and other surveyors with Henry Hope, the Lieutenant-Governor (Bureau of Archives, 1906,398-401). In the same month Frey received instructions from Holland concerning the work he was to do. Similar instructions were sent to other deputy surveyors engaged in township surveys, and they covered such matters as the payment of surveyors (7/6 per day when surveying, 4/- a day when not), the provision of glebes (lands reserved for the church), the exchange of lots and the submission of accounts. In an attempt to control increasing survey expenses, no extra money was to be available for chainmen, axemen or other assistants. Instead, those who wanted land surveyed were to apply to the Commandant at Niagara and supply at least six men as a surveying party. They

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would be "allowed one extra Loyalist's ration of provisions per day" while in this employment (Bureau of Archives, 1906, 375-377). These instructions followed soon after the proclamation of the first ordinance respecting survey activities since the French regime, and laid down specifications for such things as the establishment of meridians, the testing of instruments, note-keeping and surveying examinations. The trend towards the ever-increasing systematization of surveying practice was unmistakeable (Chipman, 1927,54). Frey probably reached Niagara in July or August, 1786, very soon after receiving Campbell's letter. His main surveying operations did not commence until June, 1787, but the accounts submitted to the Surveyor-General's Department for his surveys of Townships 1, 2 and 3 (Niagara, Stamford and Grantham) and the Township of Fort Erie (later Bertie) each contain an entry for "Proportion of Survey in 1786" (Archives of Ontario, 1-3,13). Little is known about these 1786 surveys, but they may have been local surveys of areas where prior settlement made the need acute, for example along Chippawa Creek, or along the shore of the Niagara River south of Grand Island. Evidence is contained in a Memorial dated 1792 by Frederick Barger, a settler in Bertie, who refers to a survey of his land by Frey on September 25,1786. Interestingly enough, Barger also mentions a previous survey in April of the same year by one Allan McDonald (again, given the capricious spelling of names at the time, this may be the same Allan McDonell who did the first survey of Niagara) (Cruikshank, 1930,106). In 1787 the surveying of townships in the Niagara Peninsula began in earnest. Prey's first task was to re-survey Niagara Township, and he started on June 11 by running the Garrison Line, which according to specifications received the previous day was "to begin at the Hollow above Navy Hall and to run a due west course, till it strikes the banks of the Four Mile Creek, thence down the said creek to the lake" (Niagara Historical Society, 1917,32, BA 308). In this he was assisted by one Augustus Jones, a Loyalist of Welsh descent, who had trained as a surveyor in New York City and was to play a major role in the surveys of what became Upper Canada (Niagara Historical Society, 1917, 35; Smith 1988, 450). By August 24, just 74 days later, the township survey was complete, and on September 18 Frey conveyed plans and reports of his work to Deputy Surveyor-General Collins (Niagara Historical Society, 1928,130). Whether or not these original plans have survived is unknown, but later maps based on Prey's survey do exist. Two possibilities are reproduced in Figures 8.6 and 8.7. Figure 8.6 is one of two so-called Shubel Walton maps in the National Map Collection in Ottawa (Winearls, 1991, #668), while Figure 8.7 is in the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources in Toronto (Winearls, 1991, #A1401). The former is a 'Quebec Plan,' i.e. a plan deposited in the Surveyor-General's Office in Quebec, while the latter is a 'Land Board Plan,' i.e. a plan kept locally in Niagara. In July 1788 Upper Quebec was divided into the four districts of Luneburg, Mecklenburg, Nassau and Hesse, and in February of the following year land granting powers were transferred from Quebec

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Figure 8.6 'Quebec Plan' of Township No. 1, c. 1789, possibly based on Prey's survey of 1787. (Source: National Archives of Canada, NMC3556)

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Figure 8.7 'Land Board Plan' of Township No. 1, c. 1790, based on Prey's survey of 1787. (Source: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, A18)

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to Land Boards established in each. The Land Board for the District of Nassau was based at Niagara, and first met informally in January, 1789 (Niagara Historical Society, 1929,35-36,83). The Land Board Plan is labelled "Surveyed by P.R.R" and "A true Copy," and without question shows Prey's survey. It is drawn at a scale of 38 chains to 1 inch and dates from 1790 or later, since the legend mentions a decision made by the Land Board for the District of Nassau in August of that year concerning a disputed line in the First Concession (Niagara Historical Society, 1930, 58). However, the Shubel Walton map (named for a settler whose land was involved in a dispute in the early 1800s) is somewhat of an enigma. Both maps show a large number of settlers' names, many of which have been crossed out and replaced by others. It is clear from these that the Shubel Walton map is the older, and in fact it carries the marginal notation "about 1784 or earlier." This of course was the year of Tinling's survey, and it is noteworthy that many lots on the map — the Land Board Plan—are marked "certificate" or "certified," the terms used by Tinling when allocating land, while the other map has "ticket given," the expression used by Frey (Niagara Historical Society, 1929, 89). The Shubel Walton map differs in other respects also. The line of the Niagara River is distorted, and so as a result is the strip of broken fronts alongside. Furthermore it shows an idealized First Concession, divided into 23 identical rectangular lots, while the Land Board map shows the lots as they were in reality. Lots 3 through 14 in particular varied appreciably in shape, size and orientation, their boundaries having been established prior to any survey. All these things point to a survey other than Prey's, which could only be Tinling's. However, one of the settlers named on the Shubel Walton map, in lot 51, is Philip Frey himself, and since he did not arrive in Niagara until 1786 the map cannot have been drawn in 1784. The notation "about 1784 or earlier" has to be taken with a grain of salt. It is in a different hand and different ink from other lettering on the map, and is probably not contemporary. Indeed, the same notation appears on the second Shubel Walton map, which can be shown from name and other evidence to post-date the Land Board map (Winearls, 1991, #668[2]). The facts are inconsistent: Prey's name appears on the (earlier) Shubel Walton map, but the map differs in key respects from Prey's own survey. A possible explanation is that the map was made sometime between Prey's arrival in 1786 and his survey in 1787, the shoreline and survey lines being copied from a previous plan by Tinling and the names being inserted as current. All these maps were hand-drawn manuscript maps, and were subject to repeated copying and modification as the need arose, so this is not inconceivable. A problem, however, is that it is not until later in the decade that we encounter the first documentary references to maps of this kind, drawn on a large scale and bearing settlers' names. The first of these is a letter from Collins to Frey of January 20, 1789, in which he states:

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He complains that a previous map of Prey's (presumably a map of the entire settlement, not just Niagara Township), requested the previous July and forwarded in October, was on too small a scale (Niagara Historical Society, 1929,46,71). Significantly, though the scale of the Shubel Walton map is unstated, it can be shown by measurement to be approximately 38 chains to 1 inch. Prey's response of May 2 is illuminating. He had chosen a small scale, he said, to facilitate transportation, he could not produce a new map right away because of a lack of paper, and a map showing settlers' names would be very unreliable anyway because of the rapid changeover of lots—three or four per week (Niagara Historical Society, 1929, 84-85). The complaint about shortage of paper was a real one—at one stage Prey was reduced to using the blank backs of playing cards as tickets for land (Green, 1939, 67-68). As late as October the Land Board still lacked maps, and in an effort to reduce the confusion caused by indiscriminate settlement and inconsistent surveys was forced to resolve "that the surveyor be directed to furnish . . . plans of each township on a large scale, for the purpose of inserting in the blank space of each lot, as well the owner's name, as the number of the lot" (Niagara Historical Society, 1929,98). It seems that Prey never did produce the detailed township maps required of him, and the task was finally undertaken by Augustus Jones, who assumed the position of Acting Surveyor for Niagara after Prey left for the United States late in 1789 (Niagara Historical Society, 1929,98). The minutes of the Nassau Land Board for March 29-31, 1790 state that "Mr. Jones, Acting Surveyor, was called in and produced a plan of the first Township, which the Board proceeded to examine, and entered those claimants for land whose titles appeared clear and undisputed" (Niagara Historical Society, 1930, 21). This is the first reference to names being entered on a plan, and it is not until November 10,1791 that we first learn of such plans, including, presumably, a plan of Niagara Township, being forwarded to Quebec (Archives of Ontario, 27-28). All this suggests that the Shubel Walton map postdated Prey's survey by at least two years, though this still leaves unexplained the erroneous depiction of the Niagara River. A more definite conclusion must await a detailed investigation of the dates at which individual settlers took up land in the area. In 1791, Jones was appointed a Deputy Surveyor (Niagara Historical Society, 1930, 84), and we find details of the survey of Niagara Township in his later correspondence. On January 20,1825, for example, he wrote as follows to the Surveyor-General Thomas Ridout:

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The Survey of this Township Commenced at the Western line called the Garrison line, and extend [ed) from the deep hollow above the Navy Hall, running due west course to the four mile creek and . .. was laid out into one hundred acre lots, each full lot excepting the broken fronts, and the Survey was run all round the lots, both the concession and side lines were run—except the rear, or last concession, was not intirely Surveyed round each lot.... (Archives of Ontario, 443)

What we have here is a variant of what came to be known as the Front and Rear System of surveying, one of the earliest of several systems of surveying found in Ontario (Weaver, 1968,14). In performing the survey, the normal practice was to run the township boundaries and the base line (one of the front concession lines), and then to run the side (or lot) lines, moving back and forth through the concessions like a shuttle in a loom, leaving survey markers at the front and rear of each lot. Niagara Township differed from the norm in that the concession lines were run as well as the side lines. The lot size was 100 acres, and road allowances were left at every concession and every second side line. As described in a later section, the Front and Rear System was also used in several other townships in the Niagara Peninsula. The main instruments employed would have been a Gunter's chain (66 feet, or 1 chain, in length) for distances and a surveyor's compass for bearings. Frey is also known to have had a theodolite, but this was probably used only for intermittent observations of the true meridian as a check on local magnetic attraction (Bureau of Archives, 1906, 307; Sebert, 1980, 81). The principal method of marking lines was to blaze the sides of trees, but since the same method had been used "on the several Surveys made . . . prior to this Survey, and many of them very irregular, it was thought best, in order to know the difference, to change the way of marking the lines . . . as it might be more convenient to the Public" (Archives of Ontario, 444). Trees denoting the starting points of lines were blazed on all four sides, with three notches cut below each blaze, and marked with the relevant lot and concession numbers. If a post was used as a starting point, the bearing and distance to a nearby tree was taken, and the tree marked as before. Trees falling on a line were blazed and notched on two sides, and trees lying close to a line were blazed only. The end points of each lot were marked by posts, and bearings and distances taken to suitably marked trees (Archives of Ontario, 49-51).

Postscript: Niagara Township Prey's 1787 survey of Niagara Township gave us the layout that has survived to the present day, but it did not mean an end to survey-related questions. Three issues — boundary disputes, the road allowances and the townsite—continued to nag for a number of years.

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Given that the Township was surveyed, in whole or in part, three times between 1783 and 1787, that the prevailing forest and swamp hardly made for ideal surveying conditions, that the successive surveys produced lines that rarely coincided yet were marked in a very similar fashion, and that many lots were occupied prior to survey, it is not surprising that boundary disputes were a regular occurrence for some time after (Niagara Historical Society, 1929, 98). One of these has already been alluded to, the question that came before the Nassau Land Board on August 23,1790 concerning "the disputed line in the front Concession from Showers to the upper part of Township No. 1." This may refer to two things, the legitimacy of the original (and irregular) boundaries of lots 4-14, and ownership of the broken fronts alongside. The decision was that "the original lines as made by Allan McDonell . . . shall be held good and that the occupiers shall keep what lands they possessed in consequence of that original survey." That the reference is to McDonell's lines and not Prey's does not necessarily mean that there was any significant difference between the two; it may simply be that McDonell was the first to 'legitimize' the pre-existing lot boundaries by means of a survey (Niagara Historical Society, 1917,32; 1930,58-59). The most noteworthy dispute, however, concerned the Garrison Line. When Jones assisted Prey in running the line on June 11,1787 (thereby superseding Tinling's survey of 1784, which in turn had superseded McDonell's partial survey of 1783), he little thought that he would run it three more times over the next 40 years. The first occasion was in 1790, when a boundary problem involving lots in the First and Second Concessions was brought to the Nassau Land Board by Captain McDonald and Lieutenant-Colonel Butler, "which dispute originated by there having been two Garrison lines run which did not agree or run parallel with each other." Jones and Lewis Kotte were directed to examine the line back to the Second Concession, and having done so stated that Prey's line was the most correct one, the line surveyed by Tinling "appearing crooked in several places, it being reported to have been run by an instrument very imperfect, called a plane table" (Niagara Historical Society, 1917,34). Further problems arose in 1801, involving lots belonging to Captain McDonald and Captain Hare, and Jones ran the line again, this time back to the Third Concession. Twenty-seven years later Jones returned to the area once more, and 'settled' the issue by placing stone monuments in the presence of five witnesses. In his description of the event Jones mentions three landmarks — the 'deep hollow/ the 'white oak tree,' and the 'split rock' — that lend an almost romantic aura to what was otherwise a simple exercise in practical geometry: To all whom it may concern, I do hereby certify, that on the first day of October, 1828,1 visited the deep hollow or Ravine above Navy Hall, being the point at which Mr. Prey and myself, commenced running the line between the Military Reserve ... and the Township of Niagara in the year 1787, and traced the said line westerly, passing a white oak tree, marked by us that year and mentioned in my field notes ... and that I have on this occasion planted a stone monument... immediately west

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of the road to Queenston, marked 'I.W.' and another stone monument between the said road to Queenston and the split rock, marked 'I.W.' as before, showing the true bearing of the Garrison line as originally surveyed by us to the Split Rock. (Niagara Historical Society, 1917,35)

The second issue, the question of the road allowances, also involved the Garrison Line, though only indirectly. Niagara Township was provided with the standard allowances for townships surveyed according to the Front and Rear System, i.e. a one chain allowance for each concession (running north-south) and a one chain allowance for each pair of lots (running east-west). According to Jones in 1825, the former were located at the rears of the concessions, with the broken fronts providing all the space needed for a road along the front of the First Concession, while the latter were located at every second side line, starring with the Garrison Line (Archives of Ontario, 443-444). Since these are the words of the man who worked on the township survey and who supposedly drafted the early township maps, it is indeed strange that contemporary maps invariably show the east-west allowances in the wrong place! On the maps in Figures 8.6 and 8.7, for example, they start one side line south of the Garrison Line instead of on the line itself (Winearls, 1991, #668, #A1401). The same is true of the second Shubel Walton map and another Land Board Plan in the Ministry of Natural Resources (Winearls, 1991, #668[2], #A1402). On a map of Niagara Township by Rideout dated 1811, a road allowance is shown along the Garrison Line, along the side line immediately to the south, and every other side line thereafter (Winearls, 1991, #A1404). The pattern is repeated on Chewett's 1830 map of Niagara and on the map of about 1860 reproduced in Figure 8.1 (Winearls, 1991, #A1405, #818). The problem did not only exist on paper—there was confusion on the ground also—and in 1804 Jones was required to issue a signed statement concerning the location of the road allowances (Archives of Ontario, 365). Even so, the matter remained unresolved for half a century, until the Municipal Council of the Township of Niagara commissioned Edmund DeCew to retrace Prey's survey in detail. In his report DeCew confirmed what Jones had stated, and his own map of 1855 was the first to show the road allowances correctly (Winearls, 1991, #1406). The third survey-related issue concerned the townsite, a matter that was no doubt brought to the fore by the inclusion of two model township designs (the 'Dorchester Townships/ named after Lord Dorchester, who had succeeded Haldimand as Governor of Quebec) in the Rules and Regulations for the Conduct of the Land Office Department that accompanied the formation of Land Boards in February, 1789 (Bureau of Archives, 1906, Ixx-lxxiii; Sebert, 1980, 73-76). Both designs, one for a waterfront township, the other for an inland township, included a townsite, and they had been forwarded to Frey the previous August, with instructions that they "be made use of in future" (Niagara Historical Society, 1929,47). Of course, no provision had been made for a townsite in the survey of Niagara Township, and the question of location proved to be a thorny one. On May 2, 1789

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Frey wrote to Collins that "our community is as yet divided in opinion with respect to the place most fit for their town and public buildings it seems to be the general opinion that it had better be voted for" (Niagara Historical Society, 1929, 85). In March, 1790 the Land Board declared that the best site comprised lots 15,16,17 and 18 alongside the Niagara River, in conformity with the waterfront model (Niagara Historical Society, 1930, 22). But these were already occupied, and three months later the Board recommended a public vote on four options: the river site, the Escarpment above Queenston Landing, the glebe lands on the Escarpment, and (the eventual choice) the Crown lands north of the Garrison Line (Niagara Historical Society, 1930, 53). On June 6, 1791, government approval having been obtained, the Land Board directed Jones to lay out the townsite for Lenox (Niagara Historical Society, 1930, 111). Two weeks later Jones came before the Board with a major problem. According to the plan provided by Surveyor-General Holland, the land reserved for a fort on the high ground back of Navy Hall left a distance of more than three quarters of a mile for the townsite, but his own survey revealed less than half a mile. The Board, displaying commendable presence of mind, directed that each lot be halved in size, to give the same number of lots as originally intended (Niagara Historical Society, 1930,117). Four days later, however, they had second thoughts and adopted an alternative proposal by Holland, directing Jones "to run the out lines of the . . . town" west of the reservation instead of (presumably) to the south (Niagara Historical Society, 1930,118). The survey was carried out in two stages, from November 28 to December 22, 1791, and from March 31 to April 10,1792 (Bureau of Archives, 1906,329). But because of the unwillingness of Colonel Butler and other existing settlers to relinquish their land, Jones was able to extend his survey only one mile back from the Niagara River, and what was meant to be a square townsite has lacked a corner ever since (Niagara Historical Society, 1930,141). Interestingly enough, the line running west of north that slices off the corner (followed in part by Niagara Street today) seems to be the very line on McDonell's map in Figure 8.4 that divided the settled area north of the Garrison Line from the area marked "Rangers Barrick."

Postscript: The Niagara Peninsula Prey's survey of Niagara Township late in 1787 was followed in short order by surveys of thirteen other townships in the Niagara Peninsula, all but one according to the Front and Rear System. By the time he submitted his report on Niagara to Collins on September 18 he had already surveyed the front concessions of Township No. 2 (Stamford) and embarked on a survey of the shoreline and first concessions of Townships No. 4,5, 6, 7, and 8 (Louth, Clinton, Grimsby, Saltfleet and Barton). At this time the townships were still referred to by number — they were not named until after the creation of Upper Canada in 1791.

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It was already clear to Frey, however, that he would not be able to complete his work in the time expected, as he pointed out to Collins: I am sorry to understand that His Honour Brigadier General Hope expects that I shall finish the survey of the Crown Lands by next or the latter end of the ensuing Winter, from His Honour's expectations in this respect I am indeed to entertain an opinion that he conceived much had already been done, before my appointment to this place. (Niagara Historical Society, 1928,130)

To expedite the work, Frey was authorized to put three surveying parties in the field, and these were active for most of 1788 and early 1789. They were led by Daniel Hazen, Jesse Pawling and Augustus Jones. Hazen surveyed Township No. 3 (Grantham), part of Clinton, Township No. 1 above Chippawa' (Willoughby), and Township No. 2 above Chippawa' (Crowland), while Pawling surveyed Louth, half of Clinton and part of Grimsby. The busiest party by far was that of Jones, as may be gauged by accounts submitted by Jones to the Surveyor-General's Office, which reveal the following frenzy of activity (Archives of Ontario, 1-16): November 5,1787-January 8,1788 January 15-March 12,1788 April 1-24,1788 May 1-July 28,1788 July 22-August 24,1788 August 24-October 25,1788 October 25-November 13,1788 November 14-December 25,1788 December 24,1788-February 12,1789

Twp. No. 2 Twp. No. 8 Twp. No. 5 Fort Erie Twp. Twp. No. 7 Twp. No. 9 Twp. No. 6 Twp. No. 7 Twp. No. 11

Stamford Barton Clinton Bertie Saltfleet Thorold Grimsby Saltfleet Binbrook

Earlier in 1787 Jones was also involved in the survey of Niagara Township and the partial surveys of the townships from Barton to Louth, which meant he was in the field almost continuously for 20 months. In addition, an expense claim in his name lists him as a chainbearer for a survey of 'Part of a Township Back of Fort Erie' from December 10, 1788 to January 23, 1789, this while he was supposedly surveying Saltfleet and Binbrook (Archives of Ontario, 16). Another source however, also signed by Jones, ascribes that survey to a Mr. Chapman (Archives of Ontario, 425). Not only is the identity of the surveyor uncertain, but so is the township itself. The obvious possibility is Humberstone, immediately west of Fort Erie, since Frey is known to have carried his surveys on the Lake Erie shore as far as Sugar Loaf Hill, just west of present Port Colborne (Niagara Historical Society, 1929,53). However, he had already reached that point by October and any work performed in Humberstone must have been very limited, for as late as 1793 a Petition of the Inhabitants settled round the Point called Sugar Loaf stated that 100 families occupied land that was still unsurveyed (Cruikshank, 1927, 136). The other possibility is Township No. 10 (Pelham), which

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Jones claimed to have partially surveyed in 1788 but which is missing from his accounts, though it is perhaps a little too remote to be considered 'Back of Fort Erie' (Archives of Ontario, 446,448). In deciding which parts of the Peninsula to survey, priority was given to areas already taken up by settlers. As Frey put it in a letter of October 18,1788 to Collins: I have taken care to carry on my surveys only in such Parts of the country where I found the people were taking up the lands and settling in a promiscuous manner, in order before they made any considerable improvements, to ascertain to each individual his exact boundaries without laying out a whole township for a few families and afterwards be at a loss from what fund to satisfy my chain and axe men. (Niagara Historical Society, 1929, 53)

This explains the order in which the townships were surveyed, and also which ones were surveyed in their entirety. The very earliest were Niagara, Stamford, Grantham and Barton, which were completed by the end of March, 1788. By the end of the year, Bertie, Clinton, Grimsby, Louth, Saltfleet and Thorold were also complete. The last township to be finished, Binbrook, was the only one without existing settlers (Archives of Ontario, 73). It should be noted that where longstanding settlers did exist, the survey grid was sometimes modified to conform to existing boundaries. Examples are portions of Stamford and Willoughby along the Chippawa Creek, and Bertie along the Niagara River, where the lots are oriented north-south instead of east-west (Archives of Ontario, 445-446). In one township the entire grid was non-standard. This was Grantham, in which the side lines ran north-south but the concession lines were drawn parallel to the lakeshore at an angle of 65° to north, making for lots that were trapezoidal in shape instead of rectangular (Archives of Ontario, 339-340). All the townships except one were surveyed according to the Front and Rear System, but this proved too expensive and time-consuming a method of surveying frontier lands, and was abandoned late in 1788 (Niagara Historical Society, 1929, 4647; Sebert, 1980). The one exception was the very last township, Binbrook. This was surveyed according to the Single Front System, which had been used for the first formal township surveys in Upper Quebec at Cataraqui in 1783-84, as well as other areas since. The Single Front System was also the system used for later surveys of the other non-Indian townships in the Peninsula — Caistor, Gainsborough, Glanford, Wainfleet and Humberstone. The most visible difference between this and the Front and Rear System was its larger lot size of 200 acres. The lot dimensions were originally 19 by 105-1 /4 chains, and over time these were changed to 20 by 100 chains, 26-1 /2 by 79 chains, and finally 30 by 66-2/3 chains (Sebert, 1980, 84). The last three all seem to be represented in the Niagara Peninsula, though the 26-1 / 2 by 79 chain lots may occur only in modified form in Caistor, where the lots are skewed in a manner reminiscent of Grantham. The Indian townships, those in the reserve lands along the Grand River,

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Figure 8.8

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The extent of the Peninsula surveys in late 1788. (Bureau of Archives, 1906)

were also surveyed later; a variety of systems were used, some of them non-standard and highly irregular. According to Jones only three townships were left partly surveyed during the 1787-89 phase. These were Crowland, Pelham and Willoughby, in which the surveys were only "extended so far as to include the Settlement at that time formed" (Archives of Ontario, 448). Contemporary maps reveal a very different picture, however, a good example being the map in Figure 8.8 prepared in the Surveyor-General's Office and signed by both Holland and Collins (Winearls, 1991, #315, redrawn in Bureau of Archives, 1906, xcix). Though dated 1790, it shows only eight townships, and only three of those fully laid out. A possible explanation lies in Prey's failure to furnish Quebec with detailed township plans, despite repeated calls that he do so. The last map he is known to have sent to Quebec was a small scale map in October, 1788, and it is perhaps no coincidence that the 1790 map shows the situation roughly as it was

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at that time (Niagara Historical Society, 1929, 71). It is difficult to believe that Quebec could remain as ignorant of the extent of the Niagara Peninsula surveys as this map implies, but if it was then the reason could well have been something as mundane as Prey's lack of paper. By May, 1789 Frey had decided, with the approval of the authorities locally, to cease surveying operations, since it was felt that enough land had been laid out to accommodate all the settlers likely to arrive from the United States that summer (Niagara Historical Society, 1929,84). So ended an extraordinary chapter in the history of Canadian surveying, one that left an indelible and unique impress on the landscape of the Niagara Peninsula, indelible in that it has survived to the present day, and unique in that this was the only area in Canada in which the Front and Rear System was used.

References Archives of Ontario. Survey Letters. Vol. 32. Bureau of Archives. 1906. Third Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario, 1905. Toronto: King's Printer. Chipman, W. 1924. The Life and Times of Major Samuel Holland, Surveyor-General, 1764-1801. Ontario Historical Society, Papers and Records 21: 11-90. Cruikshank, Ernest. 1893. The Story of Butler's Rangers and the Settlement of Niagara. Welland: Lundy's Lane Historical Society. . 1938. The Settlement of the Township of Fort Erie, now known as the Township of Fort Erie. Welland County Historical Society Papers and Records 5: 18-90. Cruikshank, E.A., ed., 1927. Petitions for Grants of Land, 1792-96. Ontario Historical Society, Papers and Records 24: 17-144. . 1930. Petitions for Grants of Land in Upper Canada, Second Series, 1796-99. Ontario Historical Society, Papers and Records 26: 97-379. . 1934. The Settlement of the United Loyalists on the Upper St. Lawrence and Bay ofQuinte in 1784. Toronto: Ontario Historical Society. Gates, L.F. 1968. Land Policies of Upper Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Green, E. 1939. Frey. Ontario Historical Society Papers and Records 33: 45-74. Niagara Historical Society. 1917. Publication No. 30, Niagara-on-the-Lake. . 1927. Records of Niagara: A Collection of Documents Relating to the First Settlement, 1778-1783. Publication No. 38, Niagara-on-the-Lake. . 1928. Records of Niagara, 1784-1787. Publication No. 39, Niagara-on-the-Lake.

