Etobicoke Creek is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in the
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...
of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada.
It is a tributary of
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...
and runs from
Caledon to southern
Etobicoke
Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
, part of the City of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. The creek is within the jurisdiction of the
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is a conservation authority in southern Ontario, Canada. It owns about of land in the Toronto region, and it employs more than 400 full-time employees and coordinates more than 3,000 voluntee ...
.
Etymology
The name "Etobicoke" was derived from the
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
word ''wah-do-be-kang'' (''wadoopikaang''), meaning "place where the
alder
Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
s grow", which was used to describe the area between Etobicoke Creek and the
Humber River. The first provincial land surveyor,
Augustus Jones
Augustus Jones ( – November 16, 1836) was an American-born Upper Canadian farmer, land speculator, magistrate, militia captain and surveyor. Jones trained as a surveyor in New York City, and fled as a United Empire Loyalist to Upper Can ...
, also spelled it as "ato-be-coake". A letter from January 22, 1775 uses "Tobacock". Etobicoke was adopted as the official name of the township (later city, now part of the city of Toronto) in 1795 on the direction of
Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the Drainage basin, watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. ...
.
The name for the waterway used in the
Toronto Purchase
The Toronto Purchase was the sale of lands in the Toronto area from the Mississaugas of New Credit to the British crown. An initial, disputed, agreement was made in 1787, in exchange for various items. The agreement was revisited in 1805, intend ...
treaty was Etobicoke River. Simcoe in a memo from April 5, 1796 refers to it as "Smith River or Etobicoke". In a letter dated April 9, 1796 he used "Tobicoke". (No reference appears for Smith but could be linked to
Samuel Smith who would be granted land in Etobicoke and served with Simcoe in the
Queen's Rangers
The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War. Formed in 1776, they were named for Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. The Queen' ...
.) Both "creek" and "river" appear in newspapers and books until about 1960.
"Creek" was officially adopted by the
Geographical Names Board of Canada
The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is a national committee with a secretariat in Natural Resources Canada, part of the Government of Canada, which authorizes the names used and name changes on official federal government maps of Canada ...
on November 18, 1962,
though it existed far earlier.
The name of the river in
Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) language of the
Mississaugas
The Mississauga are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwe. The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning "hose ...
, in modern Fiero orthography is ''Edoopikaag-ziibi''.
Course
![Marie Curtis Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Marie_Curtis_Park.jpg)
Etobicoke Creek begins south of the
Oak Ridges Moraine
The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically important geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon and Rice Lake, near Peterborough. One of the most signif ...
and flows through Caledon,
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
, and
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
— west of the
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...
and the surrounding industrial area — to its mouth at Lake Ontario in the Etobicoke portion of the city of Toronto. The length of the creek is .
Watershed
The creek's southern section forms a city and county-level boundary, separating Toronto on the east from
Mississauga
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
, in
Peel Region, as far north as
Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue is a major east–west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga in the Canadian province of Ontario. The street begins at Highway 407 (but does not interchange with the tollway) at the western limits of Mississauga, as a ...
(north of where it flows entirely through Peel), on the west. The watershed encompasses .
Mean summer waterflow has increased over the period 1967 to 2006 from 3.5 m
3/s to 5.0 m
3/s (4.5 cu. yd. to 6.5 cu. yd.) as recorded at a measuring station near the river mouth at the Queen Elizabeth Way.
The creek ends in a large recreational area,
Marie Curtis Park
Marie Curtis Park is a public park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