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. 1929. Records of Niagara, 1784-1789. Publication No. 40, Niagara-on-the-Lake. . 1930. Records of Niagara: A Collection of Contemporary Letters and Documents, 1790-1792. Publication No. 41, Niagara-on-the-Lake. Page, H.R. 1876. Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Counties of Lincoln and Welland. Toronto. Sebert, L.M. 1980. The Land Surveys of Ontario 1750-1980. Cartographica 17(3): 65-106. Siebert, W.H. 1915. The Loyalists and Six Nations in the Niagara Peninsula. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, 3rd series, 9: 78-129. Smith, D.B. 1981. The Dispossession of the Mississauga Indians: A Missing Chapter in the Early History of Upper Canada. Ontario History 73: 68-87. . 1988. Augustus Jones. Dictionary of Canadian Biography 7 (1836-1850): 450-452. Weaver, W.F. 1968. Crown Surveys in Ontario. Toronto: Ontario Department of Lands and Forests. Winearls, J. 1991. Mapping Upper Canada 1780-1867: An Annotated Bibliography of Manuscript and Printed Maps. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

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9 Urban Development and Planning in Niagara Hugh J. Gayler The Niagara Region is a highly urbanized area. Approximately 90% of the 394,000 people live within the urban-area boundaries of the various cities and towns (see Figure 9.1), and the St. Catharines-Niagara Census Metropolitan Area, which includes most of the Region, is Canada's tenth largest metropolitan area. It is also an area of tremendous contrasts, from the heavy industry of Welland and Thorold to the regional centre functions of St. Catharines, the tourist honky-tonk of Niagara Falls, the historic and cultural centre of Niagara-on-the-Lake, the extensive hydro-electric power, canal, rail and highway developments that traverse the area, the many small, agricultural service centres and commuter settlements throughout the Region, the extensive suburbia and the all-pervasive urban sprawl which follows the major roads and litters the countryside. It is difficult to appreciate the nature of urban development without an understanding of how the various cities and towns evolved. A distinctive feature of the Niagara Region is the large number of urban centres and the absence of a dominant regional centre. St. Catharines, the largest city in Niagara, has only one third of the Region's population, is somewhat eccentrically located and has two close rivals, Niagara Falls and Welland. This multi-city, or dispersed city concept reflects the fact that over the last 200 years the forces underlying development in one period have resulted in a set of urban places being favoured which was different from that of the preceding period; and the resulting multiplicity of functions, transportation routes and places has hindered rather than helped the development of a strong node or regional focus (Gayler, 1987). Indeed, Watson (1945) has referred to Niagara as a 'gateway', rather than a place in its own right. 241

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Figure 9.1

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Urban areas in Niagara, 1992. (After Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1988)

These various economic forces have produced rapid population growth in Niagara, and immediately after the Second World War this growth was accompanied by a considerable expansion of the urban area. However, it will be seen that urban development in Niagara has concentrated along either the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) or the Welland Canal, and in particular in the northern part of the Region. Large areas, especially in the southeast between Niagara Falls, Fort Erie and Port Colborne, and in the western townships of Wainfleet and West Lincoln, retain a rural and agricultural flavour; except for rural residential (and largely urban commuter-related) growth, major urban development has by-passed these areas. In focusing on the period since the Second World War, the study will first examine the boom period before 1970. Since then a declining industrial base and economic recession, a strong environmental lobby and various locational, social and governmental issues have combined to slow down the rate of growth (indeed, a nearly static figure between 1976 and 1986) and far less urban expansion. However, social and economic realities have not been matched by a moderation of the land-hungry attitudes on the part of many decision-makers, and a controversial planning scene has been

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the hallmark of the last twenty years. The chapter concludes by looking at various development issues that will face Niagara in the immediate future.

The Evolution of Niagara's Cities and Towns An important determinant of Niagara's diverse urban landscape has been a series of transportation and associated economic changes which have established new settlements and changed the balance of power among the old. The major phases of development that can be identified in the period between 1780 and 1950 are briefly described below.

The initial settlement of Niagara Turner, in an earlier chapter, has shown that the first permanent settlement of the Region was by United Empire Loyalists soon after American Independence. It was an east to west movement across the Niagara River, ahead of the advance of the fledgling nation of the United States, into an area where the jurisdiction was British (Burghardt, 1969; Jackson, 1976; Jackson and Wilson, 1992). Settlement tended to follow routeways (often old Indian trails) along the shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Niagara River, the former Iroquois trail at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment and the many rivers and streams across the area (Figure 9.2a). Land was cleared for agriculture and a string of villages grew up as service centres and early industrial sites, including Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake), Queenston, Chippawa, St. Davids, St. Catharines, Jordan, Beamsville, Grimsby, Beaverdams and St. Johns. Newark, in fact, acted for a short time as the capital of the new colony of Upper Canada.

The development of the Welland Canals after 1820 The continuing settlement of what is now southern Ontario and the lack of good land transport led to the development of shipping on the Great Lakes, but because of the obstacle presented by Niagara Falls there were increasing demands for a canal across the Niagara Region (Jackson, 1975,1976; Styran and Taylor, 1988). Also, the building of the Erie Canal from Buffalo to the Hudson River was seen as a political and economic threat by American East Coast interests to gain control over the Great Lakes area, and this could only be countered by an all-Canadian route. The actual location of the Welland Canal was in part conditioned by the strategic need to be away from the American border; and to accompany the building of the Canal and to service the marine trade, a number of communities, following a north-south line, were either established or expanded across the Region, including Port Dalhousie,

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Alter Burghardt (1969)

Figure 9.2a

Road network and major settlements c. 1820.

Alter Jackson (1975)

Figure 9.2b

Welland Canals and associated settlements after 1820.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING

Figure 9.2c

Railways and associated settlements after 1850.

Figure 9.2d

Streetcar routes and associated settlements after 1900.

245

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St. Catharines, Thorold, Allanburg, Port Robinson, Welland and Port Colborne (Figure 9.2b). The Canal, along with the addition of mill raceways, acted as an early power source and made possible the industry which enhanced the importance of these towns. With the shift in the focus of activity many of the older communities, such as St. Johns and St. Davids, declined in importance, while St. Catharines became the largest town in the Region and has long been the administrative and operations centre of the Welland Canal, and more recently the Western Division of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Since the 1820s four canals have been constructed, and a fifth was commenced with the opening of the new route around Welland in 1973 (Plates 9.1-9.2). However, declining traffic, larger-sized vessels and changed world markets make further changes of route unlikely. In spite of its very dominant physical presence, the Welland Canal plays a diminishing role in the area economy.

Railway and industrial development after 1850 The development of railways by various Canadian and American companies after the 1830s resulted in the creation of new settlements and the expansion of others (Jackson and Burtniak, 1978). Niagara was on the route between the growing regions of southern Ontario and the northeastern United States; also, it was on the shortest path between the states of Michigan and New York. By the end of the nineteenth century five major east-west lines crossed the Region, while two more ran north-south between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and were designed either to overcome various shortcomings of the Welland Canal or to promote tourist development (Figure 9.2c). The Niagara Escarpment, the Welland Canal and the bridging of the Niagara River influenced the actual routes of the various railways by concentrating them at certain points in the Region. Merritton, Welland, Dain City, Port Colborne, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie became rail centres. In Niagara Falls and Fort Erie the communities of Clifton and Bridgeburg, respectively, grew up around the bridges over the Niagara River, resulting in a certain fracturing of community identity and competing commercial cores. The present downtown of Niagara Falls, for example, with its traditional retail core, City Hall and other service functions, is in the former Clifton area, far removed from the tourist centre of the city near the Falls area and never visited by the vast majority of the millions of tourists who come annually. Railways offered improved accessibility to other parts of North America and contributed to the continuing growth of the Niagara Region. Three features are important here. First, Canada's new statehood and the establishment of tariff barriers with the United States not only promoted Canadian manufacturing industry but induced American firms to develop branch plants in Canada. Niagara was a location that attracted such firms, and the area has always had a disproportionate share of American-owned industry as compared to other parts of the province (Jackson and White, 1971). Second,

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Plate 9.1 Third Welland Canal, St. Catharines, showing the flight of locks that climb the Niagara Escarpment. This canal, open between 1882 and 1932, is now used as a water-supply channel for the nearby Fourth Welland Canal. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

*,*» 1

Plate 9.2 Fourth Welland Canal, St. Catharines at the twinned flight locks up the Niagara Escarpment. The upbound ship (left) is entering Lock 5 from Lock 4, whilst the downbound ship (right) is entering Lock 5 from Lock 6. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

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improved accessibility resulted in the switch from wheat and mixed farming to fruit farming in the area to the north of the Escarpment and the export of fresh fruit to the North American market. Third, the railway led to the growing popularity of Niagara Falls as a tourist resort in the latter half of the nineteenth century (Seibel, 1967). A large population in southern Ontario and adjacent areas of the United States could reach the Falls by Great Lakes steamer and or rail both for a day trip or an extended holiday. A resort town of boarding houses, hotels and other tourist services developed between the railway station and river crossing in Clifton and the Horseshoe Falls, and later, in the car era, a considerable westerly expansion of tourist services took place along Highway 20 in Niagara Falls.

Hydro-electric power and heavy industrial development At the end of the nineteenth century the development of hydro-electric power was to have considerable impact on the Niagara Region (Jackson and White, 1971). The water volume of the Niagara River, the drop of the Escarpment and the advent of electricity resulted in a number of power stations being built (Plate 9.3). However, the difficulties of transporting electricity and the differential rates charged for distance were responsible for the Niagara Region and adjacent areas attracting a large number of industries in which power constituted a high proportion of total production costs. Between 1890 and 1930 specialized steel, electro-metallurgical, abrasives, chemical, nickel refining and pulp and paper plants came to Niagara and created the heavy industrial environment and its attendant pollution that are with us to this day (Plate 9.4). They resulted in the expansion of Niagara Falls, Chippawa, Thorold, Welland and Port Colborne and the creation of small industrial satellites such as Thorold South (see Plate 1.5 above). Even greater concentrations of heavy industry were to be developed across the Niagara River in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y., and power was also shipped in large quantities to Hamilton. Large-scale immigration from abroad was promoted to satisfy the growing employment demands of these industries. St. Catharines emerged as a major car components centre. Firms involved initially with agricultural machinery switched to car parts, General Motors bought out a local firm in 1929, and they and other interrelated firms continued to expand over the next 50 years. By the early 1980s transportation equipment accounted for a third of all manufacturing employment in the Niagara Region. However, the decline of manufacturing, the growth of the service economy and the prospect of greater foreign competition in an era of Free Trade are currently creating uncertainty about the future of this industrial activity.

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Plate 9.3 Ontario Hydro's Sir Adam Beck power stations in the Niagara Gorge at Queenston. Upper right: the Queenston-Chippawa Power Canal, bringing water from above the Falls; left: the Robert Moses power station, New York State. (Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation)

Plate 9.4 Cyanamid chemical works and settling ponds in Thorold-Niagara Falls. (Photo: J.N. Jackson)

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The era of the streetcar The development of electric streetcar systems in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland and an interurban rail network between Port Dalhousie, Niagara-on-theLake, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland and Port Colborne after the 1900s played important roles in bringing the various towns and cities closer together, enhancing the service activities of the larger cities and encouraging the suburbanization of the Niagara Region (Jackson and Burtniak, 1978; Figure 9.2d). A further line connected Beamsville and Grimsby to the Hamilton streetcar system. Cheap fares and speedy travel meant that people no longer needed to live near their work, and new residential suburbs, such as Queenston Street in St. Catharines and Electric Park in Welland, developed along streetcar lines and around interurban rail stops. It was the interurban railway, not the car, that set in motion urban sprawl in various rural communities in the Niagara Region.

Road transport and the post-industrial age The last phase of transportation change and urban development is associated with the increase in car ownership and truck transportation and it began to impact on the Niagara Region after the First World War. In addition to the growth of transportation industries, car and truck usage led to the demise of rail and streetcar services and promoted the growth of the low-density residential suburb and highway commercial development. As a result of various weaknesses in the agricultural sector, especially in the tender fruit industry, and the absence of any effective planning mechanism, there was considerable incentive to sell off parcels of land along rural roads for residential purposes. Some of Canada's worst urban sprawl, coincidentally on its best agricultural lands north of the Escarpment, dates from this period (Krueger, 1959,1978) (Plate 9.5). The growing emphasis on road transportation revealed the inadequacy of the main provincial roads in Niagara after the 1920s. Moreover, there was a pressing need to enhance the links between southern Ontario and New York State. The result was the opening, in 1939, of Canada's first multi-lane, divided highway, the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), between Toronto and Niagara Falls, extended after 1945 to Fort Erie (Van Nostrand, 1983; Stamp, 1987). The route chosen in Niagara has been the subject of a simmering dispute ever since. Eastwards from Hamilton the highway follows a path of least resistance, essentially a series of straight routes, across these unique agricultural lands (Figure 9.1). It can be argued that the QEW has in part been responsible in the post-war era for urban development unduly favouring the northern municipalities and for parts of Niagara becoming an outer suburban area for the expanding TorontoHamilton Region. It is interesting to speculate on what the nature of development would have been had the route chosen been to the south of the Niagara Escarpment.

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Plate 9.5 Rural subdivision and strip development, dating from the 1950s, amid the orchards and vineyards of the Niagara Fruit Belt. (Photo: J.N. Jackson)

The Post-War Economic Boom, 1945-70 Population and Economic Growth The twenty-year period following the Second World War was the culmination of a long chapter of strong economic growth in the Niagara Region. Table 9.1 shows that from 1901 to 1956 the population growth rate for Niagara was consistently higher than that for Ontario or for Canada as a whole, reflecting in particular the strength of its various industrial activities, which resulted in an in-migration of people from other parts of Canada or from abroad. By 1951, as Table 9.2 shows, manufacturing employment accounted for 46.5% of the labour force in Niagara. (Comparable figures for Ontario and Canada were 32.6% and 25.7%, respectively.) Because manufacturing was the most important sector of the local economy, relative and absolute declines within this sector were to have considerable impact on the Region. In the 1950s manufacturing employment began to decline in relative importance, accounting for 37.9% of the jobs in Niagara by 1961. (The figures for Ontario and Canada were 26.9% and 21.7%, respectively.) There was only a very slight decline in the absolute number of manufacturing jobs, but more significant were the shifts between the different sub-groups. For example, transportation equipment and food

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Table 9.1 Population Growth Trends in Niagara, Ontario and Canada, 1901-91. Ontario Niagara No. % change No. % change Year — 2,182,947 62,110 1901 — 2,527,292 15.8 24.9 1911 77,592 2,933,662 16.1 48.6 1921 115,293 17.0 18.8 3,431,683 1931 136,930 10.4 16.1 3,787,655 1941 158,902 21.4 33.8 4,597,542 1951 212,599 17.6 22.9 5,404,933 1956 261,346 15.4 11.5 6,236,092 1961 291,415 11.6 11.5 6,960,870 1966 324,917 10.7 6.9 7,703,100 1971 347,328 7.3 5.2 8,264,465 1976 365,438 4.4 0.8 8,625,107 1981 368,288 5.5 0.5 9,101,694 1986 370,132 10.8 6.4 10,084,885 1991 393,936

Canada1 No. % change — 5,372,315 7,206,643 34.2 8,787,949 21.9 10,376,786 18.1 11,506,655 10.9 13,648,013 18.6 15,665,717 14.8 17,780,394 13.5 19,521,484 9.8 21,046,207 7.8 22,434,879 6.6 23,775,500 6.0 24,785,715 4.3 26,728,385 7.8

Source: Statistics Canada, 1911-91. 1 Excluding Newfoundland.

Table 9.2 Employment Change in Niagara, 1951-81. Year

Primary Manufacturing % No. No. %

Services % No.

46.5 39,216 1951 7,072 8.2 40,290 37.9 58,516 1961 6,498 6.2 39,626 33.9 75,480 1971 5,625 4.6 41,585 30.0 103,825 1981 6,385 4.0 47,250 Source: Statistics Canada, 1951-81.

Total No.

45.3 86,578 55.9 104,640 61.5 122,690 66.0 157,460

%

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

and beverages experienced employment growth, whilst the older textile, metal fabricating and electrical products firms lost employment. Between 1961 and 1971 the relative decline of manufacturing continued in Niagara, although the balance between its growth and declining industries was such that absolute employment actually went up. These changes in the manufacturing sector and the growth of the service sector were less conducive to population growth after 1956. Between 1956 and 1961 Table 9.1 shows that the growth rate for Niagara was lower than that for Ontario or Canada for the first time in this century and resulted from both a falling birth rate and a reduced number of in-migrants. Moreover, the overall growth in the labour force could be

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accommodated by the increased participation of the existing population, especially females and young people entering the workforce for the first time. Population growth in Niagara during the period 1951-61 also exhibited another trend which was to cause concern in the years ahead. It was spatially uneven, with the former Lincoln County in the northern part of the Region increasing by 42%, whereas Welland County in the south increased by only 33%. This is indicative of the growth in the newer manufacturing industries, such as car parts, which were seeing considerable expansion in the St. Catharines area, the increase in service sector jobs and the importance of St. Catharines itself as a regional centre. Also, the close ties between industry and power sources, rail and water transportation and the American border were losing their significance because of increasing emphasis on locations close to major road communications, a factor which again favoured the northern part of the Region.

Urban expansion Whilst the postwar economic boom, with respect to population and certain manufacturing industries, was beginning to falter by the late 1950s in Niagara, other aspects of this boom were to continue for some time and have a considerable impact on the urban landscape. Many of these aspects were not unique to Niagara, but a feature of Western society in general; they were associated with the shift to the service sector of the economy, the widespread use of road transportation and the extensive decentralization, or suburbanization, of activities. Between 1941 and 1966 Niagara's population doubled, but the amount of land that was developed for urban purposes was considerably more than this. The compactness of existing towns and cities was lost forever as new residential subdivisions and industrial, commercial and institutional activities were developed at much lower densities. Figure 9.3 shows that prior to the Second World War, St. Catharines was essentially contained between the Twelve Mile Creek Valley and the Old Welland Canal in the south and the newly-opened QEW in the north. By the mid-1960s the city extended from Lake Ontario to the Niagara Escarpment, a development that was largely piecemeal, leaving considerable areas of vacant land to be infilled later. Plates 9.6a to 9.6c show the progression from a rural area in Grantham Township (a), through sporadic post-war subdivision development (b), to today's continuous urban area (c). Residential areas took on a new form in Niagara in this postwar era. The gridiron street plans of earlier periods were exchanged for wider, curvilinear designs, incorporating cul-de-sacs, which tended to inhibit through traffic; the sidewalk became a thing of the past; and lot sizes were made larger to accommodate the prevailing desire for bungalows and split-level homes, a landscaped garden setting and a driveway and garage space for one or more cars. This land-hungry change was also seen in the var-

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Figure 9.3

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Urban development in St. Catharines.

N

Plate 9.6a

255

North-east St. Catharines in 1934. (Photo: National Air Photo Library, A4700-38)

256

Plate 9.6b

N

North-east St. Catharines in 1965. (Photo: National Air Photo Library, A19358-12)

N

Plate 9.6c

257

North-east St. Catharines in 1991. (Corp. of the City of St. Catharines, ASC91007)

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Plate 9.7 Pen Centre, St. Catharines. Commercial strip development can be seen along Glendale Avenue (foreground). Highway 406 intersection is to the right. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

ious services that residents needed, including new schools, parks, churches, medical centres and neighbourhood shopping plazas; not only did more people result in more services, but servicing space per capita was also increasing. The decentralization of other non-residential activities accelerated with extreme rapidity in this period. The downtown areas of all of Niagara's cities and towns lost retail trade as a succession of regional and community shopping centres developed in suburban areas, a situation found coast-to-coast in North America. From the late 1950s onwards St. Catharines gained no less than one regional and five community shopping centres, featuring the major department and discount-department stores and national chain stores. Similar community shopping centres were also built in Niagara Falls, Welland, Port Colborne and Fort Erie. By the mid-1960s the Pen Centre, which had begun in 1958 as a neighbourhood plaza in the developing south end of St. Catharines, had attracted a Sears department store and was increasingly taking on the role of a high-order shopping centre for the whole Niagara Region (Plate 9.7). Its location at the intersection of the newly-opened Highway 406 and Glendale Avenue meant that it was well placed to serve communities to the south and east. Attempts to arrest the decline of the various downtowns, by attracting major developers and preventing retail development elsewhere, were either not understood or unsuccessful; their failure is evidence of an abiding interest by developers, retailers, politicians and consumers alike in suburban expansion.

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A further aspect of the suburbanization of retailing was the impressive development in this period of the highway commercial strip throughout North America. Car-related activities, fast-food chains, warehouse-style retail outlets for furniture, carpets, hardware and electrical goods, and various wholesale and professional activities developed on a number of major roads in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland. The crass commercialism, garish signs jockeying for attention, acres of car-parking and nondescript buildings came to symbolize the postwar North American city, and one highway strip looked very much like the next. Lundy's Lane (Highway 20) in Niagara Falls perhaps deserves special attention. After the car became the predominant form of transport for the 14 million or so annual visitors to the Falls, this major road into the city (and precursor of the QEW) became one of Canada's longest commercial strips with an array of tourist motels, camp sites, restaurants, amusements and gift shops added to the normal strip functions. New industries and wholesale activities also sought suburban locations, and the zoning and servicing of such sites, and their promotion as industrial parks, was carried out by the various municipalities and developers. Institutional users also chose large fringe sites: Brock University was established on top of the Escarpment in St. Catharines, while Niagara College was located on the northern edge of Welland. Medical facilities, drive-in cinemas, garbage dumps, municipal works and transit depots, and golf courses and other sports facilities rounded off this low-density development on the urban fringe.

Local government reform Not only was the compactness of cities and towns lost, but urban development could no longer be contained within the restricted municipal boundaries that existed at this time. St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland, Grimsby, Port Colborne, Thorold and Fort Erie saw much of their development occurring in surrounding rural townships, in situations that were largely unplanned, ad hoc, poorly serviced and financed, unsightly and wasteful of resources, especially unique agricultural land. The traditional method of coping with the problem had been for cities and towns to annex adjacent urbanized areas of townships. For example, in 1961 the remainder of Grantham Township and the towns of Merritton and Port Dalhousie were amalgamated with St. Catharines; in the same year Welland annexed portions of four surrounding townships and more than doubled its population; and in 1963 Niagara Falls annexed what was left of Stamford Township. However, this did not solve the wider issues of municipal fragmentation, planning and financing weaknesses, intermunicipal rivalries and inadequate professional staffs, all of which contributed to an inability to cope with the considerable pressures of urban development in the Niagara

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Region. On the contrary, it could be argued that rural townships deliberately frustrated attempts at orderly planning and development by promoting suburbanization and urban sprawl for the purposes of improving local tax bases, giving financial boosts to landowners and providing urbanites with cheaper land in return for fewer services. Krushelnicki, in a further chapter on regional government, shows how the problems presented by the structure of local government became so serious that, following local initiatives, the Ontario Government appointed a Commission in 1965 to come up with recommendations for local government reform (Niagara Region Local Government Review Commission, 1966). After local hearings, the Commission report and government legislation, the Regional Municipality of Niagara came into being on January 1,1970. Two counties and 26 cities, towns, villages and townships were reduced to a two-tier system of Region and 12 municipalities (see Figures 12.1 and 12.2 below), with a comprehensive system of government and division of responsibilties befitting a major urban area in the modern period. Local government reform certainly improved the management of urban areas; for example, regional and local plans were required for the whole area as the basic framework for future urban development and the worst excesses of urban sprawl could now be stopped. However, the legacies of this boom period in the growth of the Region, the deep-seated differences (and built-in rivalries) between its various communities, the inability of politicians to think regionally and a failure to come to terms with the new reality (i.e. the considerable slow-down in the rate of population growth in Niagara) were to result in a very difficult period for Niagara after the 1960s (Gayler, 1979).

Towards a Steady State, 1970-90 The slowdown in urban growth After the heady days following the Second World War, population growth in Niagara slipped below the provincial and national figure and then in the 1976-86 period fell away to virtually nothing (Table 9.1). Whilst this is related to a declining birth rate in Canada as a whole, it also represents an adverse net migration rate and an increasingly troubled local economy There was a modest recovery in the 1986-91 period, reflecting a number of trends, including baby-boomers having children themselves, an increasing number of people in the northern municipalities able to commute to jobs in the Hamilton-Toronto area and the attraction of Niagara for a retired population. Between 1971 and 1981 the population increased by 6.0%, whereas Table 9.2 shows that employment growth in this period was 28.3%. However, the latter rate of increase could be sustained by people already in the Region who were entering the workforce for the first time. Moreover, the growth was largely confined to the service sector. The small absolute growth that occurred in manufacturing reflected the evolving balance

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between the area's growing and declining industries, but various structural and locational weaknesses in Niagara dampened any significant growth trends. Declining industries such as primary metals, metal fabricating and pulp and paper were shedding employment more rapidly than Ontario as a whole, while growth industries, such as transportation equipment, were not gaining employment as rapidly as Ontario. On top of this, the recession that followed in the early 1980s was particularly hard on Niagara, with unemployment rates for a while as high as 15%, well above the provincial average and those of surrounding areas of Ontario. Between 1981 and 1983 manufacturing employment in Niagara fell by 16.5%. Many of Niagara's traditional industries, such as Inco in Port Colborne, closed their doors for good, while new and expanding firms (for example, Asian car companies) chose other locations in southern Ontario. It is often argued that growth in the service sector does not always compensate for the loss of manufacturing employment. Many service jobs are low-paying and part-time or seasonal in nature, and the spin-off effects, in terms of the rest of the area economy, are consequently diminished. Census migration figures would indicate that Niagara continues to have a net out-migration of its young (and possibly better educated) adult population, while considerations of climate and life-styles have made the Region increasingly attractive to an aging population. The 1991 Census shows Niagara leading Ontario's various regions in terms of the over-65 population count with 15%, as compared to the provincial average of 11.5%. Two interesting scenarios point to this malaise in the area economy. First, the promotion of the Niagara Region has long been a somewhat fractious, misdirected affair (Gayler, 1982a). The arrival of regional government and the setting up of a regional development corporation flew in the face of local initiatives, many of which continued to operate, if not in competition, certainly with duplication of effort and dissipated impact. Moreover, the thrust of that promotion has principally been directed outside the Region as a search for new manufacturing jobs, rather than an encouragement of the small, local firm starting up or the service sector, both of which offer better opportunities for development. The tripling in size of Brock University in the last 20 years has done far more for the area economy than new manufacturing jobs, but it does not get the recognition that is its due. Second, Niagara's tourist industry has stagnated for much of the postwar period and remains an example of lost potential. In spite of rising population and incomes and increased opportunities for travel and leisure in North America, the industry has hardly expanded its clientele beyond the 14 million or so visitors who come annually to Niagara Falls. Many of these are day visitors, overnight stays are short-term, the bulk of the trade is done in the summer months and most tourists see little outside the immediate Falls area. Significant changes in tourism, in terms of people and income, await a considerable investment in up-to-date facilities and more sophisticated

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services. Niagara Falls retains a distinctly 1960s (or earlier) and down-market, or unsophisticated, air about it. However, a number of developments have been designed to appeal to the modern tourist, including the upgrading of the facilities of the Niagara Parks Commission, the opening of the Marineland theme park, out-of-season promotions, and (much to the chagrin of the traditional motel owner) the development of more luxurious hotel accommodation by major international companies and franchise operations. The promotion of Niagara-on-the-Lake as a historic and cultural centre, the Welland Canals as a historic transportation facility, and Niagara as a wine-making area, are further attempts to extend the tourist base, although the first one risks sinking a small town in a sea of people and vehicles for which it was not designed. These new tourist developments are more needed than ever, given the late 1980s recession and the decline of nearly four million in the annual total of visitors to Niagara Falls.

Planning for the new reality The slowdown in population growth and the changing employment scene, however, did not translate into realistic actions on the part of regional and local governments (Gayler, 1982a). Table 9.3 shows that during the formulation of the Regional Policy Plan in the early 1970s consultants and government were working with highly inflated population predictions. This in turn resulted in proposals for land use change which were even less realistic. As seen in Figure 9.4, the Draft Plan proposed such ludicrously extensive urban areas that it was quietly set aside and reworked by the regional planners (Philips Planning and Engineering Ltd., 1972). However, the later Policy Plan was still little more than an amalgamation of all local plans and proposals, even including wishful thinking. The areas set aside for urban development were wildly out of line with need, allowing for about 640,000 people by 1991, and that figure did not take into account the likelihood of higher housing densities or development outside the urban area boundaries. Concern was expressed that not only would servicing costs be unnecessarily high, but hundreds of acres of Canada's best agricultural lands would be threatened. These planning problems not only highlight the difficulties of coming to terms with lower population forecasts; they also reflect the failure to think regionally. In spite of regional government, each local municipality was still seeking as much development as it could, and in the end regional politicians caved in to local boosterism and intransigence. The Regional Policy Plan might have been approved in 1975 had there not been a provincial election that year. The issue of preserving our best agricultural lands from urban development had been a cry in the wilderness for many years; suddenly it became headline news (Gayler, 1982b). However, in spite of provincial government involvement, it took a further six years to decide the future course of urban development in Niagara.

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Table 9.3 Changing Population Projections for the Niagara Region. Date 1963 1971 1971 1975 1977 1982 1987 1989 1992

Database for Projection Census of Canada (1941-61 population change) Census of Canada (1966-71 population change) Census of Canada (1971 employment data and predicted change in the various sectors) Ontario Ministry of Revenue (Assessment data) Census of Canada (1971-76 population change) Census of Canada (1976-81 population change) Census of Canada (1981-86 population change) Ontario Government forecasts based on updated Census material Census of Canada (1986-91 population change) and Ontario Ministry of Treasury and Economics

Future Population

Date

453,000 440,000^80,000 510,000

(1981) (1991) (1991)

468,000 415,000 373,300 378,700 368,300-388,200 394,500-406,000

(1996) (1996) (1986) (1996) (1996) (1996)

413,10(M20,700

(1996)

427,500-444,800

(2001)

Sources: Gayler (1982a); Regional Municipality of Niagara (1989, 1992).

The delay in approving the Policy Plan resulted from the failure of regional and local governments to heed the provincial government's call to reduce the amount of land set aside for urban development, the increasingly vigorous opposition of a conservation-minded public interest group, and the desire on the part of the Province to have the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) resolve the matter. The OMB hearings in 1978-80 were amongst the longest and most bitter on record and were a truly David and Goliath affair (Jackson, 1982; Krueger, 1982). The public interest group, the Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS), found itself virtually alone in defending agricultural land use (and provincial government policies for saving it) against the development industry, farmers and other landowners and regional and local governments. The latter, in spite of high-priced legal talent engaged to argue its case and tactics designed to wear down the opposition, had to accept a compromise. In 1981 the urban area boundaries were reduced in the northern municipalities (although still overly generous, given development prospects in the next 15 years), the notion of permanence was written into those boundaries in certain key Fruit Belt areas, redirection of development south of the Niagara Escarpment was approved, and provincial government financial assistance was promised to promote redirection and to compensate areas where servicing had been too generous. The OMB also approved some of the toughest restrictions in Ontario on non-agricultural development beyond the urban area boundaries (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1988).

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Figure 9.4 Ltd., 1972)

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Proposed urban areas in Niagara, 1973. (After Philips Planning and Engineering

Urban change in the 1980s While the approval of the Regional Policy Plan in 1981 did set in motion a shift in emphasis for urban expansion away from the five Fruit Belt municipalities of Grimsby, Lincoln, St. Catharines, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Pelham, the course of subsequent events can be described as business as usual. The recession that hit the Niagara economy and the almost static population growth situation that prevailed until recently, have resulted in there being adequate amounts of approved urban land for nearly all developments in the various municipalities. There have been only minor readjustments to urban area boundaries and no pressing need has been felt to redirect urban development south of the Niagara Escarpment. Although the balance of development in terms of population and household growth has continued to favour the five Fruit Belt municipalities, the differential growth between North and South has been sufficiently small for there to be no political backlash. However, there has been a measure of resentment in Fort Erie, Port

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Colborne and Welland, because in these places unemployment has been higher and recovery prospects poorer than in other areas. Acres of industrial land lay idle and the planned extension of Highway 406 to Highway 3 in Port Colborne, which local people say would aid economic recovery, has been considerably delayed within Welland and put on hold between Welland and Port Colborne. Some of the greatest growth spurts have come in Niagara's smaller towns, representing a trend seen in many urban areas of Canada. Grimsby, Thorold, the former village of Fonthill in Pelham, Smithville in West Lincoln and more recently Lincoln have had the addition of low density residential developments and accompanying service facilities. Meanwhile, Grimsby, Thorold, Lincoln and Niagara-on-the-Lake have actively promoted small-scale industrial and commercial development in designated parks close to freeway intersections. There is considerable concern now that the small-town status and community identity of some of these places may be threatened. Grimsby, for example, risks becoming an urbanized strip between the Stoney Creek and Lincoln boundaries and from the Lake Ontario shoreline to the base of the Escarpment, and new commercial developments and mounting traffic problems on inadequate roads are jeopardizing community cohesiveness. The largest urban developments in the 1980s have occurred in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. In the St. Catharines case expansion of residential subdivisions and industrial and commercial parks and malls has taken place principally to the west of Twelve Mile Creek; it was the only way to go as Lake Ontario, the Welland Canal and the boundaries with Thorold and Niagara-on-the-Lake restricted movement in other directions. The proximity to good road communications and various services, such as those found in the downtown, have helped to promote this area of the city. However, the piecemeal nature of the development and its strip-like character down the west side of the city will do little to foster a sense of community. Development philosophy here has changed little since the heady days of the 1960s when the area north of the QEW expanded. In the larger cities there has been a trend towards a variety of higher density residential developments, including apartments and townhouses, luxury condominiums, co-op housing and different forms of assisted and special-purpose housing intended, for example, for low-income, student, elderly and disabled populations. Much of this development has been infill or the redevelopment of existing sites, both of which are viewed as good planning practices in areas where population may be in decline and infrastructure is more than adequate to service the new population. However, this has not prevented a NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) attitude from surfacing, as the single-family, detached, homeowner fears that any change to the status quo could lower property values. Even in the new areas of west St. Catharines there has been opposition by owners of expensive housing to nearby lower-cost housing. The availability of land, the traditional and individual strengths of the various cities and towns in Niagara and improvements to road communications continue to disperse

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urban growth about the region. In spite of this it is possible to discern a focusing of development on the northern municipalities, in particular the St. Catharines area: the very roads that disperse people can bring them back to jobs and services in certain locations. Two aspects of this process deserve mention. First, the greatest pressures on land are now being experienced in these northern municipalities, especially along the QEW corridor between Grimsby and Niagara Falls (Gayler, 1990). The recent upsurge in development in these areas raises the prospect in the foreseeable future of a shortage of vacant land within the urban area boundaries or of vacant land available for new developers, either of which could strengthen demands to extend the boundaries. Furthermore, there is growing demand for urbanrelated development outside the urban area boundaries. Radio and hydro towers, road expansions, golf courses, commercial activities and housing continue to take land out of agriculture. Land is also being offered for sale for speculative purposes along this corridor, which will make the continuation of agricultural uses very difficult and hasten political pressures to rezone the land for urban uses. Second, St. Catharines continues to expand its role as a regional centre. The introduction to the Niagara Region of a particular good or service for its 393,000 population is most likely to result in a St. Catharines location, either in its downtown, or in a shopping centre or commercial strip location, or in a suburban business park. While the city may have only a third of the Region's population, it is generally recognized as being the best location for serving the Niagara Region in terms of transportation efficiency. These growing regional services include the offices of various federal and provincial government ministries, major national and international corporations in communications, utilities, banking, insurance and retailing, the higher-order professional services including medicine, law, engineering, the arts and post-secondary education, and finally regional government itself (technically, a few metres beyond the St. Catharines boundary in Thorold, but very much part of the built-up area of St. Catharines). Two developments point to this growing regional focus. One is the revitalization of the St. Catharines downtown. The city's attempt at a comeback via large-scale, publicly-financed urban renewal died in the early 1970s when federal and provincial budgets were cut. Since then developments have been more modest and financed mainly from the private sector, and have focused on the regional office function and associated services such as restaurants, information processing and specialty retailing. Attempts to become a carbon copy of a regional shopping centre were unsuccessful, and more recently the city with some provincial funding has promoted an environment that emphasises the heritage and the unique qualities of the downtown. A further development is the increasing concentration of the regional shopping function on St. Catharines. The Pen Centre has expanded to become today an enclosed regional shopping mall of approximately one million square feet, with over 100 retail outlets including three major department stores, three cinemas and various professional services. There have been various proposals to upgrade the retail facilities and

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to bring the centre out of the 1970s and into the 1990s, but the current recession, initiatives being taken by smaller shopping centres and the added problem of cross-border shopping have led to plans being changed or put on hold. At present, an expansion of some 80 specialty stores has been halted at the foundation stage because so few tenants could be found; and an already depressing shopping environment now incorporates a boarded-up building site. There is no doubt that Niagara warrants a better higherorder shopping centre. Developments elsewhere in southern Ontario reveal various lifestyle changes causing a population with rising incomes and changing needs to demand more retail functions and more space in which to carry out many functions. Moreover, retailing in Niagara has long been deficient in many of the high-order specialty goods, a reflection of its small-town status, its large working-class population and the relative ease with which the middle-class shopper can travel to the HamiltonToronto area. However, what the public might like and what is economically feasible are very different. The current recession, Niagara's oversupply of retail space (especially in strip malls) and the ability to shop outside the Region do not augur well for improvement in regional shopping centre facilities.

Urban Development into the 21st Century One can now begin to talk about a new phase of urban development in Niagara, resulting either from various changes that have been taking place in the latter half of the 1980s, or from the very real prospect of change in the coming decade. Some of these changes reflect the particular circumstances in the Niagara Region, while others are the result of national and international trends. They are likely to encourage urban growth, and it may be necessary to revise earlier planning policies.

Recovery from recession There are various indications that the Niagara economy has recovered from the recession of the early 1980s, but finds itself in another one in the early 1990s. Population growth, negligible in 1981-86, improved between 1986-91 (Table 9.1), and given these Statistics Canada figures and also Ontario Government data on population, it was possible to adjust future population and land and housing needs upwards (Table 9.3). There had been a slow recovery of manufacturing jobs in the late 1980s and unemployment was then much closer to the provincial average, but the current recession has once again resulted in the St. Catharines area having one of the highest unemployment rates in Canada. The announcement by General Motors that one of its plants in St. Catharines will close by the mid-1990s, with the loss of over 2,000 jobs, has dealt a particularly devastating blow to the manufacturing sector and its hope of fast recovery from the recession.

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Housing starts in Niagara, which had declined after 1976 and sunk to an all-time low of fewer than 1,000 units in 1984, had risen to 3,300 units by 1988, according to CMHC statistics, reflecting pent-up demand on the part of existing residents, inmigration and new household formation. This increase in housing starts is to be found in all municipalities; however, the nature of the change and the extent of the recovery vary from one municipality to another because of other factors, and the recession has had a dampening effect almost everywhere.

The suburbanization of Niagara In some municipalities the housing industry has not merely recovered but has outstripped the boom years of the early 1970s and before. In part, this is a response to Niagara's proximity to other urban areas in southern Ontario and its lower housing costs, as compared to cost levels in those areas. The largest differential is with Metropolitan Toronto; St. Catharines area average housing costs in 1988 were 40% those of Toronto. More significant perhaps, in terms of numbers of people and commuting distance, is the price differential between Niagara and the area between Toronto and Hamilton. Because of the cost of housing in Toronto, many people commute from the Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville areas; this has resulted in escalating house prices in these three areas, and people there are now seeking housing in parts of Niagara. Grimsby, Lincoln and west St. Catharines, because of ease of access to the QEW, have been especially favoured, and also the Highway 20 connection to the Smithville area of West Lincoln; the pressures for expansion of the urban area boundaries are likely to increase. The widening of the QEW to six lanes between Hamilton and Niagara Falls over the next ten years will likely encourage further development.

The influence of Free Trade One of Niagara's traditional strengths, relative to other parts of Ontario, has been the proportion of American-owned industry, attracted to the Region because of a tariff barrier against imports from the United States. The passing of Free Trade legislation by the U.S. and Canadian governments in 1989 and the gradual removal of tariffs on trade between the two countries have promoted a good deal of unease in the local community. The higher than average proportion of American-owned industry in Niagara now has a major reason not to be there, and already there have been plant rationalizations and closings where jobs have been lost to U.S.-based factories. On the other hand, the strong support for Free Trade amongst government and business in Canada is based on the fact that Canadian-owned business can now have better access to the American market; many firms in Niagara are encouraged by such possibilities, and there is optimism in places such as Fort Erie that the border location will attract other firms.

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The decline of agriculture in the Niagara Fruit Belt The Free Trade agreement and worldwide changes in trade policies under GATT agreements are two of the many factors causing undue hardship amongst some Niagara farmers and subsequent pressures from them for permission to convert agricultural land to other uses (InfoResults, 1989). These farmers, principally located on some of Canada's best agricultural land, north of the Niagara Escarpment, have already faced climatic problems affecting production, an uncertain market which hinders agricultural planning and change, financial difficulties in achieving any change, and rising land values (caused by urban pressures and speculation), all of which is making agriculture increasingly unattractive. In addition, there is perceived to be an indifference to their plight on the part of senior levels of government. Anticipating a decline in demand for grapes, a joint federal-provincial initiative has compensated growers who take out vines considered surplus to market needs. Up to 40% of grape acreage could ultimately be affected, but it is unclear what will take its place. Given the continuing success of small estate wineries in Niagara, some land has been converted to better quality grape varieties; but much land could lie vacant, or be temporarily converted to other crops, and such situations will encourage further demands for conversion to urban purposes. One answer to farmers' problems finds expression in the clamour for Regional Government to relax the very strong protectionist policies relating to urban area boundaries and rural land use and to allow urban-related development wherever there is a farmer with a problem. However, this is no answer, for there would be a greater supply of land compared to demand, and prices would likely fall to levels that would then be unacceptable to the seller. Furthermore, problem farmers are not necessarily located where urban developers most want to go. We would in fact be turning back the clock to the worst excesses of urban sprawl that existed before 1970; and the resulting Niagara countryside, studded with urban residential severances, would inhibit the successful farmer, be costly to service and wreck various aesthetic qualities. Besides, the farmers' problems are immediate; even if a free-for-all policy was approved (and Ontario's NDP government is far from being enthusiastic), the planning approval process would likely be too slow to be of much help. The solution lies outside a regional planning process encouraging urban development, although regional politicians like to help in the interim by allowing numerous exceptions to the rule on severances.

The demands for urban land While there has always been a relationship between population increase and urban land demands, the nature of that relationship has changed over time in North America. The car era brought about increased demands through lower density residential and non-residential land use; but in spite of recent moves towards conservation and higher

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densities and a slowdown in population growth, the demand for land for urban-related purposes continues almost unabated. Even areas such as Niagara, where population growth has been negligible, have not been exempt. This continuing demand reflects a change in urban lifestyles which lead an existing population to seek more space in which to operate. Residential lots may be smaller, but there is perhaps little to be gained from this; more homes are needed since household size has diminished. Amazement is expressed that so many new mini-plazas have been built in St. Catharines, for example, when the population declined between 1981 and 1986. However, improved standards of living and changing consumer preference have resulted in a tremendous growth of certain services (e.g. travel agents, financial services, restaurants and specialty shopping), whilst technological and socio-economic changes continue to promote new services (e.g. the video, waterbed, micro-computer or fast-food outlet). Rural areas and small towns in Niagara continue to absorb urban residents at lower densities than the larger urban centres. Meanwhile, the countryside is expected to take various land-hungry urban services that cannot be accommodated in urban areas; and numerous other services, such as churches, clubs, food markets and car dealerships, are simply taking advantage of improved mobility and cheaper land prices. We can increasingly refer to Niagara's rural areas as urban countryside.

Future development options Urban development in Niagara is reaching a critical phase. The local economy is in a difficult position after many years of decline or stagnation, but the signals are very mixed as to how it will proceed. The late 1980s mini-boom has been overtaken by a recession that has resulted in more job losses, drops in consumer spending, depressed property prices and so on. On the other hand, development pressures remain in the QEW corridor north of the Niagara Escarpment; there are many speculative land purchases (in the hope that rural land use policies will be relaxed), various development proposals outside the urban area boundaries and the prospect that within as little as 10 years there will be no vacant land inside the boundaries. The loss of one of General Motors plants in St. Catharines has to be set against the commitment by the Ontario government to move approximately 1,000 jobs in the Ministry of Transportation from Toronto to downtown St. Catharines during the 1990s. However, a poor provincial budget situation has resulted in the timing of the project being set back and the number of jobs being reduced. Regional government has faced the need to review its 1981 Policy Plan, but the many economic uncertainties, the strong lobbying, especially from problem farmers, and the failure of regional and provincial government to come up with clear development objectives threaten the whole review process. Regional planners have identified four possible urban growth options in the future which reflect either the best intentions

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of the 1981 Policy Plan, or reality since 1981, or a wholesale sell-out to the development industry (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1989; Gayler, 1991). They are shown in Figures 9.5a-d, and described below. Option 1: Lake Erie Shoreline Expansion. Redirection of development that was proposed in the 1981 Plan would be encouraged in the Fort Erie-Port Colborne area, where there are already more than adequate urban-designated areas set aside, agricultural land is less valuable than further north and the local economy would welcome the infusion of new capital. On the other hand, it is recognized that this is an area that has never been a centre of major urban development and would be the least attractive to developers. Option 2: Central Niagara Expansion. Again a redirection option, but because it would be centred on the area between Niagara Falls, Thorold and Welland, it would be closer to the main thrusts of development today and yet not threaten as much valuable agricultural land as would be threatened by Options 3 and 4 below. Highway 406 and the QEW provide good communications and in this area too there is excess land designated for development. Option 3: Trends Urban Expansion. This option recognizes the trends that have taken place since 1981: all communities have been able to grow outwards within their respective urban area boundaries as market forces have dictated. To be allowed to do likewise in future would in effect mean the abandonment of the redirection policy, and the protection of Niagara's unique agricultural lands through permanent urban area boundaries would be slowly eroded in the northern municipalities. Option 4: QEW North Expansion. This option would be an acknowledgment that the area in question is where developers most want to go. Any pretence of protecting unique agricultural lands would be abandoned as swiftly as urban developers could be found and services provided. The end result would be a continuous built-up area between Toronto and Niagara Falls and the loss of much of the distinctiveness of Niagara. If one were to consider only the long-term and the wider public good, then some variant of Options 1 and 2 would be the way to go (Gayler, 1990). On the other hand, from a realistic standpoint, Option 3 would maintain the status quo, and Option 4 would merely hurry it along, whereas any real attempt to redirect development would upset a delicate political balance in Niagara by favouring one area at the expense of another. Besides, there are reasonable economic principles guiding development in the northern municipalities (albeit short-term and environmentally destructive), and there is no guarantee that these would be transferred to areas further south. There is the very

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Figure 9.5a

Lake Erie Shoreline Expansion.

Figure 9.5b

Central Niagara Expansion.

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Figure 9.5c Trends Urban Expansion.

Figure 9.5d QEW North Expansion.

273

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real concern that too restrictive a planning environment may result in development choosing to go to another part of southern Ontario altogether. Demand-led planning, according to which politicians respond to market forces, is the North American tradition. To buck the trend in Niagara is probably beyond the capabilities of its politicians. So far they have done little more than pay lipservice to planning objectives that promote redirection, and any attempt to get serious (and this is far from assured) will take a strong political and financial commitment from the Ontario and federal governments. The Ontario government has long given up on any overall regional development strategy (for example, evaluating Niagara's development against the expansion of the Toronto-Centred Region), leaving it up to market forces to direct any initiatives, and to regional government to accommodate them when and where they occur. There are, however, favourable signs from provincial, regional and local levels with respect to future urban development in Niagara. A variant of Option 2 was adopted by the Regional Municipality to permit greatly expanded urban area boundaries when needed, with an extension of the Niagara Falls urban area to the southeast along the QEW to accommodate highway-oriented development. The City of St. Catharines, meanwhile, is on record as not wishing to expand its westerly urban area boundary (the only way it can go) when all current vacant land is used up, a decision that was reinforced with gun-to-the-head diplomacy when the Ontario government made it a condition for the move of the Ministry of Transportation jobs to the city. Threats from the smaller municipalities, such as Grimsby and Lincoln, remain; and developers are always a wild card, although the decision by a group of car dealers not to pursue a 35-acre autoplex development at a QEW intersection beyond the St. Catharines urban area boundary is a sign that the redirection message (or intensification within existing urban areas message) is finally filtering through. It is difficult for regional politicians to set any planning objectives when they are unclear as to the type of region they would like to promote. Support for what is in effect Option 2 is a swing away from the attitude that lets each local municipality do its own thing in favour of a directive to preserve and promote the distinctive qualities of the Niagara Region in respect of its agriculture, physical resources, tourism and other services, industry and community organization. On the other hand, this could in part be counteracted by the short-sighted decision of regional politicians in 1991 to bow to pressures from tender-fruit farmers to allow multiple severances for any one of their number (but not anyone else!) facing economic hardships (Gayler, 1992). It is a licence to promote urban sprawl of the worst kind along the Niagara Fruit Belt and to turn back the clock to the 1950s. Since it is an Official Plan Amendment, it needs Ontario government approval, and under the Planning Act only the Ontario government can send it to appeal before the Ontario Municipal Board. Fortunately, approval has been turned down, and a request from Regional Government that the Amendment be sent for appeal has so far been ignored.

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These are the underlying options and important challenges that face the Niagara Region as it attempts to lead urban development, or to be led by it, in the next few years. The prospect of running out of land within certain urban area boundaries within 10 years brought the matter to a head, but gradually the Policy Plan Review process became a one-issue debate with a small but vocal pressure group (of tender-fruit farmers) leading the charge. Lost in the charge have been the Ontario government's initiatives in the direction of improving planning goals and process as they relate to urban development in the province. The appointment of a Royal Commission on Planning and Development Reform in Ontario under the chairmanship of John Sewell is indicative of a government desire to intensify, rather than dissipate, urban development, thus making development more cost-effective, more efficient, more community-oriented and less destructive of natural resources and rural communities. After a short but intensive round of public consultation in the province, both before and after the preparation of a draft report, the recently published final report recommends to the Ontario Government a set of policies which would largely inhibit the outward expansion of most Ontario communities (Commission on Planning and Development Reform in Ontario, 1993). The development options approved by Regional Government in Niagara—such as the Central Niagara Expansion (Figure 9.5b) or urban sprawl in tender fruit growing areas—could in all likelihood never see the light of day!

Conclusions Urban development in Niagara has been closely associated with the evolution of different transportation modes, industrial and service activities and the Region's border location in Canada next to the United States. Canal, rail and road, together with agriculture, power developments, heavy industry and tourism and other services, have resulted in this Region of some 393,000 people having a diverse landscape of cities and small towns. But after an era of prosperity the postwar years have been increasingly troublesome for the Niagara economy, and this is reflected in recent negligible population growth. Heavy industry has declined, tourism has largely stagnated and so much new industrial and service development has gone to larger metropolitan centres; and the Canada-U.S. Free Trade agreement could produce further difficulties for the area. In spite of weaknesses in the local economy, urban development continues to be demanding of physical resources, in particular agricultural land. Niagara has some of Canada's best lands and considerable debate has arisen as to how government should respond to problem farmers and the developers who wish to convert such lands for urban purposes. Further problems in agriculture, and the economy as a whole, will influence the way in which we plan for future urban development, and determine especially whether it concentrates in the northern municipalities or is redirected further south. The focus today on road transportation and the QEW corridor, the strengthening of St. Catharines as the regional centre and the growing importance of Niagara as an

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outer suburban area for Hamilton and Toronto will present a considerable challenge to the Region's traditional and diverse urban landscape; and any provincial government initiatives to control and change the form of urban development will only add to that challenge.

Acknowledgments The expertise and professional judgement of a number of people must be recognized here, including Dr. John McNeil, Brock University, on the industrial structure of Niagara and Ontario, Dr. John Jackson, Professor Emeritus, Brock University, on the historical evolution of the Niagara Region, Dr. Bruce Krushelnicki, Ontario Municipal Board, and Mr. George Nicholson, Senior Planner, Regional Municipality of Niagara.

References Burghardt, A.F. 1969. The Origin and Development of the Road Network of the Niagara Pensinsula, Ontario, 1770-1851. Annals, Association of American Geographers 59: 417-440. Commission on Planning and Development Reform in Ontario. 1993. New Planning for Ontario: Final Report. Toronto. Gayler, H.J. 1979. Political Attitudes and Urban Expansion in the Niagara Region. Contact (Journal of Urban and Environmental Affairs) 11: 43-60. . 1982a. The Problems of Adjusting to Slow Growth in the Niagara Region of Ontario. The Canadian Geographer 26: 165-172. . 1982b. Conservation and Development in Urban Growth: The Preservation of Agricultural Land in the Rural-Urban Fringe of Ontario. Town Planning Review 53: 321-341. . 1987. Transportation in the Modern Era: Implications for the Niagara Peninsula. Paper presented to the 9th Annual Niagara Peninsula History Conference, Brock University, St. Catharines. . 1990. Changing Aspects of Urban Containment in Canada: The Niagara Case in the 1980s and Beyond. Urban Geography 11: 373-393. . 1991. The Demise of the Niagara Fruit Belt: Policy Planning and Development Options in the 1990s. In Beesley, K.B, ed., Rural and Urban Fringe Studies in Canada. Geographical Monographs No. 21. North York: York University, Department of Geography, 283-313. . 1992. Regional Planning and Urban Sprawl: Turning Back the Clock in Niagara to the 1950s? Paper presented to the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Geographers, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. InfoResults. 1989. Farming in the Niagara Region: Structure, Trends and Land Use Policies. Policy Plan Review, Publication No. 8. Thorold, Ontario: Regional Municipality of Niagara.

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Jackson, J.N. 1975. Welland and the Welland Canal. Belleville, Ontario: Mika. . 1976. St. Catharines, Ontario: Its Early Years. Belleville, Ontario: Mika. . 1982. The Niagara Fruit Belt: The Ontario Municipal Board Decision of 1981. The Canadian Geographer 26: 172-176. Jackson, J.N. and Burtniak, J. 1978. Railways in the Niagara Peninsula: Their Development, Progress and Community Significance. Belleville, Ontario: Mika. Jackson, J.N. and White, C. 1971. The Industrial Structure of the Niagara Peninsula. Brock University, Department of Geography, St. Catharines. Jackson, J.N. and Wilson, S.M. 1992. St. Catharines: Canada's Canal City. St. Catharines: St. Catharines Standard. Krueger, R.R. 1959. Changing Land-use Patterns in the Niagara Fruit Belt. Transactions of the Royal Canadian Institute 32: 39-140. . 1978. Urbanization of the Niagara Fruit Belt. The Canadian Geographer 22: 179-194. . 1982. The Struggle to Preserve Specialty Crop Land in the Rural-Urban Fringe of the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario. Environments 14: 1-10. Niagara Region Local Government Review Commission. Toronto: Ontario Department of Municipal Affairs.

1966. Report of the Commission.

Philips Planning and Engineering Ltd. 1972. Regional Niagara Official Plan: Working Draft. St. Catharines: Regional Municipality of Niagara. Regional Municipality of Niagara. 1988. Regional Niagara Policy Plan (Office Consolidation). Thorold, Ontario. . 1989. Where Next?: A Look to the Future. Policy Plan Review Publication No. 7. Thorold, Ontario. . 1992. Revised Population Forecasts of Niagara 1991-2016. DPD165-92. Thorold, Ontario. Seibel, G. 1967. Niagara Falls, Canada: A History of the City. Niagara Falls, Ontario: Kiwanis Club of Stamford. Stamp, R.M. 1987. QEW, Canada's First Superhighway. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press. Styran, R.M. and Taylor, R.R. 1988. The Welland Canals: The Growth of Mr. Merritt's Ditch. Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press. Van Nostrand, J.C. 1983. The Queen Elizabeth Way: Public Utility versus Public Space. Urban History Review 12: 1-23. Watson, J.W. 1945. The Changing Industrial Pattern of the Niagara Peninsula. Ontario Historical Society, Papers and Records 37: 49-58.

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10

Agriculture in Niagara: An Overview Paul Chapman Niagara, part of which is known as the Fruit Belt of Canada, has rightly received considerable attention because of its specialized tender fruit and grape production. But in terms of agricultural land use and value of production, other agricultural activities are also important. Diversity is one of Niagara's greatest agricultural strengths. In addition to tender fruit and grape farming, there are greenhouses, intensive livestock operations, and a wide variety of field crops. As with any other successful industry, agriculture must change as its markets change. In Niagara, as in the rest of Canada, agriculture is under intense competitive pressures and in a state of flux. There are certain general trends at work as well as a series of area-specific pressures. Today agriculture is the largest land user in the Region, covering 52% of the land area (Statistics Canada, 1986). It is significant in terms of both its geographic extent and its economic contribution. This chapter provides an overview of the physical base for agriculture, agriculture today and its evolution, and a look at its future.

Physical Base for Agriculture There are three physical components which establish practical limits to the types of agriculture that are possible in Niagara, namely physiography, climate and soils. These physical limits do not 'determine' what is grown but rather provide a range of opportunities within which to carry on commercial agriculture. For example, the lands we know today as the Niagara Fruit Belt were once used primarily for growing grain. 279

280

Figure 10.1 1989)

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Generalized physiography of the Niagara Region. (After Kingston and Presant,

Physiography The Niagara Peninsula, in generalized terms, can be considered as two major sections divided by the Niagara Escarpment (Figure 10.1) (Chapman and Putnam, 1984). To the north are the features related to Lake Iroquois and to the south the Haldimand Clay Plain. The locations above and below the Escarpment provide significantly different opportunities for agriculture. Within the area north of the Escarpment, there are two main subcomponents, the Lake Iroquois Plain and the Lake Iroquois Bench. South of the Escarpment, there is a large plain with a variety of significant features, for example the Vinemount Moraine, the Fonthill Kame and the Wainfleet Bog. These localized features each offer different possibilities to the farmer.

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Figure 10.2

281

Grape and tender fruit climatic zones. (After Kingston and Presant, 1989)

Climate Niagara's moderate climate, compared to the remainder of Ontario, provides the opportunity for a wide variety of agricultural activities. When considered on a regional basis, there are really two climatic regions divided along the Niagara Escarpment (Kingston and Presant, 1989). Although there are similarities in terms of average temperatures and precipitation during the growing season, the northerly section of the Peninsula along the Lake Iroquois Plain has a frost free period which is 10 to 20 days longer than the areas south of the Escarpment. The area to the north also has higher average minimum winter temperatures, which are important for tender fruit production. There are also variations on a micro-scale. Particularly affected are the lands immediately south of the Niagara Escarpment and the lands of the Fonthill Kame. Figure 10.2 is based upon the work by Wiebe and Andersen (1976) and shows relative climatic suitability for grape production. Clearly, there are areas which provide superior opportunities for cultivation of certain specialty crops within both of the climatic regions (see Chapter 5).

282 Table 10.1

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%

16,427 8.8 87,014 46.8 53,068 28.5 10,043 5.4 2,598 1.4 6,777 3.6 7,297 3.9 3,003 1.6

Source: InfoResults (1989).

Soils The soils of the Niagara Region were recently surveyed and a detailed report is available (Kingston and Presant, 1989). They have generally developed from soil parent material ranging from coarse gravels to heavy clays. There are certain areas of organic soils which are also important for specialized agriculture, for example vegetable production. Each soil has inherent potential for agricultural use and inherent limitations. The Canada Land Inventory (CLI) for Agricultural Land Use was developed to measure the relative capability for agricultural use subject to certain assumptions (Environment Canada, 1972). The system is based on the capability to grow field crops and does not evaluate the potential for specialty crops, which is a significant shortcoming where the Niagara Region is concerned. The system includes seven major categories with Class One being the most productive and Class Seven the least. In Niagara, approximately 186,200 ha of land were assessed (Table 10.1). Classes One to Three, which represent the most productive lands for agriculture, include over 84% of the land assessed. In 1987 a report on soil suitability ratings for tender fruit and grapes based upon the recently completed soil survey was released (Ontario Institute of Pedology, 1987). The new system consisted of seven classes for nine different crop groups, including peach, vinifera grapes, etc. The areas to the north of the Niagara Escarpment and immediately to the south were shown to have the highest capabilities for these specialized crops.

Evolution of Agriculture in Niagara This process of change, always a hallmark of Niagara's agriculture, began when settlers cleared the land in the late eighteenth century (Burtniak and Turner, 1983). As settlements grew, grain and livestock farming predominated. There was some fruit and grape farming, but it was of limited extent and served individual and local needs.

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Not until the 1870s did fruit and grapes begin to increase in importance. Fruit farming was at first confined to the area north of the Niagara Escarpment but by 1900 had expanded along the brow of the Escarpment and on to the Fonthill Kame. Apples, the most important fruit crop in the 1880s, had been replaced by peaches by the early 1900s. As competition from apples grown in Nova Scotia and British Columbia displaced Niagara apples in the English market, peach production in Niagara, for both the processed and the fresh markets, became the most important form of fruit production. Grape production also spread rapidly after the 1880s, increasing from about 160 ha (400 acres) in 1880, to over 2,300 ha (5,700 acres) by 1901. At first centred on the plain north of the Niagara Escarpment, vineyards later spread to areas along the brow of the Escarpment. In terms of geographical extent, agricultural land use in Niagara peaked in 1911, with about 137,600 ha (340,000 acres) of improved land (Statistics Canada, 1911); by 1941, the improved lands had declined to about 129,550 ha (310,000 acres), and the decline was particularly pronounced in the southern part of the Niagara Region. This transition in Niagara's agriculture between 1901 and 1941 continued the trends of the late 1800s, as the area of field crops declined and specialized fruit and grape acreages increased. The acreage of field crops declined from a peak of approximately 91,000 ha (225,000 acres) in 1911 to 66,775 ha (165,000 acres) in 1941, a decline of over 25%. Between 1901 and 1941, grape and fruit acreages expanded from a combined total of about 8,900 ha (22,000 acres) to about 15,375 ha (38,000 acres), an increase of over 60%. Fruit and grape acreages each increased by about 3,240 ha (8,000 acres) in this period. Provincial and Federal agricultural statistics indicate that Niagara's fruit farms peaked in 1951 (Statistics Canada, 1951), and since then there has been a significant decline in acreage. Significant adjustments have been made in response to a complex interaction of various socio-economic factors, including changing demographic circumstances, economic opportunities, and technology. Many of the trends apparent in Niagara, such as a decline in the number of farms, changing crop patterns and diminished acreages, mirror similar changes in the agricultural sector which have occurred both provinceand nation-wide. It is too simplistic to explain the changes which have occurred by the one factor of urban growth. Changes in areas such as Glengarry County in eastern Ontario, where there are not the same urban pressures, negate such an explanation. The suburbanization of the countryside has had an impact at least as great as the expansion of urbanized areas. The spread of non-farm residential uses and other urban-related recreational, commercial and industrial uses have also removed or sterilized large areas of agricultural land.

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Agricultural Characteristics — Ontario and Niagara Figures 10.3 to 10.8 illustrate the significant changes which have occurred in the number, extent and types of agricultural operations in Niagara. As with any conclusions based on census data over an extended period, they must be read in the light of changing definitions and census reporting. Niagara's agricultural sector displays both similarities and differences with respect to provincial trends. In Ontario, the agricultural sector peaked in 1911 in terms of number of farms and improved farmland (Statistics Canada, various years; Urquhart and Buckley, 1983). The declines in land used for agricultural purposes in Niagara and Ontario are similar, with about 40% less land used in 1986 than in 1911. However, in the same period the decline in improved land has been much more pronounced in Niagara than in Ontario; a reduction of approximately 40% in Niagara compares with a provincial figure of about 26%. The decline in the number of farms has been slower in Niagara than across the Province, and this is due in part to the larger number of part-time farmers (Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food, various years). As a result, although Niagara's average farm size has increased by 27% over the past 85 years, from 24 ha to over 30 ha, Ontario's average farm size has increased by 85%. Niagara's farms have always been smaller on average because of the limited size of specialized fruit farms, but the difference in the average size has also been increasing. In the 1941-86 period in Niagara there were reductions of 20% to 30% in the acreages of improved land, field crops, orchards and market gardens. Overall, about 10,500 ha (26,000 acres) of improved land were removed from production (Statistics Canada, various years). Of particular significance was the loss of 3,240 ha (8,000 acres) of orchards, or almost 30% of the orchard acreage of 1941. By contrast, the grape acreage increased by 3,035 ha (7,500 acres) or over 50%. Vines expanded into areas previously used for other agricultural activities, introducing a competitive situation where peach orchards were replaced by new grape varieties which required the same types of well-drained, light soils traditionally used for peaches. A significantly different trend occurred between 1971 and 1986. Although the increases were small, the area of field crops, grapes and market gardens increased; and while there was an increase of about 360 ha (900 acres) between 1981 and 1986, the orchard acreage declined between 1971 and 1986.

Agriculture Today Niagara's agriculture now combines big business and part-time operations with a wide diversity in the types of agricultural activity. Part-time farming is more important here than in most other agricultural areas. It occurs in all agricultural sectors; but fruit farming, with its seasonal labour requirements, its preponderance of small farm units,

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Figure 10.7

Fruit tree/orchard acreage, 1901-1986

Figure 10.8

285

Grape acreage, 1901-1986

Source: Statistics Canada, various years.

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Figure 10.9 Relative value of agricultural production in Niagara, 1986. (Source: Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1988)

and its minimal need for expensive equipment, is particularly suited to part-time farming. Full-time commercial agriculture likewise involves the entire range of Niagara's agriculture, from specialty fruit production to general farming. As elsewhere, increased investments in tile drainage, irrigation, and machinery have been made in response to a continuing cost-price squeeze. Figure 10.9 illustrates the estimated relative value of Niagara's agricultural commodities in 1986. The greenhouse, grape and fruit crops together account for approximately 57% of the total value. In terms of land use, however, these crops represent less than 22% of the improved land. Conversely, the field crops, dairy and livestock farms, which account for 37% of the value of production, occupy about 75% of the improved agricultural lands. Diversity in Niagara's agricultural economy is represented by three broad agricultural types: 1) Fruit and grapes are produced on farms with an average size of 8-40 ha (20100 acres), with fruit farms tending to be smaller than grape farms; the farmers generally own the land they farm.

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Plate 10.1 Extensive greenhouse operation in Niagara. (Photo: Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario)

2) Field crops, ranging from high intensity row cropping to low intensity uses such as grazing and pasture systems; farm size ranges from 16 ha (40 acres) for the low intensity systems to approximately 200-400 ha (500-1000 acres) for the row crop systems; part-time farming tends to be associated with the lower intensity operations. 3) Specialty crops, such as vegetables, berries, greenhouses and nurseries, are highly intensive and on farms of relatively small size (Huffman, interview). As heating costs form a significant percentage of the operating costs for greenhouse operations, the moderate climate north of the Escarpment provides for an ideal location. Also, this area has easy access to trunk highways for shipment to Canadian or American markets. The greenhouse industry has seen an increase in the acreage used for nursery and outdoor flower products, from 240 ha (600 acres) in 1961 to over 625 ha (1,550 acres) in 1981 (Statistics Canada, various years). This expansion of greenhouse and related agricultural uses provides another example of intensification in Niagara's agricultural industry (Plate 10.1). Greenhouse operators who are able to pay higher land prices have displaced tender fruit growers in some areas, although this is not a significant factor in explaining the decline in orchard acreage. The greenhouse industry is of greatest significance in terms of dollars generated, and has increased in importance in Niagara over the past twenty years as agricultural

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activities have intensified. It has expanded rapidly, from 1.2 million square feet under glass and plastic in 1961 to over 7.8 million square feet in 1985 (Statistics Canada, various years). It is flower-oriented, with a secondary production of vegetables, and its markets are in southern Ontario, Quebec, and the northeastern United States. The significant export market for flower growers reflects both Niagara's regional position and its relatively favourable climate. The industry has expanded particularly rapidly in the 1960s and 1970s, when the rate of increase in Niagara was more than double the provincial average. Niagara's greenhouses account for over 40% of the total value of products produced commercially in greenhouses in Ontario (InfoResults, 1989). Fruit and grape production are two sectors of Niagara's agriculture which continue to receive the greatest attention (Ecoplans Ltd., 1979; Broad with, Hughes and Associates, 1980; Plates 10.2-10.3). Although not the most valuable farming activities, they are the most significant, because tender fruit and grape farming can occur in only limited areas in Canada. Niagara's grape acreage accounts for almost 80% of the national total, and the peach acreage represents almost 90% of Ontario's total. About 44% of the value of all fruit produced in Ontario comes from Niagara (InfoResults, 1989). At the same time the fruit industry is generally in decline in terms of acreage, volume of production, and number of trees (Ontario Tender Fruit Producers Marketing Board, various years). Even so, Niagara continues to account for 75-85% of the peaches, sweet and sour cherries, pears and plums grown in Ontario. Only apples and strawberries, not major components of Niagara's fruit industry, have expanded significantly since the early 1970s. There has been a trend away from processing fruit to production for the fresh market, including pick-your-own operations. This has resulted in the planting of new varieties, including dwarf species which allow more intensive plantings, increased yields per acre, and reduced maintenance costs, and often offer more resistance to diseases and pests. These improvements help the farmer caught in a cost-price squeeze to survive. Despite the planting of new varieties, the number of young sweet and sour cherry, plum and pear trees has shown varying degrees of decline. The aging of the fruit tree stock through the lack of re-investment in these crops suggests future declines in production are likely. Also, aging tree stocks are more susceptible to disease and winter kill. Niagara's peach industry is of particular significance. Although there has been a marked decline in acreage, production has not declined as rapidly. By 1981, in fact, there were more peach trees in Niagara than in 1966. It is likely that peach production has stabilized for an interim period. If current problems of market surpluses are not addressed through improved marketing and a ready supply of farm labour, the longterm outlook is uncertain. In contrast to the cherry industry, the peach industry has attracted sufficient re-investment to give grounds for hoping that it will stabilize.

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Plate 10.2 Niagara orchard at blossom time. Blossom Sunday in mid to late May can result in a large increase in day visitors to the area. (Photo: J.N. Jackson)

Plate 10.3 Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, looking south towards the Niagara Escarpment. (Photo: Preston Haskell)

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Plate 10.4 Poultry broiler operation in Niagara. (Photo: Brock University Dept. of Geography)

Grape acreage, which had expanded until about 1971, stabilized between 1971 and 1986. However, the industry is not static. Production has increased, from an annual average of about 50,000 tons in the early 1960s to an average of about 80,000 tons in the 1980s. This increase is due to the introduction of new varieties, an increased density of plantings, and mechanical harvesting. Between 1961 and 1981 the grape acreage increased by only about 5%, but production increased 38%; and the number of vines increased from about 8.2 million in 1966 to almost 14.5 million in 1983. Although traditional varieties continued to provide the majority of the production, new species and hybrids are rapidly increasing in importance. By 1983 the traditional varieties provided only about 58% of the harvest, whereas in the early 1960s they accounted for over 80% (Ontario Grape Growers Marketing Board, various years). Intensive livestock operations producing beef, pork and poultry are another significant agricultural sector, particularly pork and poultry production (Plate 10.4). Niagara's output of poultry is about 25% of Ontario's production. Often combined with other types of farming, including grape production, intensive livestock operations occur primarily on the Haldimand Plain south of the Escarpment; and part-time farming is often the method of operation. Just as Niagara's climate (compared with other parts of Ontario) has encouraged tender fruit and grape production, so too has this factor significantly reduced heating costs for barns containing pigs or poultry. A benefit for the fruit and grape industry is that the manure produced is available as a fertilizer in the orchards and vineyards.

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The fruit and grape producers are concentrated in the municipalities north of the Escarpment as shown in Figure 10.10. The municipalities of West Lincoln and Wainfleet have the majority of the land used for field crops. Examinination of the value of agricultural production per farm (Figure 10.11), shows that high value production is concentrated in the north and west of the Region, while the southeastern part of the Region has the lowest average values.

Problems and Responses Agriculture has undergone a massive revolution as part of the socio-political changes which have been occurring in the twentieth century. Farmers across Canada and in Niagara are faced with many common problems in terms of high debt loads, variability of commodity prices, a cost-price squeeze, impacts of pollution on productivity, fluctuations of the Canadian dollar, labour supply, changing national and international trade practices and urban encroachment. These problems are very real for the whole of Niagara's agriculture, but are particularly significant for those specialized sectors which are Niagara's value leaders. Often they are interrelated; however, for purposes of this chapter, attention will be focused on only two—trade practices and urban encroachment.

Trade practices Trade policy related to tariff levels, supply management and preferential practices have significant impacts on the sales of agricultural products. Sales of subsidized European wines, for example, contributed to the grape surpluses of the 1980s, while reduction in tariff protection was a significant factor in the decline of the market for processed Niagara fruit. In the late 1980s there was a combination of decisions which has created additional uncertainty for the future of agriculture. These included a ruling under the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT), relating the wine pricing policies in Ontario, and the Canada-United States Trade Agreement (FTA) (Rainforth, interview; Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1989a; O'Brien, 1989). After the GATT ruling, the Ontario Government revised its Wine Content Act so as to allow Canadian house wines to be made from 70% imported grapes, whereas previously the maximum had been 30%. This radical change had a monumental impact on the grape farmer. Almost concurrently the FTA was being finalized. Again, the grape producer was a clear loser, while the impacts on other agricultural sectors are either mixed or unclear. The full impact of FTA will not be felt until the next round of negotiation on what constitutes a subsidy is concluded. The impacts on the supply-managed commodities will then become more visible.

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Figure 10.10

Agricultural land use for selected crops, 1986. (After InfoResults, 1989)

Figure 10.11

Value of agricultural production per farm, 1986. (After InfoResults, 1989)

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As a result of these decisions, the Federal and Provincial governments negotiated a Grape Acreage Reduction Program (GARP), under which farmers will be paid, over a five-year period, to remove up to 3,300 ha (8,200 acres) of grapes (Rainforth, interview). This represents nearly 40% of Niagara's grape acreage. Although there has been considerable research on alternative crops, there are no clear answers as to what the land can be used for. Farmers have planted a variety of replacement crops including hay and grains, new varieties of grapes, and fruit trees. However, given the uncertainty related to future negotiations on subsidies under the terms of FTA, many growers are reluctant to make major new capital improvements. These changes have also impacted the wine industry in Niagara. It was once dominated by large wineries, such as Andres, Brights, and Jordan, which produced primarily blended wines for a general market, while a few small specialized cottage wineries, mostly opened in the last twenty years, such as Inniskillin, were producing premium varietal wines. Today there is an increasing number of cottage wineries, aiming at the premium price market and producing wines primarily from the vinifera and hybrid grapes. Although there will likely be more of these cottage wineries, and also specialized juice companies, in the future, they will not require the large acreage of grapes which are now being removed. In addition, the grapes for the premium wines often require soil types which are different from those required by the traditional grape varieties.

Urban encroachment Urban encroachment takes land from agricultural use, and brings conflicts or potential conflicts which reduce a farmer's ability to farm. Significant orchard acreage was lost between 1951 and 1976 to urban development. The expansion of St. Catharines north of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) into the former Grantham Township provides a graphic example of this problem and further losses occurred around all the smaller urban areas (e.g. Grimsby, Vineland, and Beamsville). This expansion happened in order to provide for the rapid growth of population after World War II and to meet the need for residential, commercial and industrial lands. Agricultural land was not considered a resource, but rather a supply of 'underutilized' or 'undeveloped' land to meet urban needs. Although the loss of land to urban development is significant, urban encroachment through severances and the introduction of non-farm uses into agricultural areas have had an equally significant impact. This impact affects all types of farming. It raises land values which makes it more difficult for farms to expand or for new farmers to enter the industry. For the intensive pork and poultry operations, new neighbours often mean new complaints and requests to modify operating practices. For the fruit

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growers, problems associated with pilfering, vandalism and the need to alter spraying patterns often make their appearance. The significance of Niagara's agriculture sector and the need for protection of Niagara's agricultural resources has long been recognized (Krueger, 1959,1978; Niagara Region Local Government Review Commission, 1966) but, despite these many calls for action, policy had to await the formation of the Regional Municipality of Niagara in 1970 (Jackson, 1976). The Region's responsibilities included regional planning which, supported by citizen interest and action by the Province, led slowly to the protection of the agricultural land base (Philips Planning and Engineering, 1971; Ontario Ministry of Food and Agriculture, 1978). Niagara's Regional Policy Plan, finally approved in 1981, established urban area boundaries (UABs) for each urban municipality, providing land internally for longterm commercial, industrial and residential needs (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1988). Policies for the agricultural areas that were designed to reduce or minimize urban encroachment were also approved. A three-level classification for agricultural lands (Figure 10.12) beyond the UABs comprises: 1) unique fruit and grapes lands with very restrictive policies for non-agricultural uses and severances; 2) good general agricultural lands with restrictive policies for non-agricultural uses and severances; and 3) rural lands of lower capability where both agricultural and non-agricultural uses are permitted. The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) added a significant appendix to the Plan which stated that where the UAB abutted unique lands (tender fruit and grape lands), the UAB should be regarded as permanent (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1988). The Regional Policy Plan is. currently being reviewed (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1989b), and the outcome is still in doubt. A program known as 'Where Next?' has been developed by the Region to address the issues of future growth patterns and policies for agricultural lands. The public debate which is still underway has focused on development versus agriculture or agricultural land preservation. Few have recognized that they need not be conflicting goals. The issue is of greatest significance in the QEW corridor through the heart of the Niagara Fruit Belt. In this area, the future upgrading of the QEW to six lanes is seen by some as the last incentive required so that Niagara can get its share of the Torontoarea growth which has been occurring principally in the area between Hamilton and Toronto. Any policy which permits partial development in small nodes along the QEW will in the long term be difficult to contain and will likely result in gradual erosion of the remaining special resource lands. The best alternative would be to encourage development on less valuable agricultural lands. However, these lands are not necessarily located in areas of significant market interest. Another scenario would involve writing off a large area with identifiable boundaries and protect the remainder of the agricultural lands.

Figure 10.12

Agricultural land use policy areas. (After Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1988)

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Such a scheme will likely not be acceptable because of local desires for growth to be shared among 'all' municipalities. Sustainable development and environmental concerns receive lip service from local governments and the public, but to date there is little evidence of an understanding of the issues and choices in this context. The regional planners have an unenviable task in this socio-political milieu. A second debate is raging concurrently, the issue being whether the Region's policies should focus on encouraging and protecting agricultural land or on protecting farmers (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1990). Many argue that farmers should be allowed to develop their lands or some of their lands to generate needed cash to get them through the current crisis. The crisis has very real and severe personal and financial impacts on individual farm operators and their families, especially tender fruit farmers; but agriculture in the twentieth century has been continually in crisis as the technological advances and market forces have changed the entire basis of commercial farm operation. The weight to be given to temporary amelioration of these problems by means of less restrictive agricultural policies must be seriously considered. Land use policies are not the best means to deal with an economic problem, and this is especially true when dealing with a very special resource which is not available in other parts of Canada. The Region has initiated a series of Official Plan Amendments to identify the limits of future urbanization and certain changes to policies for agricultural and rural areas. The intent of these changes is to provide some economic assistance to tender fruit farmers by relaxing the severance policies and providing more flexibility for non-farm development in rural areas. For the tender fruit farmer who needs economic support, it would allow the severance of one one-acre lot per farm, plus one additional lot for each 30 acres owned by the farmer. In addition, farmers would be permitted up to a maximum of two additional severances for farm family members who work on the farm or are essential to the farm operation, and a severance for a retirement lot would still apply. These amendments have been approved by Regional Council, but not accepted by the Province, and an appeal to the OMB may now result. The process of official plan amendment may be no more than a ploy by the Region to increase the pressure on the Province for financial support for tender fruit farmers. Given the Province's own financial position, it appears unlikely that such a move will be successful. If indeed the Region believes that the Province will cave in and approve the proposed changes, it will probably be very disappointed. The indications at the Provincial level, to this observer at least, suggest a tightening up of policies to protect agricultural lands, rather than a relaxation. The hopes of the farmers may be raised only to be dashed by a Provincial denial.

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Prospects The future of all sectors of Niagara's agriculture is uncertain, given changes brought about by GATT and FTA. The grape sector in particular, and to a lesser extent other specialty producers, have been significantly impacted. If the land base can be protected, there are economic opportunities to meet specific needs (e.g. pick your own fruit, premium wines, etc.). Perhaps the most significant development has been the emergence of Niagara as a quality wine producing area. Over the last twenty years some fifteen cottage wineries have been opened and they continue to expand, and there has been a considerable growth of the new vinifera grape varieties. This has been accompanied by fairly aggressive marketing techniques which have resulted in a sell-out of the product each year and a hindrance to further promotion, particularly outside Canada, until production can be increased. This recent expansion is associated with consumer acceptance as Niagara wines continue to win awards (and what can be more pleasing when the competition is represented by European wines of long standing) and to trade upon the new quality label. In Niagara, the wine and specialty juice companies have also developed on-site shop, wine-tasting and restaurant activities and have associated themselves with tourist and cultural promotions. With increased marketing in other sectors and an ability on the part of farmers to see the opportunities and adapt to them, this period of transition need not be the death knell of the Niagara Fruit Belt. Future urban growth needs are such that only a relatively small amount of land will be required for urban development. However, relaxation of development policies in the agricultural areas can limit the ability of the farmer to compete for land and restrict normal agricultural practices. It will not be enough to protect the land base. Significant steps must also be taken to allow farmers to make a living, and such action will require a co-ordinated effort from all involved. In the longer run, it will probably require the consumer to pay higher prices for food. Agriculture in Niagara will continue to change in the future, as it has in the past. Efforts to intensify production will be required (e.g. more dwarf fruit trees, new crops, etc.). The cloud of current GATT discussions and continuing negotiations under the FTA have increased the uncertainty as to the extent and the health of the agricultural sector. If long-term land use policies are developed and implemented with an economic package for farmers, the Niagara Fruit Belt has a chance. However, in the light of past history and recent discussions in the local community, its future is uncertain.

Acknowledgments The author would like to thank the following people for their help in the preparation of this chapter: Ted Huffman, Agriculture Canada; and Jim Rainforth, Ontario Grape Growers Marketing Board.

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References Broadwith, Hughes and Associates. 1980. A Review of the Micro and Macro Economic Environment of the Fruit Industry in Niagara with Special Reference to St. Catharines. Guelph: Broadwith, Hughes and Associates. Burtniak, J. and Turner, W.B., eds., 1983. Agriculture and Farm Life in Niagara Peninsula. Brock University, St. Catharines. Chapman, L.J. and Putnam, D.F. 1984. The Physiography of Southern Ontario. Toronto: Ontario Geological Survey. Dorney, R.S. and Hoffman, D.W. 1979. Development of Landscape Planning Concepts and Management Strategies for an Urbanizing Agricultural Region. Landscape Planning 6: 151-177. EcoplansLtd. 1979. Research Report of the Niagara Region Fruitlands. Waterloo: EcoplansLtd. Environment Canada. 1972. Canada Land Inventory—Soil Capability for Agriculture Report #2. Ottawa: Environment Canada. InfoResults. 1989. Farming in the Niagara Region: Structure, Trends and Land Use Policies. Policy Plan Review, Publication No. 8. Thorold, Ontario: Regional Municipality of Niagara. Jackson, J.N. 1976.' Land Use Planning in the Niagara Region. Toronto: Niagara Region Study Review Commission. Kingston, M.S. and Presant, E.W. 1989. The Soils of the Regional Municipality of Niagara, Volumes 1 and 2. Guelph: Ontario Institute of Pedology. Krueger, R.R. 1959. Changing Land Use Patterns in the Niagara Fruit Belt. Transactions of the Royal Canadian Institute 32: 39-140. . 1978. Urbanization of the Niagara Fruit Belt. The Canadian Geographer 22: 188-189. Niagara Region Local Government Review Commission. 1966. Report of the Commission. Toronto: Ontario Department of Municipal Affairs. O'Brien, K. 1989. Harvest of Broken Dreams. What's Up Niagara. St. Catharines Standard, September. Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food. 1983-1989. Agricultural Statistics for Ontario. Toronto: Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food. Ontario Grape Growers Marketing Board. 1983-1989. Annual Report and Financial Statements. Ontario Grape Growers Marketing Board, St. Catharines. Ontario Institute of Pedology. 1987. Updated Soil Suitability Ratings for Tree Fruits, Grapes and Small Fruits in Niagara, Publication 87-7. Guelph: Ontario Institute of Pedology. Ontario Ministry of Food and Agriculture. 1978. Food Land Guidelines. Toronto: Government of Ontario.

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Ontario Tender Fruit Producers Marketing Board. 1983-1989. Annual Report and financial Statements. St. Catharines. Philips Planning and Engineering. 1971. Agricultural Research and Analysis, Report #2, Official Plan Studies. St. Catharines: Regional Municipality of Niagara. Regional Municipality of Niagara. 1988. Regional Niagara Policy Plan (Office Consolidation). Thorold, Ontario. . 1989a. Free Trade and Niagara's Agricultural Industry, A Digest of Assessments and Views. Thorold, Ontario. . 1989b. Where Next?: A Look to the Future. Policy Plan Review, Publication No. 7. Thorold, Ontario. . 1990. Preserving Niagara's Agricultural Industry: Initiatives By All Four Levels of Government for Today's Farmer Competing in the Nineties. Thorold, Ontario. Statistics Canada. 1901-86. Census of Agriculture. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. Urquhart, M.C. and Buckley, K.A.H., eds., 1983. Historical Statistics of Canada. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Wiebe, J. and Andersen, E.T. 1976. Site Selection For Grapes in the Niagara Peninsula. Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

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11 Corridors of Recreation in Niagara Clarke W. Thomson For most people the words "recreation" and "Niagara" are associated with one place, the great Falls of the Niagara River. Each year, particularly in the summer months, millions of visitors pour into an area of approximately two square kilometres to view the Falls and their immediate environs. The result is severe congestion in and around one small node, the cataract itself (Plate 11.1). However, the Falls are part of a system of major natural features and man-made attractions that provide the resource base for recreation in Niagara, and this system is arranged in an interconnected pattern of linear corridors (Plates 11.2a and 11.2b). Recognition of the concept of corridors and their role in the recreational resource base of the Niagara Region, as well as concern about the problem of congestion at the Falls, has long been current with planners, promoters, managers and researchers. A considerable volume of literature has been produced on the topic, ranging from single-sheet promotional brochures such as Explore the Welland Canals (Welland Canals Society, 1989), to major research monographs such as The Niagara Escarpment Study (Gertler et al, 1968) and Environmentally Sensitive Areas (in Niagara) (Brady, 1980), and various planning reports, including Tourism in the Niagara Region (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1984) and the more recent Welland Canals Corridor Development Guide (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1988). Despite the number and type of such studies, however, only one, the Potential Recreation Areas and Fragile Biologial Sites—Inventory and Recommendations (Philips Planning and Engineering Ltd., 1972), has attempted to deal with more than one or two of the various recreational corridors in a comprehensive manner. Furthermore, no study has cited or attempted to apply the methodology developed by Philip H. Lewis, the person generally credited with developing the most comprehensive approach that can be applied to corridor-type studies associated with 301

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Plate 11.1 Horseshoe Falls and Table Rock viewing area during the busy summer period. (Photo: George Bailey, Niagara Parks Commission)

recreation. In his study of Wisconsin (State of Wisconsin, 1963), Lewis demonstrated how the concept of "environmental corridor" nodes and point allocations can form the basis for an integrated recreational plan; furthermore, his method of inventory and analysis, based on a series of overlays of both the natural and man-made features, is also an outstanding example of geographical methodology. Given the purpose and focus of this book, the date (1972) of the Philips Engineering study and the recent government announcement concerning the move of the Ministry of Tourism and Recreation to Niagara Falls, it seems appropriate to re-examine the pattern of recreational resources of the area. By applying Lewis' corridor concept and modifying his methodology to accommodate the local situation, it may be possible not only to show the pattern of recreational resources as they currently exist, but also to demonstrate the extent to which the pattern of nodes and corridors and the point evaluation system can broaden the understanding of problems and the potential for recreation in the Region.

Methodology The major contribution of Lewis was the development of a method of analysis and inventory that would let him identify patterns of unique perceptual quality within the landscape. For Lewis the degree of uniqueness, and thus the value of the landscape

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Plate 11.2a Niagara River Corridor, showing the Horseshoe and American Falls, the Niagara Gorge, Goat Island, the Skylon Tower and tourist complex, the upper Niagara River and Parkway and various hydro-electric power facilities and heavy industries. (Photo: George Bailey, Niagara Parks Commission)

Plate 11.2b Niagara River Corridor, showing the view north along the Gorge and the Niagara Parkway, the shift in river course at Niagara Glen, one of the Niagara Parks Commission's golf courses (left foreground), the Robert Moses Dam and the reservoirs for both Canadian and American power plants (background). (Photo: D. Dagesse)

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Table 11.1 Outline of the Corridor Method. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Identification of study area Identification of recreational resources to be included in study Intrinsic resources are inventoried and mapped Extrinsic resources are inventoried and mapped Maps of intrinsic and extrinsic resources are combined Point values are assigned to resources Areas with highest total point values identified Analysis of results

Source: as modified from State of Wisconsin (1963).

for recreation, was based upon the amount of contrast and diversity available. To evaluate this diversity he classified the recreational resource patterns into two broad categories: "intrinsic," which included the major natural patterns such as significant topography, rivers, lakes and wetlands, and "extrinsic/7 that is, recreational values created by man-made changes, adaptations and additions to the natural landscape. Using these elements as an information base he sought to preserve, enhance and protect the most outstanding intrinsic (natural) and extrinsic (man-made) resources and to see that introduced features were developed in harmony with those quality resources (Belknap et al., 1967,31). The methods and techniques he developed to do this are presented in detail in the report Recreation in Wisconsin (State of Wisconsin, 1963). A shorter version of that methodology, with suggestions as to how the method can be adapted to an environment different from the Mid-West, is presented in Three Approaches To Environmental Resource Analysis (Belknap et. al., 1967,31-58).1 Modifications required to apply the analytical procedure as proposed by Lewis to this study area were few and of a minor nature. Since the Regional Municipality of Niagara is relatively small and compact, it was not necessary to implement the preliminary step of selecting and analyzing a case study area. Also, since this study was not intended to serve as a formal plan for future development, it was possible to omit steps that required (a) the identification of uses to be planned for, (b) the establishment of criteria for those uses, (c) determination of the demand for planned uses, (d) definition of final areas and their priorities, (e) assignment of specific uses to particular areas, or (f) listing of the limitations of each area. As a result the analytical procedure used here consisted of the steps outlined in Table 11.1.

The study area This study was limited to the Regional Municipality of Niagara (Figure 11.1). The western boundary is a purely political one, but the north, south and east limits are

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HFigure 11.1

Figure 11.2

Regional Municipality of Niagara.

Intrinsic (natural) features.

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the shorelines of Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and the Niagara River respectively. The municipal territory is of sufficient size (1,800 km2) and diversity (natural and cultural) to include examples of most, or parts of most, of the major features and phenomena associated with broader regional definitions of Niagara. And, as noted earlier, it not only includes one of the world's primary tourist attractions, Niagara Falls, but a large number of both major and minor recreational resources. In short, its size and resource base make this an ideal area in which to attempt a corridor-type study.

Intrinsic resources and environmental corridors The major types of intrinsic resources of significance to recreation were identical with those used in the Wisconsin study. Significant topographical features identified included the Niagara Escarpment, the Fonthill Kame, and the Short Hills (Figure 11.2). Major water features identified included the shorelines of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the Niagara and Welland rivers, the various major creeks extending from Lyons Creek in the southeastern section westward to Twenty Mile Creek, the Welland Canal and the hydro and domestic water diversions associated with the Canal. The ship and diversion canals are, admittedly, man-made and for some purposes might well be classed as extrinsic features. However, they have been in existence for over a century, they form such a permanent and significant element of the landscape and are linked so directly to the natural features of this region that for the purpose of this study they were considered as part of the intrinsic water environment. From an ecological standpoint three areas of wetlands are also significant in Niagara: the Willoughby, Humberstone and Wainfleet marshes. Except for the trees along the face of the Escarpment, there are no large or significant areas of forest, and it was decided to include the smaller stands of trees in the category of additional resources. Locations of each of the major features were easily identified from existing 1:50,000 NTS maps and their patterns were mapped on separate sheets of transparent plastic. Once the mapping of each of the major intrinsic resources was completed, the individual maps were overlaid and a map of the combined pattern was produced. Figure 11.3 is, in effect, the generalized pattern of Environmental Corridors for the Region.

Additional resources Additional resources considered include all the remaining natural "intrinsic" resources not included within the environmental corridor maps, plus all the man-made, or cultural, features of significance to recreation. A partial list of these resources, including the major categories they were compiled under, is given in Table 11.2. With the exception of the "fruitlands" (which include most of the agricultural land north of the

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Figure 11.3 Environmental corridors. Table 11.2 Categories of Additional Resources: A Partial List. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Old mills Old forts Historic buildings Historic sites Museums Overlooks, viewing points Outstanding buildings Racetracks Topographical resources Water resources

11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Conservation areas Amusement and theme parks Campgrounds Parks Canals Marinas Beaches Golf courses Vegetation resources Wetland resources

Source: after State of Wisconsin (1963). Escarpment) dot symbols were used to map and identify each of these "resources" because nearly all are individual or separated units. The use of dot symbols has the added advantages of clearly demonstrating the number and location of the extrinsic resources and permits rapid and simple visual comparison with the "corridor" map.

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Figure 11.4 Extrinsic resources. Information on additional resources was obtained from a variety of sources including past studies (the Philips Engineering and Gertler reports, and Parkway Consultants, 1968), publications of various provincial, municipal and regional agencies, private foundations and advertisements. That information was supplemented by papers and maps from student projects and the efforts of local citizens. As can be seen from Table 11.2, the information collected covered a wide range of types or classes of features. The locations for each type of feature were plotted on maps on a scale of 1:50,000 in order to provide sufficient separation for clear identification. These separate maps were then combined into one composite map to show the overall pattern of additional resources as illustrated in Figure 11.4.

Combined pattern ' At this stage of the inventory the two composite overlay maps of environmental corridors and additional resources are combined into one map. This is a relatively straightforward cartographic problem but it is an important conceptual step in the Lewis method. The resulting map not only portrays an overview of the total recreation

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Figure 11.5

309

Combined intrinsic and extrinsic resources.

resource base but it also provides the geographical web and data base for further analysis. A greatly reduced version of the resulting map is shown as Figure 11.5.

Assigning numerical values The last step in this inventory process was to assign numerical values to both the intrinsic and extrinsic (major and additional) resources located throughout the study area. Although examples are available from both the Wisconsin (Lewis) and the Delmarva (Belknap et al.) studies, it is clear that (a) the values assigned are relative, and (b) the process itself is more subjective than objective. In practice, the specific value assigned to an item or location depends largely on the local significance of the item and the value judgement and experience of the evaluator. However, this problem of trying to attach a quantitative value to attractions has long plagued researchers in the field of recreation, and since the goal of this part of the inventory process is to provide a relative ranking, the Lewis approach is as good as any other developed to date.

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An additional problem encountered in the Niagara Region arose from the attempt to adequately represent qualitative differences in the resources available. Clearly, the Falls and the associated Gorge of the Niagara River represent a resource of worldlevel significance. And there are few lock-canal systems that can match or surpass the spectacular nature of the Welland Canal at the Flight Locks (Locks 4,5 and 6), where it climbs the Escarpment in Thorold (Plate 11.3). Yet the majority of features inventoried fall within the lower to middle segments of any quality scale. This is analogous to a "geometric'7 or "logarithmic" progression of quality of attraction. In an attempt to deal with this situation a range of 1 to 50 (in contrast to Lewis' scale of 1 to 20) was used. The majority of the resources rated fell well within the range of 1 to 20, but the truly outstanding items, those that either draw, or have the potential to draw, large numbers of tourists, were assigned higher values that were more in keeping with their regional, provincial or international significance (e.g. Niagara Falls = 50, the Flight Locks = 35 and the Shaw Theatre = 30). When numerical values have been assigned to individual items, totals can be calculated for any areal unit desired. Local sites and areas can then be compared with one another and a regional ranking can be made. The top-ranked, currently developed, nodes with their numerical totals are shown in Figure 11.6.

Analysis of Results A major advantage of the Lewis method is that all of the information is displayed in map form. As a result, analysis can be based largely on visual comparison of the mapped data. The following discussion is, therefore, focused largely on Figure 11.3 that illustrates the pattern of Environmental Corridors, Figure 11.5 that shows the combined pattern of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Resources, and Figure 11.6 that indicates areas with the highest relative value.

Pattern of environmental corridors Perhaps the most obvious aspect of Figure 11.3 is not the existence of environmental corridors in the Niagara Region, but rather the striking grid-like arrangement of the pattern itself. To a large degree this reflects the very strong control of the geological structures and landforms of the Peninsula. The Niagara Escarpment and the less prominent Onandaga Escarpment are part of the Michigan basin. Their east-west orientation in this region provide the dominant topographical controls. Streams within the region either flow parallel to these formations (e.g. the Welland River and the upper reaches of Twenty Mile Creek) or they flow at right angles to the Escarpments, downslope to the lakes. For the most part the high, north-facing slope of the Niagara Escarpment is too steep to cultivate and is left as a band of mature forest. Although

Plate 11.3 Welland Canal Corridor, looking north down the Niagara Escarpment towards Lake Ontario. Lock 7 can be seen lower left, and the Flight Locks 4, 5 and 6 are centre. One of the two St. Catharines' General Motors Plants is middle right; and the remains of the Third Welland Canal can be seen lower right and north of the Plant. (Photo: Bogner Photography)

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Figure 11.6 Existing nodes of high value (value totals shown in brackets). not a continuous band or corridor, the location and pattern of the Humberstone and Wainfleet marshes are related directly to the lower north-facing front of the Onondaga formation. Even the location of such topographical features as the Fonthill Kame, the Short Hills and the St. David's Gorge fall within this grid pattern. So too do the gentle slopes above and below the Niagara Escarpment and the patterns of heavy clay and light sandy soils. These in turn provide the pattern of natural, intrinsic resources for recreational activities. The high, sharp north face of the Niagara Escarpment provides outstanding vistas of the Lake Ontario Plain and its associated agricultural landscape, and the steep slopes and vegetation provide sanctuaries for wildlife. In this region the upper lip of the Escarpment is the southern anchor of the Bruce Trail (a hiking trail that extends from Queenston to Tobermory). The vistas are so impressive that a proposal was made to develop a scenic Escarpment drive from Hamilton to Queenston (Parkway Consultants, 1968). The lakes and streams of the Region provide the basis for boating, swimming, fishing and other water-associated recreational activities. Indeed, the scenic Niagara Parks Drive along the Niagara River, with its hiking and bicycling

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path adjacent to the road, is one of the outstanding recreational corridor developments in the Province. Another outstanding (though controversial) land/water corridor is the continuous band of cottages and resort developments along the Lake Erie shore. The wetlands and the marshes of Wainfleet and Humberstone are renowned for their abundance of plants, birds and animals and attract large numbers of naturalists. The map also indicates corridors that have yet to be developed or where the full potential has not yet been realised. Waterways such as the Welland River, the current and past routes of the Welland Canal, Twenty Mile Creek, the Beaver Dams/Hydro/Waterworks/Twelve Mile Creek complex, as well as smaller features such as Fifteen and Sixteen Mile Creeks, indicate locations with the potential for future large-scale recreational development or use.

The nodes If the corridors provide the basic linear pattern of attractions, then one can justifiably assume that a concentration or greater variety of resources should occur at the nodes, the places where these corridors intersect. In the case of the Niagara Region some of these intersections are of major significance. The outstanding example is of course Niagara Falls and its associated cataract, the "node" formed by the intersection of the Niagara River and the Escarpment. Less notable, but locally significant, waterfalls occur where other streams and creeks cross the Escarpment, such as those at Rockway Falls and Balls Falls (Plate 11.4); and the Flight Locks were built at the intersection of the Welland Canal and the Niagara Escarpment. It is almost axiomatic to state that every land/water and water/water intersect shown has provided the raison d'etre for historic settlements (Niagara-on-the Lake, Queenston, Chippawa and Jordan), old forts (Fort Erie and Fort George), harbours and marinas (Grimsby, Jordan, Port Dalhousie and Port Weller). The recreational significance of the pattern of corridors and nodes is even more apparent when one looks at the map of the combined pattern of intrinsic and man-made features (Figure 11.5). Of the more than 160 extrinsic features or sites inventoried, 85 percent fall within the environmental corridors. Sites significant enough to map, but not within the corridors, are largely woodlots (environmentally sensitive areas), golf courses, or camp grounds such as those on the "motel strip" of Highway 20 (Lundy's Lane) in Niagara Falls. Furthermore, the concentrations of dots at some of the nodes add support to Lewis' hypothesis that it is the nodes that generally provide the focus for additional development. This is evident when one considers the sheer abundance of sites in the vicinity of Niagara Falls. Within a ten kilometre stretch of the river between Chippawa and Queenston, there are over 20 major sites and features. Other centres such as Niagaraon-the-Lake, Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Port Dalhousie and Jordan Harbour also serve to

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Plate 11.4. Rockway Falls in Lincoln where Fifteen Mile Creek crosses the Niagara Escarpment. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

illustrate the point. They each draw large numbers of visitors, in part because of their location and the intrinsic resources available, but also because of the variety of manmade recreational attractions that range from historic sites and buildings to theatres, marinas, souvenir and gift shops, restaurants, a race track, boat trips, cable car, golf courses and organized events such as fish derbies, international cultural celebrations, and parades. Indeed, as Stansfield and Rickert (1970) have pointed out, it is often the cultural, commercial or carnival-like aspects associated with the intrinsic resources that provide the major attraction for a significant percentage of tourists, rather than the natural endowment. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake. In both places there are often as many people on the streets and in the shops as those viewing the Falls or in the theatres. And, despite a limited racing season, at Fort Erie the crowds at the track and the restaurants far outnumber those at the Fort or at the park facilities.

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The role of point values in rating attractions The process of assigning numerical values to attractions has two distinct advantages for this Region. First, the value totals, combined with the number of attractions, clearly demonstrate the dominant role of Niagara Falls as a recreational centre or node. With a value of 405 points the 8 km by 1 km strip between the Whirlpool and the mouth of the Welland River at Chippawa has twice the attractive power of its next nearest rival, Niagara-on-the-Lake. If one extends that same strip another 6 km north to include the Parkway golf course, the School of Horticulture grounds, the huge hydro-electric power complex on both sides of the river and Queenston Heights park, then the pull within the region of the Niagara Falls node becomes overwhelming in a regional context. It is, therefore, clear why this segment is so congested during the height of the tourist season. One can also appreciate the dilemma facing planners and managers who are trying to deal with the problem. With such an outstanding array of attractions in so limited an area it is difficult to entice, redirect or attract some of the visitors to On a more limited scale, the effect of the pull of a major provincial and national attraction can also be seen in the case of Niagara-on-the-Lake. One might argue that in the post-World War n era it would be only a matter of time before the quaintness and historic significance of one of the old capitals of Upper Canada would have attracted large numbers of visitors, simply because of overflow from the Niagara Falls section (Plate 11.5). However, the decision to locate the Shaw Theatre in this town has clearly played a major role in making it an outstanding tourist centre. That, and associated facilities of the Court House and Royal George theatres, plus the gift shops, boutiques, hotels and restaurants that originally opened to serve the theatre patrons, have in fact served to attract a much wider clientele. Congestion here during the height of the theatre and tourist season is second only to that at Niagara Falls; and the crowds, vehicular traffic and parking have become a contentious issue between those who chose the "Old Town" as a residential centre and those who wish to develop even further the tourist potential. The town's current attraction and the associated congestion can be explained, at least in part, if one sums individual values assigned to the various facilities. The total of 200 points for the town (50 more than the next ranked site) is very high in the regional context. Further, the impact of such a high value is amplified or intensified because the attractions in this segment are concentrated in an area of less than three km2. Space does not permit a node-by-node comparison, but it is clear that within the Niagara Region the combination of number, variety and quality of the attractions correlates closely, though not perfectly, with the recreational pulling power or attraction of a particular location. And, if one considers the regional ranking of the Niagara Falls section (with its world-renowned Falls) and Niagara-on-the-Lake (with its internationally recognized theatre), it is tempting to speculate that, in an assessment of an area's

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Plate 11.5 Upper Canada Parliament Building, Niagara-on-the-Lake. The 1792 building now houses the Court House Theatre of the Shaw Festival and acts as a Town Hall. (Photo: Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Recreation)

ability to attract recreationists or tourists, the element of quality may be as significant as number and variety. The obvious local exception to this statement is the segment of the Welland Canal at Locks 4, 5 and 6, known as the Flight Locks (Plate 11.3; Figure 11.2). With a total lift of 42.5 m (only 11 m less than the drop of 53.6 m at Niagara Falls) this set of three twinned locks, capable of carrying ships up to 222.5 m long, 23 m wide and drawing up to 7.9 m (Jackson and Addis, 1982), rivals any modern canal engineering project in the world. Yet the recreational/tourist facilities there can best be described as modest. Thus far the developed tourist facilities consist only of the recently constructed St. Catharines Historical Museum, a relatively small parking and viewing area (owned by the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority), both at Lock 3 almost a kilometre to the north, and one motel built opposite Lock 7 a kilometre to the south. Despite the outstanding nature of the attraction, daily attendance at the height of the tourist season would probably be numbered in the hundreds, whereas daily high season attendance at Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Falls would more likely be in the thousands and tens of thousands respectively. Thus, high quality or uniqueness alone does not provide the pull to make a site highly attractive to a large number of people.

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Figure 11.7

317

Five special corridors (potential values shown in brackets).

The role of point values in assessing potential The example of the Flight Locks does, however, illustrate clearly the second major advantage of attempting a numerical assessment. By assigning a value to each of the resources inventoried one can not only suggest why some areas attract more people, but the numbers can be used to rank or evaluate the relative potential or uniqueness of an area, node or site. On that basis at least five sets of corridors, shown in Figure 11.7, indicate a potential for recreation far beyond their current level of use. These include 1) the Balls Falls-Jordan Harbour segment of Twenty Mile Creek, 2) the Rockway-Fifteen Mile Pond (including the Sixteen Mile Pond) area, 3) the Twelve Mile Creek corridor from Fonthill to Port Dalhousie, 4) the Beaver Dams-Lake Moodie corridor, and 5) the Welland Canal corridor from Port Colborne to Port Weller, including existing segments of the historic First, Second and Third Canals, as well as the canal cut-off through the City of Welland. Some development has taken place along all or parts of these corridors. In the case of Twenty Mile Creek the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) has

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reconstructed several historic buildings and features and maintains a camp ground, picnic sites and walking paths at the Balls Falls node. Five kilometres to the north at the Jordan Harbour-Lake Ontario node there are boat ramps, marinas, a motel/restaurant and amusement park complex. Between these two nodes there is a string of attractive sites, both natural and cultural, along the waterway. They include a deep gorge, an extensive marsh, a flea market, a camp ground, a bird sanctuary and the historic villages of Jordan and Jordan Station. Apart from the motel and marina development along the Lake Ontario shore, few of these attractions are known to, or used by, people outside the Region. Even among local residents the majority of use occurs on weekends or in conjunction with the St. Catharines Standard Fishing Derby and special events such as the Jordan Winter Carnival and the spring and fall craft exhibits. With a total point value of 153, however, this segment has the quality, number and variety of resources to potentially attract much larger numbers of people and on a more sustained basis, at least on a regional scale. Some indication of this potential can be gained from the Philips Planning and Engineering study where it describes in considerable detail conceptual plans for several parts of the Niagara Escarpment Corridor (Philips Planning and Engineering, 1972,7-1,7-49). Resources and attractions of the Rockway-Fifteen Mile Pond corridor and the associated corridor of Sixteen Mile Creek and Pond are less impressive in both number and quality. The flow in Fifteen Mile Creek is much less that in Twenty Mile Creek, and although the difference in elevation is similar, the narrow "marestail" waterfall at Rockway is much less impressive than the "horseshoe" at Balls Falls. The falls created where Sixteen Mile Creek intersects the face of the Escarpment is small and stepped and, except during periods of very high flow, it is the least attractive of the three sites. There is only one gorge of significance, that associated with the base of Rockway Falls, and it is managed by the NPCA. Both Fifteen and Sixteen Mile creeks have narrow, steep-sided, flat-floored valleys that offer sanctuary to birds, aquatic animals and fish and in the local context offer a reasonably attractive setting. At the Lake Ontario shore the mouths of the creeks are within a few hundred metres of one another and the area is developed as a park (Charles Daley Park) that is accessed from the north service road of the Queen Elizabeth Highway. The valley floor at the upper end of Sixteen Mile Creek where it crosses Regional Road 81 is used as a campground and trailer park (Big Valley). In all cases, however, the operative phrase is "within the local context". This is borne out by the total of points awarded for all features in both corridors. At a relatively low 96 points, this pair of corridors ranks far below that of the Twenty (Balls Falls and Jordan Harbour) where the features described are significant (total value of 153) at the Regional level. The Twelve Mile Creek corridor that runs from the Fonthill Kame to Port Dalhousie represents an interesting array of nodes including unique land, water, and historical features all strung together along the Creek. At the southern end, Fonthill itself and the adjacent Short Hills constitute an elongated node containing two of the more

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Plate 11.6 Twelve Mile Creek and Martindale Pond, Port Dalhousie. The Henley Regatta course can be seen in the right background, and a lock on the disused Third Welland Canal in the left background. (Photo: H.J. Gayler)

unique topographical features in the region. From the base of the Kame Twelve Mile Creek flows northward, linking with tributaries from DeCew Falls, the hydro diversion at Power Glen and the remains of the First and Second Welland Canals in central St. Catharines, and finally empties into Lake Ontario at the node created by Port Dalhousie, Lakeside Park and Martindale Pond (Plate 11.6). The combined point value of features along this corridor was 230. Although that total gives this corridor a relative value between those for Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls, its ability to attract people is much lower than that of the other two. This difference in attracting power can be explained in part by the fact that the points of interest along Twelve Mile Creek are spread over a corridor 20 km long and are not as concentrated as at the other two locations. Also, despite the fact that the Henley rowing facilities at Martindale Pond are known worldwide, and the beach-marina-restaurant developments at Port Dalhousie are drawing greater attention regionally and provincially, the quality of the individual attractions for the general public is much lower than at Niagara Falls or Niagaraon-the-Lake. The values do, however, suggest that the potential for attracting larger numbers of people is high and a change in public perception and awareness, or future development(s), could result in much greater recreational use in the future. Indeed, proposals for future development are already causing concern for many residents of Port Dalhousie, who fear that the "small town" nature of the area will be changed in much the same way as it has been at Niagara-on-the-Lake.

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The string of small lakes, ponds, marshes, turning basins and waterways that make up the Beaver Dams-DeCew corridor, is the shortest (less than 10 km) of the five corridors selected for special mention. With only a golf course at the eastern end, the site of the DeCew House, the small park associated with the Regional water filtration plant and the old Morningstar Mill at the west end, it has the fewest developed recreational sites and the least use. Part of the reason for this limited use and development is the fact that access between the eastern and western ends is severely limited by the Welland Canal and associated industrial development. On the western side of the canal access and use is currently restricted by Ontario Hydro and the Regional Niagara water filtration plant. Both agencies are reluctant to permit unsupervised public use of their reservoirs and, in particular, Ontario Hydro is concerned about the risks associated with unscheduled fluctuations in flow and level of the reservoirs that feed the DeCew Power Plant. Despite these limitations, the resources, with a total current value of over 60 points, and the locational situation offer considerable potential. Few urban areas have as much water so close to a large residential development with such easy access from local roads. The factors, such as the ship canal, industrial developments and water and power facilities, that have been regarded as restrictive by some, could be managed in such a way as to become part of the corridor's attractions. A conceptual plan for recreational use of the section west of the Welland Canal was suggested by Philips Planning and Engineering in 1972. The section east of the canal is very close to the old Third Canal route and Flight Locks and could be linked with those attractions. In addition, the City of Thorold has recently agreed to designate 30 acres of land in the corridor for a passive park. If some of these proposed developments were to be implemented, this corridor could take on an entirely different appearance and become a more significant attraction, at least at the local and, possibly, at the regional level (Welland Canals Society, 1989,1990). The best known of the five corridors mentioned above is the Welland Canal. If one includes the original routes of the First and Second Canals from Thorold to Port Dalhousie and the cut-off through Welland, and adds the branch distances to the route of the current (Fourth) Canal from Port Colborne to Port Weller (42 km), the total length involved exceeds 70 km. Within this set of routes the range of cultural, historical, architectural and engineering attractions is impressive and their total point values exceed 375, making the corridor second only to Niagara Falls. Most of the active attractions are at nodes such as Lock 3, the Flight Locks, the Henley Course at Martindale Pond, and marinas at Port Colborne and Port Dalhousie. In addition, through the efforts of private citizen groups (in particular the Welland Canals Society, the Welland Canals Foundation and various historical societies) and the Regional Niagara Tourist Council, attempts have been made to develop and promote hiking and bicycling routes as well as automobile drives along parts of the corridor. The most comprehensive study to date on the recreational potential of this corridor (or set of canals) was the Welland Canals Corridor Development Guide of 1988, prepared

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for the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The study suggests that the current and future attractions would be sufficient to warrant the expenditure of between 18 and 20 million dollars over 15 years, and, if developed in conjunction with other resources in the Region, the resultant corridor(s) could become a tourism resource of national significance (Regional Municipality of Niagara, 1988,3-60,3-76).

Linkages The application of the "corridor approach" not only displays attractions and opportunities in a series of separate corridors and nodes, but also clearly identifies the linkages between them. This latter aspect is important for people who may want to sample a variety of attractions in one outing or round trip. By looking at the combined map it is possible to select one or more circuits or loops of different size, depending on the type and scale of attractions desired, the time available and the costs involved, including distance, food and accommodation. Similar criteria and benefits can be taken into account by planners and decision-makers who may want to develop, to link or to protect certain of the recreational resources in one locale. In the case of the Niagara Region the area is served by such a dense network of highways and roads that public access by automobile to most attractions, or places close to them, is not a major problem. The exceptions appear to be the hydro-electric installations at DeCew, parts of the Welland Canal system and the shorelines of both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Limited attempts to construct or identify walking and cycling routes or to mark auto routes have been made by various groups and agencies and some have published brochures or maps. But few of these maps and brochures display connecting links with other corridors or routeways; and for those not intimately familiar with the area, it is not, at the current level of development, an easy matter to return to the start of one's walking, cycling or driving outing without retracing part or all of a route. Here again, however, with corridors and linkages so well displayed, the Lewis method can be used as a technique to identify linkages, circuits or loops for a variety of purposes or users.

Conclusion The grid-like pattern of environmental corridors found within the Niagara Region is not simply a part of the recreation resources of the area, it is the basic framework within which most of the features outside the corridors are located. By applying the Lewis inventory methodology it has been possible to demonstrate that at least 85 percent of the individual recreational attractions, both natural and man-made, occur within the pattern of topographical and hydrographic corridors in the Region. Although one or more sites of interest may occur at any point along these corridors, the

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greatest number of higher quality attractions tend to be concentrated at the nodes or intersections. Commercial and cultural developments associated with recreation and tourism are also concentrated at these nodes. Nevertheless, analysis of the results also makes it clear that quality of the resource(s) available, as indicated by the point values and totals, is in itself not necessarily sufficient to attract large numbers of people. Other factors such as ease of access, degree of concentration or density of features, public knowledge of the resource(s), and associated commercial and administrative infrastructure to serve the people and cater to their needs, are also important. A major advantage of the Lewis approach is that it not only shows the pattern of environmental corridors and locations of individual attractions, but that by assigning point values it provides both a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the natural, cultural, historical and technological resources available. The insights, knowledge and advantages provided by this type of approach are numerous. Initially, it provides a comprehensive overview of the way in which the resources are related and integrated spatially. For planners and managers, this type of knowledge can be used in planning and/or designating new or better recreational route ways and in resolving the problem of reducing congestion at certain nodes by directing or dispersing the tourists to other nearby, but still accessible, attractions. Because the method provides a relative ranking of sites and areas, the results can be used by decision-makers to designate areas and resources that (a) may need protection, or (b) that may be suitable for development. For tourists and local people alike, knowledge of the type, quality and location of attractions available enables them to choose the type of activity, location, and route that best suits their interests and circumstances. Finally, and more importantly, it clearly demonstrates the need for planners and administrators to recognize, develop and manage the recreational resources of this Region as an integrated system of sites, features and nodes linked by a series of natural and man-made corridors, rather than as individual or isolated, and at times competing, sets of attractions.

Acknowledgments The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of Kim Frohlich, who not only compiled much of the inventory data but also produced an outstanding series of manuscript maps and the coloured plastic overlays so essential for this analysis. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Loris Gasparotto for his advice on cartographic problems at all stages in the inventory process.

Note 1 The latter study has the added advantage of clear and concise graphic and tabular representation of the key elements of the Lewis approach.

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References Belknap, R.K., Furtado, J.G., Forster, R.R. and Blossom, H.D. 1967. Three Approaches To Environmental Resource Analysis. Washington D.C.: The Conservation Foundation. Brady, R. 1980. Regional Municipality of Niagara: Environmentally Sensitive Areas. St. Catharines, Ontario: Brock University, Department of Geography. Gertler, L.0.1968. The Niagara Escarpment Study. Toronto: Ontario Department of Treasury and Economics. Jackson, J.N. and Addis, F.A. 1982. The Welland Canals—A Comprehensive Guide. St. Catharines, Ontario: The Welland Canals Foundation. Parkway Consultants. 1968. Niagara Escarpment Scenic Drive Feasibility Study. Tri-County Committee, Hamilton. Philips Planning and Engineering Ltd. 1972. Potential Recreation Areas and Fragile Biological Sites—Inventory and Recommendations. Official Plan Study, Report No. 11. Prepared for the Regional Municipality of Niagara, St. Catharines. Regional Municipality of Niagara. 1984. Tourism in the Niagara Region Report No. 3—Some Tourist Attractions—Present and Possible. Thorold, Ontario. . 1988. Welland Canals Corridor Development Guide. Thorold, Ontario. Stansfield, C.A. and Rickert, J.E. 1970. The Recreational Business District. Journal of Leisure Research 4:213-225. State of Wisconsin. 1963. Recreation in Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Department of Resource Development. Welland Canals Society. 1989. Explore the Welland Canals. St. Catharines. . 1990. TheMerritt Trail. St. Catharines.

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The Progress of Local Democracy in Niagara: The Evolution of Regional Government Bruce Krushelnicki The Niagara area enjoys a system of local government which, although controversial at times, is uniquely the result of a process of evolution and governmental reform. The Regional Municipality of Niagara is a two-tier municipal system styled in the manner of a federation. It attempts to marry the intimacy of a small-scale, local municipality with a larger, upper level of government endowed with powers to provide a commonly organized system of services and regulation over a relatively large geographical area. At both levels, accountability to the public is maintained through an electoral system involving directly elected officials who are engaged in deciding local matters within a framework established by provincial legislation. Municipalities in Canada, both local and regional, are creatures of the provinces in which they are located. Their very existence, as well as their powers and procedures, derive from a provincial statute; they have no innate or sovereign authority under the Canadian constitution.1 The work they do is therefore constrained by the limits placed on them by the provincial authority. Yet the fact that there exists a direct electoral relationship between local residents and municipal politicians means that local government operates with a wide degree of latitude and can occasionally test the boundaries of its prescribed authority. The aim of this chapter is to chart the development of municipal government in Ontario from its beginnings in the nineteenth-century colonial period to the modern era. Special attention will be paid to the post-World War II period, notably the 1960s and 1970s in the Niagara area, in which a significant reorganization of government led to the establishment of a regional form of administration. The last part of the chapter covers the recent history of the Niagara Region and speculates about the future of regional government. 325

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The Early Years of Local Government in Ontario: The Development of the Baldwin Act The development of local government in Niagara is closely related to the history and purpose of local government as it has evolved elsewhere in the Western World. Empires and nation states have emerged more or less as the result of broad processes of history and geopolitics. Modern local governments, on the other hand, have been the result of intentional design by senior governments, combined with processes of popular reform and local struggle. The association of 'top-down' paternalistic creation with grassroots local pressure has resulted in some conflicts between what are legitimately or popularly understood to be the main aims of municipal government (Higgins, 1990; Tindal and Tindal, 1990). From the point of view of senior governments, the most frequently cited reason for local government is, firstly, to provide a decentralized administrative (and political) structure through which provincial, and to a lesser extent national, policies and programs can be implemented and paid for locally. By this reasoning decisions of a primarily local nature, having to do with, for instance, property regulation and property-related services, are believed to be best decided and paid for in part by those who are most affected, namely local residents. This system still allows the provinces to maintain overall minimum standards and to provide financial assistance to municipalities whose main source of revenue is the property tax. In its most severe forms, this philosophy makes municipalities mere branch offices of the provincial administration. On the other side of the coin, the benefit to the senior level of government of the devolution of some power is that it can also transfer the responsibility for some of the cost of local improvements to the local ratepayers. A second purpose of local government is to provide a forum for local, grassroots democracy. This was a frequent argument of reformers who often equated "local autonomy" with democratic progress (Higgins, 1990). Historically, reformers advocated both national independence from colonial powers as well as a degree of local independence from emerging national and provincial structures. Related to this purpose is the notion that local government can be seen as a democratic training ground for elected personnel and a way in which participatory democracy can be promoted near to where citizens live. Progressive thinkers often cite the example of the New England townhall meeting as the ideal of local self-government and accept the role of representative-style local democracies as a compromise between the town meeting and the more remote legislatures of the provincial and national capitals. Both these lines of reasoning were important in the early establishment of local government in Ontario in the nineteenth century and its later evolution (Crawford, 1954; Higgins, 1990). At first the colonial governors resisted the establishment of any kind of responsible government or local autonomy. A system of local administration

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was established called the Courts of Quarter Session. This consisted of appointed officials with the authority to decide both judicial and administrative matters. It met the initial, rudimentary need for local government, but those who were interested in greater decentralization and responsibility by locally elected people remained essentially unsatisfied. There were experiments with individual municipal charters for a small number of municipal or parish governments, and with the creation of functionally specific bodies such as local school boards and police commissions. On the whole, any overall system of local government was rejected; the colonial rulers feared both the loss of authority over colonial matters as well as the prospect that increased local autonomy would invariably lead, as it was believed to have done in the colonies to the south, to calls for independence and republican reforms. By the 1830s events were overwhelming the forces of opposition. A financial crisis and a rebellion weakened the hands of the colonial powers. The area that is now Southern Ontario had, by and large, become settled and there was a growing need in the agricultural sector for an improved road system to carry its produce to markets. Pressure from this source, coupled with the demands of the rapidly expanding industrial and trade centres that sprang up after the pacification of the Great Lakes trade routes, forced the hand of the colonial powers. The Courts of Quarter Session simply could not cope with growing urban problems. Following the rebellion of 1837 Lord Durham was sent to review the situation in the Canadas. His report "emphasized the vital importance of establishing a good system of municipal institutions in the provinces" (Crawford, 1954, 28). In 1841 the District Councils Act was passed despite opposition from conservatives who felt it granted too much power to the localities and from reformers who felt it "imposed checks on that power" (Crawford, 1954, 29). Unfortunately, the Act failed to overcome the problems it was designed to solve. A much more satisfactory resolution of the question of local government came in the form of the Baldwin Act, the Municipal Corporations Act of 1849,2 named after the reformer Robert Baldwin. It established a comprehensive system of municipal corporations for both rural and urban areas, with locally elected municipal councils which would be accountable "in matters of policy to their electors and in matters of law to the courts." Baldwin imposed on them a "minimum of parliamentary or executive control" (Crawford, 1954,32). The effect of the Act was to create a durable and much copied system of municipal institutions.

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A Century of Municipal Government in Ontario, 1850-1950 The Baldwin Act created two broad categories of municipal government. The first provided comprehensive coverage of rural areas by counties, which were based roughly on the previously formed districts, and each of which consisted of a small number of townships. A two-tier system of government and administration came into existence. Residents of each of the townships elected a small council, as well as a reeve who headed the council and a deputy reeve. The county council consisted of the reeves and deputy reeves of the townships and was led by a warden chosen by county councillors from within their own ranks. County councils proved to be the weaker level since townships collected the taxes and were regarded as the main forum for local concerns. Yet, counties remained visible as providers of essential rural services such as the county road system. In later years their role in providing social services such as welfare increased their importance but severely taxed their modest resources. Urban areas were separated physically from the county and township system and were given their own form of government. Those which had previously been chartered or which achieved a minimum population of 15,000 within their boundaries were eligible for city status. Lesser concentrations were called separated towns, villages and police villages, each carefully distinguished within the Municipal Act. City and town government consisted of a council composed of aldermen elected by wards or at large, and a mayor (sometimes a reeve in towns) who acted as the head of council and chief executive officer. The role of the head of council, whether city mayor, county warden or township reeve, has been characterized as a "weak mayor model" (Higgins, 1990,128-130). The expression refers to the fact that the mayor, although possessing titular and electoral distinction, has only one vote on council which is not often exercised. The main official roles of the head of council are those of chair of council and ceremonial head of the municipality. In Ontario municipalities, the weak mayor system leads to council acting in both legislative and executive capacities. While there has been only a small amount of tinkering with this basic municipal structure between 1850 and 1950, there have been considerable changes in local politics and in the range of powers exercised by local government. In political and electoral terms the main changes have been the extension of the franchise and the consequent broadening of the eligibility for office. The removal of property requirements and gender restrictions, and ultimately the extension of voting rights to virtually all adults, have significantly altered the nature of municipal elections and have changed the make-up of councils from an elite male property-owning class to the somewhat more varied assemblies of today.

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Concurrently with electoral reforms there has been a steady increase in the range of powers exercised by municipalities, beginning in their very early days. Initially the powers, especially those of the rural municipalities, were limited to such immediate needs as roads, bridges and police. Although education has traditionally also been an important local concern, local authority in this area has been given to elected school boards, empowered to make use of the municipal power to tax property and yet to act relatively autonomously. Over the hundred-year period municipal governments came to occupy a significant position in the growth of the welfare state and in the general twentieth-century trend of increased regulation. For instance, as social services, such as welfare, child care and care of the elderly, moved from the private charitable sector to the governmental sphere, counties and larger cities became very active players as administrators, partial funders and partners in policy-making for these services. Similarly, as land use and building regulations developed in the early part of the century, municipalities became the main agency for their formulation and implementation. By 1946 the Ontario Planning Act3 provided local governments with extensive powers to zone, to regulate the subdivision of land, and generally to oversee the development and redevelopment of cities and towns. Today the traditional powers of local government continue to be reflected in expenditure priorities. In Niagara, transportation and environmental services (water and sewers) account for about 25 percent and 19 percent of all municipal expenditures respectively; policing represents a further 18 percent (Niagara Region Review Commission, 1989, 69). Of the more recent services, health, social services and recreation account for a total of about 27 percent. The relatively small expenditures on planning (2.6 percent) and general government (8.9 percent) do not reflect the much greater importance they have acquired because of local government's growing regulatory function. From the standpoint of local government effort, its role in overseeing the behaviour of residents and landowners has become vastly more important than in the early days of relatively non-intrusive activity. Despite these trends, the structure and function of municipal government has remained essentially the same. The basic Municipal Act, the general charter for Ontario's local governments, has frequently been amended and has spun off numerous other statutes providing for local government powers in the areas of planning, water management and transportation. Although the overall framework of local government endured successfully, it became clear to many in the post-World War II period that some fundamental alteration would be needed in the system to accommodate the rapid changes that were imminent. The century-old municipal structure was simply not designed to meet the challenge of a new era of prosperity, rapid urban development and technology; consequently, proposals were made for a restructuring of local government.

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Figure 12.1

County and municipal boundaries before 1970.

The Transition to Regional Government in Ontario, 1950-70 The Regional Municipality of Niagara, which was established by provincial statute on January 1,1970,4 comprises the area which had formerly included the counties of Lincoln and Welland. The Act creating the Niagara Region dismantled the existing municipal structure by effectively wiping out the existing counties, cities, towns, villages and townships and replacing them with a single region and twelve area municipalities (Figures 12.1-12.2). The model that was adopted can loosely be called a two-tier federation in which municipal powers are divided and granted to the local councils and region. Although Ottawa-Carleton (in 1969) and Niagara were the first to adopt the regional system, the initial experiment with government re-organization took place in the Toronto area shortly after the Second World War. There, the new structure was called a metropolitan government and it arose as a result of the rapid growth that was taking place in Toronto and its suburban municipalities. The economic boom of the post-war period, coupled with the vastly increased mobility of families due to the "democratization" of the automobile, led many to seek

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Figure 12.2

331

Niagara Region and municipal boundaries after 1970.

residences on the urban fringe. Outside the main urban areas, in what were essentially rural townships, developers offered suburban-type neighbourhoods boasting open space and fresh air as well as lower land costs and taxes. Lower taxes were often the result of substantially lower levels of urban services. For a while many pioneer suburbanites tolerated this situation, but with time it became apparent that a wider range of services would have to be provided and planned for in advance. Urban sprawl along arterial roads, leap-frog development and emerging environmental problems, such as ground water contamination from poor septic systems, began to strain transportation and sewer systems. As well, the large numbers of young families represented a need for vastly improved parks, recreational and education systems. Rural towns and townships, although very willing to accept suburban growth and assessment, were ill-suited financially and in terms of expertise to provide for the spillover from the cities. More accustomed to providing basic government services to farmers and a very small number of residents, these local municipalities and their councils were simply overwhelmed by the rapid changes taking place. In the Toronto area, and in many other urban areas of Ontario, problems of urban spillover were accommodated by what proved to be stopgap measures. In some areas contractual arrangements were made between urban centres and nearby suburbs for water and sewer extensions. For other needs, joint road planning was attempted to

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overcome growing problems of automobile congestion. However, in many instances urban areas incrementally annexed major portions of adjacent townships, and outright amalgamations occurred which simply expanded city boundaries so as to consume adjacent growth areas. The process by which such solutions were implemented was rarely amicable. Small towns and townships were swallowed up by large cities and the counties were forced to yield on significant areas of taxable lands. It became apparent that the postwar process of suburbanization had made the urban/rural distinction, which had been central to the success of the Baldwin Act, irrelevant. In Toronto, the provincial government commissioned a report, produced by Dr. Lome Gumming, which recommended the establishment of a two-tier metropolitan federation for the Greater Toronto Area. A year later, 1954, the province created the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, in which municipal powers were divided between area municipalities called boroughs and the metro government. The rationale for allocating services was simply that those services least effectively provided by a fragmented structure—roads, sewers, water and transit, for example—were given to metro, while the local municipalities were granted responsibility for services traditionally considered to be community- or neighbourhood-oriented, such as garbage collection, local streets, sidewalks and parks. Planning presented a special challenge since it encompassed both local and metrowide concerns. Both levels were granted powers to plan; the boroughs dealt with local planning matters at the neighbourhood or site-specific level, while metro dealt with broader questions of overall growth strategy and allied questions of transportation and servicing. The Metro Toronto experiment was widely regarded as a success in local government restructuring and was studied by many other jurisdictions as a possible model. In Ontario the provincial government, in the mid-1960s, began a process of applying more generally the idea of large federated municipalities elsewhere in the province. Reviews of local government were begun in the Ottawa, Niagara, Hamilton, Waterloo, Halton-Peel, Brantford and London areas. Although similar terms of reference were established for each, the reviews were conducted independently and arrived at a variety of recommended processes.

The Early Years of Controversy in Niagara The transition to regional government in Niagara, indeed the entire provincial program of local government reorganization, proved to be very controversial. By the time of its establishment in 1970, the Region had made some bitter opponents and had earned the enmity of a significant sector of the local population and of some of its own representatives. Arguments against the establishment of the Region fall into at least two general categories. The first is simply that it does not work, or at least that it works no better

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than the system that exists. The consequence is that it involves increased centralization, duplication of services and bureaucratization. These substantive criticisms formed the basis for early attempts to prevent or postpone the creation of regional government, and later to dismantle it. Two major reviews of Niagara Region government eventually attempted to deal with these questions, as will be seen. The second type of argument is that regional government is a paternalistic imposition by the Province on an innocent and unsuspecting locality. This argument is interesting since it certainly provides fuel for those arguing the first cause, but more particularly because a detailed review of the history of the Region demonstrates that local initiative was in fact a significant determinant of the eventual adoption of the regional model. In dealing with this question, Jones (1972) identifies three distinct phases in the creation of the Region, based on the degree to which the progress towards reform was based on local initiative or provincial imposition.

1962-65 In the first phase, local municipal officials identified significant problems with the existing form of local government. Among the main concerns was the need for better overall planning of services and land use to prevent the loss of agricultural areas through strip development and poor planning. Furthermore, it was difficult for rural townships to accommodate rapid growth. In this early phase there was almost unanimous agreement that some form of regional planning was required. A second major concern was the continuing process of annexation and amalgamation. As the only method available to solve the problem of urban expansion beyond the city limits, it proved to be a messy and wholly unsatisfactory tool. This problem came to a head in both Welland and Lincoln counties. In 1958 the City of Niagara Falls, the Township of Stamford and the Village of Chippawa studied a proposed merger in order to resolve the problems of rapid urbanization (Jones, 1972,12). In 1962, when Niagara Falls and Stamford Township actually amalgamated, Welland County lost nearly 24 percent of its assessment and tax revenue. This loss prompted the majority of Welland County Council to resolve that a comprehensive study was needed to look into local government reorganization. Thorold Township Reeve Mel Swart, who had been "organizing support for a full scale study" (Jones, 1972, 15) for some time, approached his counterparts in Lincoln County and the Cities of Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland to join Welland County officials in considering a peninsula-wide overhaul. Lincoln County and the other municipalities were slow to endorse the idea until similar events occurred on the north side of the Peninsula. Rapid expansion of the City of St. Catharines had led to a proposal to merge with Grantham Township and the Towns of Port Dalhousie and Merritton. In 1960 the Ontario Municipal Board

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allowed the St. Catharines expansion, which gave rise to considerable acrimony. Studies undertaken at the time by prominent consultants concluded that some kind of reform was needed, at the very least an enhanced county-wide restructuring or possibly even a merger and reorganization of the two Counties of Welland and Lincoln into one metropolitan or regional government (Jones, 1972,15-17). In 1963 the two Counties and three Cities agreed that a study of the local government of the area was warranted. The Niagara Peninsula Committee on Urban and Regional Research (NPCURR) was formed consisting of representatives of the two Counties, the three Cities, the Niagara Regional Development Association and a representative of the provincial Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA). As Jones points out (1972,24), the DMA official played a very minor role, simply overseeing the process and keeping the province informed of local activities. This reinforces Jones' thesis that local initiative was the fuel that impelled early events in the process. In 1964 the NPCURR received a grant from the Canadian Committee on Urban and Regional Research and hired political scientist Dr. Henry Mayo to undertake a study to "find out the problems, present and emerging, which are involved in governing the region and to recommend what further studies are needed" (Jones, 1972,23). The preliminary study produced by Mayo for the local Committee was in three parts. Part one argued for greater centralization of assessment, police protection, fire, roads, welfare, libraries and, of course, planning. It recommended further study of these and concluded that it was logical also to include physical services such as water and sewers within the region's powers. Part two dealt with the problems posed by rapid urbanization. It again emphasized the need for improved centralized services, in this case to combat growing pollution problems and to provide more parks and better overall planning. It also dealt here with financial matters, especially the prospect of improved spending effectiveness arising from the pooling of capital. Part three reviewed alternative forms of centralized government, including the metropolitan model, strengthened counties and a "city state" model in which the three main cities and their adjacent rural areas would form three super cities. It clearly favoured the metropolitan regional system. Phase one of the transition period, then, according to Jones, was almost exclusively a local undertaking.

1965-67 Phase two, extending from 1965 to 1967, involved a much greater participation by the Province (Jones, 1972,24-36). There was a consensus based on the preliminary study that a second, much larger effort was needed, using a Commission-style model whose findings could form the basis for a legislative reorganization of local government. The local Committee was concerned about who would pay for, and thus control, the

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study, since it was believed that the local interest was best served by a degree of independence from the Province. Ultimately the DMA agreed to fund one-half of the proposed $70,000-80,000 study, and promised not to interfere, although it was not necessarily obliged to accept the resulting study recommendations. The Niagara Region Local Government Review began its work in June of 1965 with the aim of presenting a report in September 1966. Henry Mayo was again chosen, this time as the Commissioner, and was assisted by Frank Moore, former head of City of Toronto's legal department. With the establishment of the Mayo Commission, as it became known, the NPCURR's role declined leaving the stage set for individual municipal involvement. Mayo's terms of reference were to inquire into and report upon: (a) the structure, organization, financing, and methods of operation of all the municipalities and their local boards in the Counties of Lincoln and Welland, including the Cities of Niagara Falls, Welland and St. Catharines; (b) all aspects of the functions and responsibilities of the existing local government institutions within the said area and, in particular, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, inter-municipal relations and problems which concern or may concern any two or more of the municipal corporations or local boards having jurisdiction within the said area; (c) the anticipated future development of the area or other changes therein which may require reorganization or revision of the existing system of local government in the area; (d) the effect of present and anticipated future projects and operations of the national and provincial governments upon the responsibilities and resources of local government therein; (e) any other related matters affecting the local government structure within the area. (Niagara Region Local Government Review, 1966, vii) Mayo proceeded in two stages. The first consisted of background research and resulted in the publication of a Data Book of Base Information which, as the Commissioner himself reported, "was generally accepted as common ground" (Niagara Region Local Government Review, 1966, ix). Stage two involved hearings in five locations within the Region, and the receipt of 50 briefs and/or presentations. Mayo's Report, submitted in August of 1966, refers frequently to the information gathered during the Review and was quite clearly based on the concerns raised before him at that time. In an analysis of the submissions, Jones (1972, 65) points out that of the 28 local councils only 15 made submissions clearly supporting or opposing a regional form of government. The submissions marginally favoured a Region, as Table 12.1 indicates. As Kitchen and Seigel point out (Niagara Region Review Commission, 1989,26-27), opposition to regional government at this early stage was greater in Lincoln County by a margin of three to one, while in Welland County, by contrast, support was evident by

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Table 12.1

Municipal submissions to the Mayo Commission. In favour of Regional Government Opposed to Regional Government Chippawa Niagara Falls St. Catharines Thorold (Town) Thorold (Township) Welland (County) Welland (City) Willoughby

Caistor Crowland Crystal Beach Gainsborough Port Colborne South Grimsby Wainfleet

Source: Niagara Region Local Government Review (1966).

a margin of seven to four. This pattern likely arises, as we shall see, from the fact that community leaders in some of the municipalities in Welland County were among the earliest advocates of reform. The irony of this is that St. Catharines, the largest urban centre in the Niagara Peninsula and an enthusiastic supporter of the Region, became one of its bitterest opponents almost immediately after its establishment. Similarly, opinion in the municipalities of the former Welland County has changed in recent years and many of the citizens of what are now Niagara's southern municipalities have become its most vocal critics. With the release of Mayo's report, opinion crystallized around his recommendations, the centrepiece of which was a clear suggestion to reform local structure (Niagara Region Local Government Review, 1966,80). He recommended: (1) A two-tier system of local government for the Region comprising a regional municipality to be called the Municipality of Metropolitan Niagara, and 12 member municipalities, four of which would be cities and eight would be boroughs. He further recommended a council structure as follows: (2) That the composition of the Metropolitan Niagara Council be: (a) the mayor of each city and borough council (b) a metropolitan member elected at large from each city and borough (c) an additional metropolitan member elected at large from each city and borough for each 20,000 of population Total

12 12 11 35

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1967-69

Phase three of the transition period saw the role of the Province enhanced considerably, and culminating with the passage of Bill 174 establishing the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs, J.W. Spooner, endorsed the Mayo Commission Report and invited municipalities and others to submit briefs to the DMA to assist it in forming its eventual policy. In addition, a major conference was held at Brock University in 1966, at which some 430 participants passed judgement on the Mayo Commission Report (Jones, 1972,37). But controversy was beginning to brew. For the first time municipal officials, many of whom were newly elected in the municipal elections of 1966 and had not particpated in the early events, now had a more concrete picture of the real implications of government reform as presented in the Report. Questions arose about the loss of local identity due to the boundary adjustments, increased costs, centralization and bureaucracy. At the same time charges were levelled that the reforms were to be provincially "imposed" irrespective of the views of local citizens. Suspicions were roused when both the Minister and the Premier, John Robarts, mused candidly about the advantages of regional government even before Mayo's report was released. Suspicion grew further when municipal officials learned that the Province was hastening the process and allowing only a short time for the receipt of briefs. The consultation period was extended to February 1967 and eventually 60 briefs were received. By this time, many more were unfavourable. Some municipalities had abandoned support of reorganization and others, which had not presented a brief to Mayo for various reasons, took this opportunity to react negatively to the proposals in the Report. Fears of excessive haste proved to be unfounded. In fact, the Conservative government sat on the Report until after the provincial election of October 1967. Fearing the growing negative reaction, it procrastinated, leaving ample opportunity for critics to organize and arm. Some municipalities advocated backing away from regional government and simply strengthening the existing county structure. Others promoted the idea of two separate regions based on the old counties. More serious opponents called for the government to abandon its plans. Still others argued that the plan should be postponed until the Ottawa-Carleton experiment, where regional government was to be established in 1969, could be watched and evaluated (Jones, 1972,42-43). The government eventually proceeded. After a period of orientation the new Municipal Affairs Minister, Darcy McKeough, accepted the basic philosophy of the Mayo Commission Report and in January 1969 outlined the proposals for regional government that would eventually form the basis of Bill 174, the act creating the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Niagara Inter-Municipal Committee was again briefly resurrected to assist in drafting the legislation and in June of 1969 Bill 174 was passed after only three weeks of debate.

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Bill 174 carried out most of the recommendations of the Mayo Commission Report. However, some of Mayo's terminology, clearly borrowed from the Toronto model, did not survive. The name became the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The use of the term "borough" was not accepted; instead the more populous areas became cities and those with generally less than 15,000 population were simply called towns. Figures 12.1 and 12.2 show respectively the municipalities of the Niagara Peninsula before 1970 and the Regional structure created by Bill 174. Finally, the Province preferred a smaller elected council, consisting of each area municipality's mayor and, where the population of a local municipality warranted (approximately 20,000), additional councillors elected at large, for a total of 28 seats. The question of representation of area municipalities on Regional Council has traditionally been a sore point. Mayo's suggestion of 35 was reduced to 25 in 1968 by the Minister. It rose to 28 when legislation was enacted and again in 1978 by 1 for the City of St. Catharines, after several years of bitter lobbying by its mayor and council. One rather important initiative arising from Mayo's system is the direct election of regional councillors. In Metro Toronto, and later in the other regions, members of the upper-tier council who were not mayors were selected indirectly. That is, they were elected as members of the local council first and then chosen through various methods to sit on the metro or regional council. Mayo's recommendation, adopted by the Province, proposed that regional councillors be selected directly at large in each of the municipalities, independently of local councils. This has proved to be an interesting variation. The philosophy of indirect election has tended to emphasize the accountability of councillors primarily to local, even ward, concerns and secondarily to broader concerns of the region. In the Niagara system those elected to sit on Regional Council (apart from the mayors) are clearly selected to deal with region-wide issues and can devote themselves exclusively to these concerns.5 As for the mayors, their indirect election raises the interesting prospect of serving two potentially conflicting masters, the will of their own local council and region-wide interests. Because of their special status, their continued involvement remains a controversial artifact of the regional government system. Bill 174 distributed municipal functions between the region and local municipalities in the manner indicated in Table 12.2. The breakdown is very similar to that proposed by Mayo. Policing was an obvious and, again, controversial exception. In the early days policing, like planning and a few other services, was a function that most people agreed should be regional. The Province balked at rapid reforms to the policing system but eventually agreed to a regional system administered by an appointed commission providing region-wide services. It was eventually added to the list of Regional Council functions in 1972. In summary, the process leading to the creation of the Niagara Region was in fact one based on the initiative of, and substantially involving, local municipal officials and citizens. From the initial identification of serious problems with the inherited

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Comparison of regional and local government responsibilities.

Mayo Report Metropolitan:

Parks and beaches Water and air pollution Water supply (trunk) Sewage treatment and trunks Inter-municipal public transit Regional planning Policing Welfare services Health units Administration of justice Licensing of business and trades Assessment Debenture borrowing Public housing Regional library Miscellaneous

Local: Branch water mains Local sewer lines Local parks and playgrounds Garbage collection Street cleaning and lighting Fire protection

Bill 174 Regional:

Parks/recreation Water treatment and distribution Sewage treatment Planning Welfare Health Assessment Capital borrowing

Regional roads Regional tax levy Local: Local water distribution Local sewers Local parks Garbage collection Street lighting Fire protection Police

Local distribution of hydro power Local streets/sidewalks Local streets, roads and sidewalks Local planning Tax collection Urban renewal Libraries Sources: adapted from Jones (1972,45); Niagara Region Local Government Review (1966, 64-65); and Regional Municipality of Niagara Act, R.S.0.1970, c-406.

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municipal structure to the funding of the Preliminary Study, and then to the many opportunities to present briefs and generally to react to proposals, local people were involved. The fact that ultimately the Province created a form of government which began losing its initial local appeal does not alter the reality that regional government was in many ways a local response to a locally identified problem. Unfortunately the controversy only grew greater when the real business of regional government got underway.

Regional Government since 1970 It was probably hoped that once the Region was established people would begin adjusting and perhaps reluctantly accepting the new form of government as a fait accompli. However, the bitterness felt over the establishment did not wane; in many ways it became more acute as the fledgling government began doing its job. The first five years were a period of adjustment and, quite understandably, growth. Creating a process for decision-making, building an administration and developing a regional consciousness were the larger aims of the new era. However, along the way numerous issues arose, making the infancy a troubled one. The Act was detailed and clear about the transfer of the relevant powers and functions from the local and county governments to the Region. Senior staff and other employees were frequently hired by the Region from the echelons of the local municipalities. Because of varying wage and benefit rates, arrangements were made so that employees of the Region were often hired at the higher end of remuneration scales, so that few transferred workers would lose salary or seniority. The regional police force was an example of this. Where smaller forces had previously paid their officers less than the larger forces, such personnel were brought into the regional force at levels customarily paid to the larger urban forces. However, costs such as these were anticipated and arguments were made that the result would eventually be a larger, more efficient service with higher overall standards of delivery. In the area of hard services, the transfer of water, sewer and road systems conformed to a trend, begun in the late 1960s and continuing into the 1970s, of increasing the level of services provided. Rural roads were upgraded to regional arterials, using engineering and traffic standards much higher than the rural municipalities had previously maintained. Improved sewage treatment, especially the installation of region-wide secondary treatment and phosphorus removal, was initiated throughout the Region. This resulted in major facility expansion, new construction and updating that required significant capital expenditures, subsidies and borrowing. Some of the costs were offset by new provincial and federal programs established to achieve the new higher standards; for instance, the terms of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement signed between Canada and the U.S. in 1972 made large sums of money available to Great Lakes regions such as Niagara for improved pollution control. Supporters of

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regional government also argued that the pooling of existing capital resources and the improved borrowing power of the Region made capital projects more feasible. And finally the Province made large subsidy payments to the Region to assist it during the adjustment period and perhaps generally to buy some tranquillity during the rocky transition to Regional government. Nevertheless, local taxes continuously moved upwards and the Regional levy, the sum of money exacted from the local municipalities, was often a target for criticism by local politicians at budget time. As a result, many citizens simply did not see the process as a transfer of power from the municipalities and counties to the Region, but rather as the creation of a new level of government, a new and larger bureaucracy and a new regional politician at the public trough. Despite continuing high service expectations on the part of the public, serious questions were raised about a spending spree in the 1960s, and a new doctrine of fiscal austerity and "less government is best" began to take hold. Whether real or imagined, the question of expense was combined with other concerns. Citizens had trouble adjusting to the new forms of government, lamenting the loss of community identity that had existed in the previous structure. Confusion reigned among those who were told, when they called their city hall or town office about a local matter, that it was now the Region's responsibility. Stories circulated about the duplication of services, such as two levels of planning regulations and two snowploughs running down the same cleared road. There were also stirrings about the Region becoming an "empire," with high-priced bureaucrats and distant, aloof clerks deciding the fate of local citizens. And finally, there were relentless arguments by some municipalities that they were under-represented at Regional Council or were not getting the same level of service as before. St. Catharines, the largest urban centre, made this claim and successfully gained an additional elected representative, bringing its representation to seven (including the mayor). Some of the other municipalities, including the smaller ones with only one representative, were not as successful and it seemed that no amount of arithmetic could solve the problem in light of the purposely small size of Regional Council. Niagara's early years were to be a harbinger of the experiences of several of the other regions in Ontario that were being created in the 1970-75 period. In the HamiltonWentworth area, the soon-to-be-created region to the west of Niagara, a parallel and equally controversial process was occurring (Burghardt, 1987). The provincially established Steele Commission (equivalent to the Mayo Commission) also grappled with questions of regionalization. There, the main questions were 1) the geographical extent of the new region, notably, whether to include Grimsby (functionally part of HamiltonWentworth but historically part of Lincoln and the new Niagara Region), Brantford and Burlington; 2) the structure of regional government, specifically whether to adopt a single- or two-tier system; and 3) how political power would be distributed between the urban and suburban/rural areas (Burghardt, 1987,158).

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In regions such as Hamilton-Wentworth, Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa-Carleton, circumstances were somewhat different from those of Niagara. Because of their urban patterns, the experiences of these regions were more in keeping with those of Metropolitan Toronto, where reform of the local government structure had taken place in the 1950s. In these cases, single large urban centres dominated the suburban/rural areas surrounding them. This situation often created concern that the rural and suburban "outer units," as they became known (Burghardt, 1987,157), with their much less populous yet larger geographical areas, would be overwhelmed if the city representatives voted en bloc on important issues. This contrast between urban and suburban/rural perspectives created special problems in these regions and accounted for much of the animosity experienced by their new governments. In Niagara, however, the urban/rural split was further aggravated by fierce competition among the nearly equally sized, but independent, urban areas of St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland, as well as smaller towns not wishing to be absorbed by larger ones (Thorold versus St. Catharines, for example). A further aggravation was the merger of two counties, Lincoln and Welland (something to be tried again later in the Haldimand-Norfolk Region). In the other Regions, only one county was involved. Although a few exchanges of territory on the periphery of these Regions were made, as part of the overall regionalization program, on the whole the counties surrounding them were maintained, making matters somewhat less complicated for the planners at Queen's Park.

The Regional Review Process: The Archer Commission When the Niagara Region was first established, the Province promised that the government system would be reviewed. This may have been a ploy to win a few reluctant converts, but with concern growing and provincial elections looming, the promise was eventually fulfilled. In late 1973 St. Catharines City Council passed a resolution petitioning "the Government of Ontario to undertake an independent and objective study covering all aspects of the regional system and its operations in Niagara" (Niagara Region Study Review Commission, 1977, 2). In 1974 the Region responded, first by suggesting a review by a committee of the Region, but later by resolving to endorse the St. Catharines motion. On August 29,1975 Minister Darcy McKeough appointed William L. Archer as Commissioner of the Niagara Region Study Review Commission. As Archer stated, the purpose of the Commission was to "examine the structure and operation of government within the Regional Municipality of Niagara and to make recommendations for improvement based on the premise that the public is best served, when new forms of government, in this case regional government, are evaluated from time to time" (Niagara Region Study Review Commission, 1977,2-3).

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Judging from this and the more formal terms of reference (Niagara Region Study Review Commission, 1977,138), the dismantling of the Region was not a likely option, even from the beginning. Early in Archer's final report, he affirmed this by clearly stating that: The two-tiered system remains, certainly for Niagara, the most effective way to provide responsible, knowledgeable government on a local and regional basis for the Niagara area. (Niagara Region Study Review Commission, 1977, 4)

( On the persistent question of the wisdom of joining the two counties Archer concluded that: The inclusion of both Lincoln and Welland counties in the Region of Niagara made sense in 1970 and still makes sense today. (Niagara Region Study Review Commission, 1977,14-15)

Archer commissioned a number of academic and consulting studies to gain background information and wide-ranging professional advice pertinent to the study mandate. Many of these were the very first attempts at evaluating a region's record. In addition, he held public hearings and took a wide range of written submissions from citizens, organizations and municipalities. The review was certainly thorough, though not without some problems. In the end the Commissioner found that, while a regional government had been formed, a regional consciousness had not. Unlike most of the other regions that were created, Niagara did not have a single urban centre surrounded by suburban or rural municipalities, but rather consisted of three nearly equal urban areas and a multitude of smaller urban areas. Niagara was a much more eclectic mix of proudly independent communities without a clear and dominant geographical focus. Consequently, area municipalities continued to compete with one another, and the Region and Regional Councillors tended to represent their own communities at the expense of the Region as a whole (Niagara Region Study Review Commission, 1977, 16). For this Archer laid the blame on Council, the Chair of Council, John Campbell (although he was also praised for "holding the Region together") and the public, whom he rather piously admonished "to do those things which are right and proper and their duty to do so" (Niagara Region Study Review Commission, 1977,31). Archer proposed changes to the Region's administrative structure and made some considerable effort in the report to urge improved communications between the Region and its citizens, and better coverage of the Region by the local media which, he implied, were either uninformed, too critical, or both. Archer made one bold suggestion for altering regional boundaries, to create the "City of Lincoln" consisting of the area municipalities of Lincoln and Grimsby and the western segment of St. Catharines beyond roughly what was then the proposed Highway 406 extension. This proposal was never adopted, but a number of other

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detailed proposals were made, including a change in the date of municipal elections to November (later implemented province-wide), and a ward system for the election of regional councillors (Niagara Region Study Review Commission, 1977,113,121). Archer's study produced the seemingly normal mixture of acceptance and disappointment. The Region acted quickly on some issues such as the proposal to improve communications. Some of the other changes in planning, engineering and social services also proceeded in modified form in the late 1970s. What remained, however, was an essential, though perhaps minority, discontent within sectors of the community, the media, and some elected officials at the regional and local levels. Once again Niagara foreshadowed events to follow in other regions. In HamiltonWentworth, displeasure with the transition to regional government, especially the costs and apparent expansion, prompted the Province to appoint a review commission, similar to Niagara's Archer Commission, to consider methods of improving the regional government structure (Burghardt, 1987,167). The Stewart Commission reported in 1978 and made several recommendations for change, but failed to dispel the rancour. The radical suggestion to adopt a single-tier system (a position advocated by the City of Hamilton since well before the creation of the Region) was not accepted, and the other recommendations were viewed by all sides in the debate as mere tinkering. At the same time, Toronto's metropolitan government was the subject of a similar review by former Premier John Robarts. His work resulted in numerous recommendations, such as reform of the electoral system, many of which were adopted in the 1980s. He gave favourable consideration to the idea of a significant expansion of Metro's boundaries, to include more of what is now becoming known as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). This soul-searching was not entirely the result of a genuine concern for the wellbeing of the regional and metropolitan governments. In the provincial election of 1975, the Conservative government suffered a serious setback at the hands of their party rivals. The Liberals had advocated the abandonment of the regional government program and promised to dismantle those already created. Emerging from the election in a minority position, the Conservative government immediately halted the program of regionalization and supported the reviews underway in the hope that review and some reform would divert attention from the program and the controversy They did not. However, no more regions were formed, although a few counties were "restructured" into governmental forms uncommonly similar to regions. During the 1980s the Niagara Region continued to develop. By 1981 the controversial Official Plan for the Region, begun in the early 1970s and taken to the Ontario Municipal Board between 1978-80, was at long last approved.6 The rancorous debate over the protection of the agricultural lands was temporarily laid to rest, but not without some lingering bitterness. Only a temporary peace ensued in this respect.

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The Regional Headquarters Decision In the early 1980s the Region took cautious steps toward one of its long term goals, the location and construction of a Regional Headquarters. The regional administration had occupied rented space in an old factory office in an industrial area of St. Catharines. Numerous satellite locations were also rented for many of its departments, such as social services and public works, which were housed in an abandoned grocery store in the city. The plan was to consolidate the administration and government in one modern facility that would allow efficient co-ordination and symbolize the maturity of the Region, thereby promoting a regional consciousness, and perhaps above all, dispelling the view that the Region was temporary. The location of the headquarters, as might be expected, proved to be contentious. Locations were considered virtually everywhere in the Region with each municipality extolling its virtues of centrality and amenity. Many of the employees who would use the building lived in St. Catharines, but everyone (with the possible exception of the City of St. Catharines) understood that locating it in the city would reinforce St.Catharines' presumed desire to be the dominant local municipality. After much infighting among municipalities a site was finally chosen. It was situated technically in the City of Thorold, just south of the municipal boundary with St. Catharines, in a prestige industrial park across the road from Brock University, and it was clearly an extension of the St. Catharines, rather than the Thorold, urban area. The site was a compromise, since it was not officially in St. Catharines but was near to it. It was next to Highway 406, the Region's north-south highway, and could be reached conveniently from the three major cities of the Region. Astutely the building designers oriented the main facade and entrance to the south, in a possible attempt to communicate architecturally the desire to make overtures to the southern area municipalities of the old County of Welland. From the more usual northern approach (i.e. from St. Catharines), the building has the appearance of a 'bunker.' Supporters hoped that, like a city hall, the building would inspire civic pride and eventually contribute to a sense of regional consciousness. To its detractors, it became the target of renewed "region bashing." For them, the headquarters symbolized the Region's imperial aspirations. Rumours of its exorbitant cost, the luxury of its furnishings and the fear that in the near future it would not large enough, and would soon undergo expansion, fuelled more criticism.

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The Regional Review Process: The Kitchen Commission In October 1986 Regional Councillors voted a large pay increase for themselves and the Chairman "to make up for several years when it had remained unchanged" (Niagara Region Review Commission, 1989, 39). An organisation calling themselves the "Niagara Citizens' Committee" organized a petition containing over 8,500 signatures, calling on the provincial government to review regional government once again. The citizens' group was concerned about accountability, duplication of services, and generally the effect of regional government on local taxes and the economy. In February, 1988, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, John Eakins, appointed Professor Harry Kitchen of Trent University as Commissioner of the Niagara Region Review Commission (Kitchen Commission). The Kitchen Commission worked under a mandate similar to those of the many studies that had gone before. It would emphasize, however, the questions of access, accountability and service duplication. Because of Kitchen's background in local government economics, attention would also be paid to the question of governmental efficiency and the impact of regional government on taxes. Kitchen hired Professor David Siegel of Brock University, an expert in local government and administration, to assist with the study and with questions relating to Regional Council's accountability. The Kitchen Commission proceeded according to the usual pattern, commissioning studies, receiving briefs and conducting hearings throughout the Region. Since one of the main concerns expressed related to expenditure growth, an impressive body of data was collected to examine this problem (Niagara Region Review Commission, 1989, chapter 5)7 Like previous efforts, the Kitchen Commission made numerous recommendations regarding the detailed operations of the Region, but could not support any suggestions that would have the effect of dismantling or emasculating the Region. In effect, it found that, while some fine-tuning was warranted along the lines of those proposed by the Region's critics, many of the fundamental concerns were simply unfounded. For instance, in response to the claims that regional expenditures had grown inordinately, Kitchen concluded that "one fact that does emerge is that growth in expenditures per household appears to be unrelated to the number of tiers of government" (Niagara Region Review Commission, 1989, 71). This was an apparently polite way of saying that exhaustive study, allowing for inflation and comparing Niagara's expenditures with areas where regional government had not been established, showed that regional government simply does not cost more. Similarly, looking at representation on Regional Council, Kitchen could find no arithmetical solution to the rough rule of representation by population, short of expanding considerably the size of Council. Instead, he recommended an increase of one additional representative for the Town of Pelham and the rather novel suggestion

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that an additional representative be added for a combined constituency of the towns of Wainfleet and West Lincoln. A number of other recommendations were offered dealing with the Chairman of Council, fiscal matters, special purpose bodies, such as the contentious Police Commission, planning and, as with Archer, communications. However, nothing pointed to a drastic change in the operations of the Region. Kitchen and Siegel succeeded in discovering what most of their predecessors had already found, namely that regional government may be imperfect, but it works.

The Future of Niagara Region In the final pages of his report, Harry Kitchen mused candidly about the distant future of the Region, suggesting that ultimately one level of government, the Regional level, is desirable (Niagara Region Review Commission, 1989, 270-272). Pointing to economies of scale, greater administrative simplicity, and possible cost savings arising from the elimination of local municipal governments, Kitchen proposed a singletier government with twenty full-time councillors elected by wards unrelated to preexisting local municipalities. All special-purpose bodies would come directly under the auspices of the new council. This, he claimed, would decrease the parochialism and "should bring with it a significant improvement in the quality of governing in Niagara" (Niagara Region Review Commission, 1989,272). Kitchen's "Vision 2000," made with the tacit implication that it might be far-fetched, raised only a few eyebrows. Since it was clearly not a firm recommendation, it would not necessarily form part of the debate on the implementation of the many other, more detailed suggestions. In the shorter haul, doubts linger among critics of the Region. While yet another study has upheld the basic rationale for the Region, detractors have concentrated their efforts on exposing waste and inefficiency at the Region, most recently forcing Council to reduce its workforce and to withdraw from some controversial areas of expenditure.8 The present strategy seems to be to maintain vigilant pressure on the Region for increased accountability. This shift may indicate a final acceptance of the Region's existence. Rather than attacking its creation, critics are in a sense simply making the Region work better. Yet a lingering scepticism about the Archer and Kitchen Commissions' support for the region, coupled with persistent doubts (possibly misconceptions) about costs, service duplication and empire-building, make any truce temporary at best. Parochialism and inter-municipal squabbling over who has won and lost in the regional exercise will continue to rub raw any wounds from previous skirmishes. As long as a lower tier exists (as Kitchen implies) and certainly as long as the mayors, whose real allegiance remains to the local rather than regional level, are made automatic

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members of Regional Council, it is doubtful that localism will ever be replaced by regionalism. Perhaps, as some observers have noted, this kind of fundamental change will require considerably more time to take hold. As long as there are those on municipal and regional councils, and among business and media organizations, who nostalgically remember "the good old days" as they were presumed to have existed, it is doubtful that the Region will be fully accepted. Slowly, however, a generation of leaders is emerging who have been politically imprinted by the Regional model, and who are perhaps more willing to retain it and the benefits that have been identified with it. It is, however, very likely that, in Niagara especially, with its municipal diversity and unique issues, regional government will never completely succeed in being accepted until there exists a regional consciousness and identity among the citizens and elected representatives. As early as the Archer Commission (1977) this failing was recognized and, despite many efforts to overcome the problem through continued review and reform, it remains to be resolved.

Notes 1 The British North America Act—now the Constitution Act — established the exclusive powers of a Provincial Legislature (§. 92) relating to municipalities: "§. 8. Municipal Institutes in the Province" and "§. 16. Generally all matters of a merely local and private nature in the Province." 2 Currently the Municipal Act, R.S.0.1990, c-M.45. 3 Currently the Planning Act, R.S.0.1990, c-P.13. 4 The Regional Municipality of Niagara Act, R.S.0.1990, c-R.13. 5 The disadvantage of direct election is that in the case of the larger municipalities, such as St. Catharines, regional councillors are elected at large rather than by wards. St. Catharines councillors therefore are elected, and must represent, a population much larger than a provincial or federal riding. The Kitchen Commission recognized this but found it would not be practical to elect councillors in St. Catharines in its existing six wards, since it was recommending that the city should receive an additional councillor, bringing the total to seven (Niagara Region Review Commission, 1989,140-141). 6 See Chapter 9 in this volume by Hugh J. Gayler. 7 It should be noted that this question was also treated seriously in previous studies. See L. A. Soroka, Public Finance in the Niagara Region, Niagara Region Study Review Commission, Wm.L. Archer (Commissioner), August 1976; and Report of the Commission, Niagara Region Local Government Review, H.B. Mayo (Chief Commissioner), August, 1966, chapters 9 and 14.

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8 The most recent group, Taxpayers Coalition Niagara, has succeeded in focusing widespread dissatisfaction with all governments at the local level, including school boards and the Region. Consisting of local business people and professional, as well as other disgruntled ratepayers, the organization has made effective use of media coverage and paid advertisements.

References Burghardt, A.F. 1987. The Move from County to Region. In Dear, M.J., Drake, J.J. and Reeds, L.G., eds., Steel City: Hamilton and Region. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 156-169. Crawford, K.G. 1954. Canadian Municipal Government. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Higgins, D.G.H. 1990. Local and Urban Politics in Canada. Toronto: Gage Publishing. Jones, M.G. 1972. The Formation of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. Unpublished MA thesis, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario. Niagara Region Local Government Review. 1966. Report of the Commission. H.B. Mayo (Chief Commissioner) and RC. Moore (Assistant Commissioner). Niagara Region Review Commission. 1989. Report and Recommendations. Harry Kitchen (Chairman), David Siegel (Research Director). Niagara Region Study Review Commission. 1977. Report. W.L. Archer (Commissioner). Soroka, L.A. 1976. Public Finance in the Niagara Region. Niagara Region Study Review Commission. W.L. Archer (Commissioner). Tindal, C.R. and Tindal, S.N. 1990. Local Government in Canada. 3rd ed. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

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Glossary The following terms are to be found in slanted type when they first appear in a chapter. advects: transfer of heat through the atmosphere by winds alluvium: fine-grained sediments of silt and clay deposited by rivers when they overflow their banks anthropogenic, owing its origin to human action associations: groups of species occurring in the same habitat aureoles: area surrounding a core or central region axial ratios: the ratios of the long axis and other axes of a pebble to each other bar: a linear ridge of sand or rounded rocks (shingle) built by wave action in lakes or oceans basai ice: the ice at the base of a glacier or ice sheet base line: the first line laid out in the survey of a township, usually run approximately parallel to the shoreline and backed by the first concession bayhead or baymouth: adjectives attached to bars and indicating their position either at the head of the bay where they normally block the river exit, or at the mouth of a bay, i.e. connecting the headlands either side bedload: sediment, usually larger than coarse sand, which moves along a river bed, as opposed to being suspended or dissolved in the water bioturbated: the mixing of layers of sediments by organic processes such as displaced roots and earthworms Bingham visco-plastic: a special form of deformation of a material that imitates both viscous and plastic deformation at different stages in the deformation process bioric: living part of the earth (the plant and animal kingdoms) WocJc-in-matrix melange: a heterogeneous mixture of sediments containing large intact block of sediment materials boudinage: a lens or squashed ellipse of sediment found within another sediment body indicative of attenuation under applied stress boreal forest: the forest of coniferous trees (spruce, fir, hemlock, pine) which lies south of the tundra 351

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breccia fed: a term derived from the Italian indicating that the sediment or rock has been broken into shards or sharp edged pieces broken front: an irregular strip of land between the base line of a township and the shoreline caprock: a resistant unit of rock usually exposed at the top of a waterfall or an escarpment carbonates: rocks with a high proportion of the minerals calcium and magnesium Carolinian: northern subsection of the eastern deciduous forest zone cavetfo: a sinuous groove eroded in a rock face and presumed to be formed by fast flowing water catchment: the total surface area from which water flows towards any particular spot in a river channel; synonym for 'drainage basin' chain: a unit of length equal to 66 feet; also an early type of measuring tape clast: an alternate term used in geology for a pebble or broken fragment of rock clast-supported: a sediment in which the structure of the unit is essentially held together by clast-to-clast contacts climax: mature vegetation in a steady state equilibrium with prevailing environmental conditions climbing ripples: wave-like bedding in fluvial sediments, showing evidence of forward migration of bed material closed canopy: where the ground is almost completely covered by higher, treed, vegetation, especially in a deciduous forest cohesion/ess: exhibiting no stickiness, as with sand or gravel commonty: land held in common communities: assemblages of species occupying a common environment and interacting with one another competent bodies: a term used to define bodies of sediment sufficiently strong internally that they remain intact while under transportation concession: a subdivision of a township running parallel to and numbered back from the township base line conformable contact: sediment unit or stratal changes that exhibit gradation convective: process whereby warmer air rises and cooler air descends cryostatic: a term to describe the stresses induced in a sediment due to the process of freezing

GLOSSARY

353

cuJtivars: established or original variety of a species cyclones: a region of relatively low atmospheric pressure, associated with windy, cloudy and wet weather (also known as depressions) dendrochronology: the dating of environmental events using the history of tree growth seen in its annual rings debris fans and flows: debris indicates sediment of many different sizes all mixed together: a fan is a landform with a fan-like form in plan and a slope over about 5°; a flow is a landform formed by a more fluid mass of sediment and which is elongated in the direction of flow and which has a lower slope angle, usually below 5° deformable bed: the term refers to sediment moving beneath an ice mass under the stress induced by that ice mass deglaciation: the freeing of a landscape from glacial ice delta: an accumulation of river-borne sediment deposited at a coastline where a stream enters a water body such as a lake or ocean detritus: a mass of partly disintegrated material, rocks and vegetation diamicton: any unsorted sediment containing a wide range of particle sizes (see til]) dissolution: the chemical separation of different mineral components in a rock; normally applied to the process whereby acidic rain and soil water dissolves calcium and magnesium in limestone and dolomite (dolostone) to give rise to Jcarst landscapes distal: adjective to describe forms or processes happening at some distance from the source of the process in question (opposite of proximal); the distal slope of a delta is the outer underwater slope facing the open water diversion neck: the new valley eroded by a river when one river is diverted into another across a drainage divide dolines: a distinctive landform of karst regions; depressions in the ground with the appearance of an inverted cone caused by the collapse of underground caves produced by dissolution; in Niagara no more than a few metres in diameter, they may be kilometres in diameter elsewhere dolomite and dolostone: a limestone in which the calcium has been replaced by magnesium dominance: designates the most prevalent species in an ecological community, such as an oak tree in an oak wood. The dominant species determines the appearance of a community and affects the incidence of other species in it dropstone: a clast or pebble, or boulder, that has fallen off an iceberg or from the ice snout into a body of water resulting in the disruption of the bottom sediment layers

354

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

drumlin: a roughly elliptical hill of glacial sediment that parallels the main direction of ice movement ductile: the term applied to a material or sediment that undergoes a malleable or plastic-like moulding under applied stress ecotone community: transition on the ground between two plant communities entrain: transport en trainmen t: a term referring to the uplifting and transportation of sediment evapotranspiration: diffusion of water vapour into the atmosphere from surface vegetation and consists of evaporation from plants and soils and transpiration from plants fabric: the preferential orientation of pebbles in one broadly similar direction fades: the term is used to describe a distinctive set of characteristics, associated with sedimentation in a specific sedimentary environment, that can be observed from studying the sediment itself fetch: the distance across a water body over which waves have developed through wind action fissility: fissile, as in the leaves of a book fluvial action: the net result of erosion and deposition by flowing water, usually in a river frontal: relating to a transition zone separating air of different temperatures and origins frost (also ice) wedges and frost cracks: intense cold causes the ground to contract and produce cracks; if cracks persist and water is present, it freezes into the edges of the crack to build up an ice or frost wedge glacigenic: an adjective indicating 'glacial origin' glaciofluvial: a term used to refer to sediments and/or the environment associated with glacial meltwater glaciotectonism: the process of sediment and bedrock disruption and deformation due to the overlying stresses applied by glacier ice gradational: strata that exhibits a very gradual drainage from one type to another graded sands: a sand exhibiting a normal change in grain size from fine to coarse on top gravel fan: gravel indicates rock fragments larger than about 1 centimetre; fan, see above under debris fan Grimsby Sandstone: Grimsby (a town in the northwest of Niagara) is the place name of the type locality used to describe the sandstone at this level in the geological column (see Figure 2.2)

GLOSSARY

355

grounded: with reference to an ice sheet or ice lobe, this term indicates that the ice mass, although in water (large lake or ocean), is sitting on the bed and not floating gyttja: a mud rich in plant and animal remains Holocene: a geological period extending from 10,000 years ago to the present (synonym Recent) horizons: distinct layers or units of sediment: bedded—exhibiting repetitive layers; reworked —exhibiting evidence of erosion and re-disposition hydraulic pumping: a term used to indicate the process of pumping water via pore spaces through a sediment due to high hydraulic stresses ice contact slope: a relatively steep slope of sediment which developed, usually underwater, resting against a body of ice; for this reason often steeper than slopes formed by simple sedimentation in water; used to identify the former position of ice bodies ice lobes: tongues of glacier ice attached to the main ice sheet, spreading along topographic hollows and depressions ice shelf: glacial ice extending from a glacier into a water body, sometimes grounded on the bottom, sometimes floating freely igneous erratics: erratics are rock fragments displaced from their origin source, often but not necessarily by glaciers; igneous is the term for rocks which have cooled from a molten state; in Canada the term is often used as a synonym for rocks which come from the Canadian Shield even though not all such rocks are igneous in character immiscible: a term suggesting that no mixing is possible improved land: land under cultivation or fallow incompetent: lacking inherent strength indurated: to have been made hard; refers to an originally soft sediment infiltration: the process by which water percolates into the soil surface interbedded: inter-layered interdigitation: inter-layered interstadial: refers to cool climate phase between short glacier retreats intradast: a body of sediment rafted into or incorporated into another sediment yet retaining its own integrity intrusive: material that has been squeezed or pushed into another strata

356

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

Irondequoit Limestone: Irondequoit (Township, north of Rochester, New York State) is the place name of the type locality used to describe the limestone at this level in the geological column (see Figure 2.2) isobases: imaginary lines connecting points of the earth's surface which have moved vertically by equal amounts due to isostatic uplift; isobases are equivalent to contours, and appear as lines on maps isohyetal: adjective referring to lines on a map connecting points of equal rainfall amount isoline: a line on a map connecting points of equal value isostatic: the adjective from isostasy, the principle that the surface of the earth's crust reflects a balance between the density of the column of rocks from the surface to the centre of the earth and the pull of gravity; adjustments of the surface (upward or downward movements) take place slowly when loads (e.g. large water bodies, glacial ice) are put upon the surface, or when they are removed; in Canada most isostatic adjustment is a response to the melting of the Lauren tide Ice Sheet Jcame: a mound of stratified sediment laid down by surface water as an ice sheet melts; if the sediment is laid down in a temporary water body within or close to the ice the top is often horizontal karren cleft and trench: karren is a collective name for the small scale features of dissolution on soluble rocks; clefts are narrow fissures caused in this manner, while trenches are wider but otherwise similar features karst: the distinctive landforms and landscapes caused by the dissolutional action of rain water on rocks with soluble components, usually limestone and dolomite; named from the area called Karst near the Adriatic Sea lacustrine: an adjective pertaining to lake environments lagoon: shallow water ponded in the mouth of a river or bay shoreward of a bar Lake Agassiz: a very large lake which existed for several thousand years in western Canada in front of the Laurentide Ice Sheet as it retreated lamina ted: adjective applied to sediments which display distinct layers of alternating sediment size, usually clays (thick layers) and silts (thin layers) Laurentide Ice Sheet: the major ice sheet to cover the eastern portion of Canada and northern United States, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the western Prairies and from the Beaufort Sea to the Mid-West United States during the Pleistocene epoch lithofacies: a term used when referring to specific lithological sediment types rather than biological or chemical facies (see fades)

GLOSSARY

357

loaded contact: a contact between two units where the upper unit has "sunk" into the lower unit load structures: a sedimentological term used when referring to bodies of sediment that have collapsed or sunk down into an underlying sediment body due to the effects of weight (thus load) or underlying weak strata Lockport Dolomite: Lockport (western New York State) is the place name of the type locality used to describe the dolomite at this level in the geological column (see Figure 2.2); see above for dolomite and dolostone lodgement till: a genetic term used to describe a till that has been deposited from a glacier by the smearing on of sediment to the bed below a glacier Jot: the basic unit of land granted to early settlers, a subdivision of a concession macroporosity: large well-drained pores between soil particles macroscopic: animal and plant remains which may be seen and identified with a low-powered microscope or hand lense (as opposed, for example, to pollen which requires a high powered microscope) massive diamicton: diamicton that exhibits no visible bedding structures mass-wasting: any type of earth or soil failure, such as landslides and rockfalls matrix-supported: a term used to describe a sediment that structurally is held together by fine materials (matrix) (the converse is clast-supported) meander bend: meander describes the smooth curve of a river channel; bend is the outside curve mega-flute: a large elongated ridge composed of glacial sediments paralleling and approximating the main direction of ice movement melange: a mixture of sediment types incorporated within one body of sediment as a result of lateral interdigitation under high stress levels melt-out till: a genetic term used to describe a till that has been deposited as a result of direct melt-out from glacier ice meJfwater: water derived from the melting of glacial ice meridional: movement of air over longitudes mesic: intermediate, in terms of soil moisture conditions mesoscaJe: an intermediate, or regional, scale between local and continental

358

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

micromorphological: an adjective used to describe the arrangement and character of sediment as seen under an optical petrographic microscope monomodal: a term used when referring to a sediment's particle size distribution that shows a marked single peak thus indicative of having a single dominant particle size moraine: a transverse/linear mound of glacial debris released by the melting of ice and found at the front or side of a glacier; waterlain moraines are laid down when the front of the ice sheet terminates in a lake and the melting takes place under water, in which case the topography eventually revealed is usually very subdued Munsell Colours: standardized chart for soil colours needleleaf species: coniferous trees, such as pine or spruce node: point at which there is a concentration of people and activities and an intersection of transportation routes Ontario Municipal Board (OMB): a provincially-appointed group to hear appeals (and conduct local hearings) principally of local and regional government decisions under the Ontario Planning Act. Most OMB decisions are final and may not be further appealed to the Courts or the Ontario Cabinet open-channel: in glacial environments, a stream that is open to the atmosphere and not covered over by overlying glacial ice (the converse is a closed-channel) orography: the forced ascent of air over higher ground, leading to cooling and, if the air is moist, condensation and precipitation palaeocurrent: direction of fluvially-deposited sediment as observed in the average orientation of pebbles within fluvial sediments Paleozoic: an era of geological time between about 570 and 225 million years ago paludal: adjective attached to deposits of lakes and marshes as they fill up slowly to form dry land paraglacial: adjective indicating environments affected in some way by the proximity of glaciers passive park: recreational space of varying size where the emphasis is placed on relaxing and enjoying the natural habitat peat bog: a waterlogged area (bog) in which accumulates partly decomposed plants (peat); an acid environment preserves any pollen released by surrounding areas penecontemporaneously: in sedimentology this term is applied where two process events may be occurring at more or less the same time

GLOSSARY

359

percolation: the process of water movement downwards through unsaturated soil periglacial: nearly (peri-) glacial conditions in the landscape, often characterised by deeply frozen ground (permafrost), a surface layer of sediment which melts in summer (the active layer), an arctic-like vegetation with stunted trees, shrubs and herbs, a very mobile surface because of abundant water pervasive mobility: the condition in which a mobilized sediment flows in its entirety, in the sense that all particles are in motion with no units or zones being swept along in the forward motion p-forms: short for plastically-moulded forms, a descriptive term for the smooth, rounded appearance of resistant rock which has been over-ridden and 'moulded' by glacial ice. Older synonym for s-forms planar beds: near-horizontal units of fluvual strata indicative of very low or very high stream velocities plane table: a surveying instrument comprising a flat board mounted on a tripod, together with a sighting device Pleistocene: the geological era in which the last major continental ice sheets covered many parts of the earth plunge pool: the pool excavated at the base of a waterfall by the falling jet of water pollen profile: a core is taken into a peat bog and the sediment is processed at regular intervals down the core to extract and then identify the pollen; each plant and tree has distinctive pollen which is dispersed by wind; the results can be used to see the vegetation composition of an area and how it changes through time (as you go up and down the core) polythermal: a term describing the multiple thermal nature of subglacial environments porewater: water held within the pore spaces of a sediment pothole: a rock basin excavated by river action in the stream bed and often a lot deeper than they are wide Power Glen Shale: Power Glen (Power Station, in St. Catharines) is the place name of the type locality used to describe the shale at this level in the geological column (see Figure 2.2) proglacial: zone in front of a glacier or ice sheet prograding ramp: a topographic term used to describe a slope (ramp) where sediment is being deposited at such a rate that the slope is rapidly extending outward from a sediment source prolate: flat, blade-like pebble

360

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

protalus rampart: a linear ridge, low angle ramp or horizontal terrace of talus which forms where rocks falling from a cliff face slide or roll down to the bottom over the surface of a perennial snowpatch and accumulate at its foot provenance: a noun used to describe the 'source area' of sediments or rocks transported by glacial action proximal: an adjective indicating nearest to; usually referring to the source of the process in question; the proximal part of a delta is the part closest to where the river enters the delta; opposite to distal Quaternary: the second period of the Cenozoic Period and the latest geological time period; it is thought to have begun approximately 1.6 million years ago Queenston Shales: Queenston (village on the Niagara River beneath the Niagara Escarpment) is the place name of the type locality used to describe the shale at this level in the geological column (see Figure 2.2) rafted: brought to their present position by means of the movement of some other underlying material, which can be ice, vegetation, or the entire soil mass (see solifluction) rainshadow: an area having low rainfall because of its position on the leeward side of a hill or mountain (away from direction of air movement) rat-tail: a landform with a rounded blunt-shaped front (facing upflow of the presumed ice or water which shaped it) and a long tapering and sometimes sinuous tail downflow readvance: of ice sheets and glaciers; the temporary movement forward of an ice front during a longer period when the ice front is retreating re-entrant: a break in the continuity of an escarpment usually caused by a valley; the escarpment turns into the valley and merges with the valley slopes refugia: relatively small areas, sometimes mountain tops surrounded by ice or water, where plants and animals survived glacial conditions and from which they subsequently spread out to recolonize the landscape rheology: the term is used to refer to the study of the deformation of materials rhythmite: a near-horizontally bedded sediment that reveals a rhythmic repetition in strata such as fine/coarse couplets rip-up clast: pebble or material torn from underlying sediment Rochester Shale: Rochester (city, New York State) is the place name of the type locality used to describe the shale at this level in the geological column (see Figure 2.2) rock drumlins: a landform shaped like a drumlin but eroded from rock

GLOSSARY

361

scalloped: of a landform as if dug out with a shell (scallop); not intended to refer to size, only form s-forms: short for sculpted forms, a descriptive term for the smooth, rounded appearance of resistant rock which has been over-ridden by glacial ice; a new synonym for p-forms and intended to be more neutral than the p-form, the form of which is often attributed to glacial abrasion shale: a rock which has solidified from mud or clay and which often decomposes to clay on weathering; shales usually break down readily under the action of freezing and thawing, and wetting and drying cycles; they often crumble (are friable) in the hand shingle: rocks larger than about 1 cm and rounded by erosion on a beach sill: the low point at which a river flows out of a lake; rock sills are not easily lowered by erosion and therefore control the level of the lake for long periods solifluction: the slow downslope movement of an entire saturated soil mass, normally occurring because the sub-surface materials are frozen solid and surface waters can only escape by flowing along the surface spit: an elongated linear bar of beach sediment which builds out from the coastline into a water body spp.: abbrieviation for the plural of species springhead sap: sapping is the undermining of a cliff face to yield an eventual collapse; springhead implies a location at a spring which acts as a source for stream flow stadial: short, cool climatic phase often typified by glacier advance stillstand: a period of time when an ice mass neither advances nor retreats, thus remains at one place on the earth's surface stratified: sediment that exhibits repetitive units in layers that are often laterally discontinuous stream terraces: former, and higher, floodplain levels striae: long scratches eroded in a rock surface, usually by rock embedded in glacial ice striated: a rock surface marked with striae structural bench: outcrop of harder rock layer subaquan'c: a term indicating 'below water level' subdominant: describes species lesser in rank of prevalence than the dominant species, but occurring with the dominant species in varying mixtures in several regional variants of a community

362

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

subglacial: an adjective pertaining to the environment immediately below an ice mass supercritical: a term used to describe water when its velocity exceeds a critical value which may be computed from the velocity and depth of the water and the acceleration due to gravitation surficial: occurring on the surface tabular cross-beds: near-horizontal units of fluvial strata talus: a sheet or cone of broken fragments of rock, normally angular, which collect below cliff faces terrigenous: land-based theodolite: a surveying instrument for the precise measurement of angles Thorold Sandstone: Thorold (a town in the eastern part of the Niagara Peninsula) is the place name of the type locality used to describe the sandstone at this level in the geological column (see Figure 2.2) till: unstratified sediment deposited directly from glacier ice (see diamicton) township: the major unit of land subdivision in the Niagara Peninsula, divided into ]ofs and concessions traction layer: bottom layer of sediment moved by drag forces transgressive: the systematic inland advance of the shoreline of a water body due to a rising water level trough cross-beds: fluvial strata exhibiting wave-like structure tufa: a precipitated mass of calcium carbonate deposited by groundwater emerging at the earth's surface, or in a cave; usually cellular in structure tundra: a treeless marshy environment, often with a permanently frozen subsurface; drier parts are often characterized by a vegetation of low herbs and stunted trees; hence herbaceous uniformitarian: adjective formed from the principle of uniformity, a philosophy of interpretation for geology which matured in the nineteenth century and which stated that present processes could and should be used to understand the operation of processes in the geological past up-ice: in the direction from which the glacier flows varves: laminated sediments in which a couplet of clay and silt is believed to represent one year of deposition; thin but larger silt particles settle in the summer, the very fine clays settle when the water is calm because it is covered with ice

GLOSSARY

363

washline: a linear depression aligned down slope and caused by small amounts of water flow which remove fine silts and clays but leave larger material washover: a low point on a drainage divide where lake waters were just able to flow over into an adjoining drainage basin wasted blocks: the results of mass-wasting, probably subject to later weathering Whirlpool Sandstone: (prominent pool in the Niagara Gorge) is the place name of the type locality used to describe the sandstone at this level in the geological column (see Figure 2.2) wind-set: the temporary rise of water level at one end of a lake caused by strong winds blowing along the lake; on Lake Erie it can reach 2.5 m for a few hours, and is naturally accompanied by large waves Wzsconsinan: the final major glacial phase of continental ice sheets in North America. This phase can be subdivided into the Early, Middle and Late phases of ice sheet glaciation, separated by major interglacial phases xeric: pertaining to a limited moisture supply

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Index Aboriginal settlement: 142,182-183 agriculture: climatic effects 5,114-117, 131-133,136,281; evolution of 248,282-283; field crops 282-283,286-287; Free Trade 269,291-293; grape and tender fruits 5,269,283,286,288-290, 297; greenhouse industry 287-288; land preservation/urban encroachment 6,262,274, 293-296; livestock operations 290; physical base 279-282; planning areas 294-296 Allanburg: 246 American War of Independence: 187, 189,209,219,243

precipitation 122-130; synoptic weather 112; temperature 112-117; topographic effects 117-122,129; variability 133-134 Clinton Township: 234-236 Collins, John: 226,229-230,235-237 Commission on Planning and Development Reform in Ontario (Sewell Comission): 275 Crowland Township: 235,237 Dain City: 246 DeCew Falls: 230 Detroit: 183,187 Fonthill: seePelham Fonthill Kame: microclimatic effects 114, 119-122,281; physiography 27, 312 forests: see vegetation Fort Erie: 187,191,201,246,259,264, 268,271,313-314 Fort George: 188,191,201,313 Fort Mississauga: 191,201 Fort Niagara: 180,186-187,211-213,215 Forty-Mile Creek: 42,158-164 French settlement: 183-187 Frey Survey: 224-232,234-238

Balls Falls: 20,313,317-318 Beamsville: 243,250 Bertie Township: 236 British settlement: 1759-1812187-195; 1812-29 195-204 Brock University: 259,261 Buffalo: 248 Butler, Colonel John: 187,192,211,215, 221-222 Caistor Township: 236 Champlain, Samuel: 183 Chippawa: early settlement 193,198, 199,243; later development 248, 313,333 Chippawa Creek: see Welland River Clifton: see Niagara Falls climate: climatic change 134-136; effects on agriculture 5,114-117, 131-133,136,281; Glacial period 36,38; hydrological constraints 131-133;

Gainsborough Township: 236 General Motors: 248 Gilbert, G.K.: 95-96,100-101 Glacial Geomorphology: 56-58,74-75 glaciation: glacigenic sediments 54-56, 58-75; Lake Agassiz 31-35; Lake Iroquois 23-26,35,89-90; Lake Tonawanda 30-35; proglacial lakes 27-35 365

366

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES

Gourlay, Robert: 144-148,195-196,204 Grand River: 201,221 Grantham Township: 235-236,253,259, 333 Grimsby: 234-236,243,250,259,265,268 Haldimand, Sir Frederick: 187,192, 213-215,219-224 Hamilton: 248,250,268,341,344 Hamilton, Robert: 192,201 Holland, Samuel: 224-225,237 Humberstone Township: 235-236 ice lobes: see Laurentide Ice Sheet Indian settlement: see Aboriginal settlement industry: see manufacturing industry Iroquois Trail: 183,189,243 Jones, Augustus: 226,230-235,237 Jordan: 243,313,318 Lake Erie: 29-30,31-35,38,43-44,56, 122,128,313 Lake Iroquois: see glaciation Lake Ontario: 25,37,43-44,118,122,128 Lake Ontario Plain: see Niagara Fruit Belt landforms: coastal erosion 43-44; human impacts 44-46,179-180; Lake Iroquois shoreline 23-26; moraines 27-28,54-56,58,60; Niagara Escarpment 13-19,28, 36-37,42-43; Onondaga Escarpment 19-20,26; plateau areas 26; river gorges/waterfalls 2,20-23, 35-36 Laurentide Ice Sheet: 25,27-28,33,53 Lenox: see Niagara-on-the-Lake Lincoln: county government 333-334; Town of 265,268,343 local government: see regional government

Louth Township: 234-236 Lowbanks: see Mohawk Bay Loyalists: 2,187-190,213,219,225,243 Lundy's Lane: see Niagara Falls manufacturing industry: decline of 260-261,267-268; early mills 193-185,198-199,243,246; hydro-electric power and heavy industry 6,45,248-249; post-war boom 251-253 Marineland: see Niagara Falls McDonell Survey: 211-219,232 Merritt, William Hamilton: 199,201,204 Merritton: 246,259,333 Mississauga Indians: see Ojibwa Indians Mohawk Bay: glacial features in 58-75 Mohawk Trail: 183 Native settlement: see Aboriginal settlement Neutral Indians: 182-183 Newark: see Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara College: 259 Niagara Escarpment: as a barrier 1,180, 201; forests 157-165; microclimatic effects 114, 118-119,129; physiography of 13-19,28,36-37,42-43,44-46, 310; recreational uses 306,312 Niagara Falls: Clifton, development of 246; Falls area 246,301,310, 313-314; Lundy's Lane 259,313; Marineland 262; origin of the Falls 81-101; tourism 2,248, 259,261-262,301,310,315 Niagara Falls, N.Y.: 248 Niagara Fruit Belt: agricultural change 269,283,286,288-290,297; microclimatic effects 5,114-117, 118-119; recreational resource 306; urban development/sprawl 250-251, 253-259,269,293-296

INDEX

367

Niagara Gorge: 20,29-30,31-35,42, 81-82,84,88-90 Niagara-on-the-Lake: capital of Upper Canada 1,192,243,315; survey and early settlement 187-188, 191-192,196,211-234; tourist/cultural centre 2,262, 313-314,315 Niagara Parks Commission: 2,262 Niagara River: early forts 186-187, 191-192; early industry 193-195,198; physiography of 20,29-30,31-35; recreational uses 306,312,315 Niagara Township: see Niagara-on-the-Lake

government evolution in Ontario 326-330; local government reform 6,259-260, 330-332; Mayo Commission 260,335-337; policy plan review 270-275,294-296; regional headquarters 345; Regional Municipality of Niagara, establishment of 260,294, 332-342; regional planning 262-264,269,270-275, 333,344; regional promotion 261,274 Rock Point Provincial Park: see Mohawk Bay Rockway Falls: 313,317-318

qibwa Indians: 183,187,211,213, 220-221 Onondaga Escarpment: 19-20,26,44,58, 180,310 Ontario Municipal Board (OMB): 263, 294,333-334,344

St. Catharines: downtown change 258, 266; highway strip development 259; industry 248, 253; Ministry of Transportation relocation 270,274; Pen Centre 258,266-267; residential development 253-258,265-266, 268-270; retailing 258,266-267, 270; Shipman's Corners, development of 198-199,243; urban fringe development 259, 265-266,274 St. David's: 196,243,246 St. John's: 195,198,243,246 Seneca Indians: 183,187,214 service industry: 251-253 Shipman's Corners: see St. Catharines Short Hills: early settlement 195; recreation 306 Short Hills Provincial Park: 41,43, 165-167 Simcoe, Lieutenant Governor John: 192 Six Nations Indians: 213,214 Smithville: see West Lincoln Spencer, J.W.W.: 93-95 Stamford Township: 215,218,234,236,

Pelham: 235,237,265 pollution, atmospheric: 167-172 Port Colborne: 246,248,250,259,261, 264,271,317,320 Port Dalhousie: 243,250,259,313, 319-320,333 Port Robinson: 246 Port Weller: 313,317 Portage Road: 192-193,199 Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS): 263 Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW): 6,250,268, 271,294 Queenston: 187,193,196,198,199,243, 313 regional government: Archer Commission 342-344; Kitchen Commission 346-347; local

368

NIAGARA'S CHANGING LANDSCAPES 259,333

suburbanization: 253-260,268-270,293, 331-332 surveys: boundary disputes 232-233; Front and Rear System 231,234, 236,238; Land Board Plan 226, 228-230; Quebec Plan 226-227, 229; road allowances 233; Single Front System 236; townsite issue 233-234 synoptic weather: see climate Taylor, F.B.: 96-97,100-101 Thorold: early settlement 196,199,236, 246; later development 248,259, 265,271,333 Thorold Township: see Thorold Tmling Survey: 219-224 Toronto: 250,268,331-332,344 transportation: canal 5,243,246; lake steamer 199,248; rail 201,204, 246-248; road 189,192-193, 196-197,243,250,265; stagecoach 199; street-car/inter-urban rail 250 Twelve Mile Creek: 23,25,35,40,41,43, 180,195,199,313,317,318 Twenty Mile Creek: 20,23,38-39,40,42, 180,195,306,310,313,317-318 Upham, W.E.: 97,100 vegetation: early, or post-glacial, forests 38,41,140-142; forests at the time of European settlement 142-149; forests in agricultural areas 150-157; forests in non-agricultural areas 157-172; pollution 167-172; secondary succession 154-157 Vinemount Moraine: 23,28,56 Wainfleet: 144,150-154

Wainfleet Marsh: 20,29-31,140-141, 236,242,306 War of 1812: 1,191,195-196 weather: see climate Welland: county government 333-334; early settlement 246; Electric Park 250; later development 248,250,259,265; pollution 167-172 Welland Canal: construction of First Canal 45,180,196,199,201,243, 246; Feeder Canal 201; recreational uses 262,301,306, 313,316-317,320-321 Welland River: 28-29,39-40,180,201, 306,310,313 West Lincoln Township: 242,265,268 Willoughby Township: 148,235,237 wine-making: 5,262,293,297 Wright, G.F.: 91-92,101

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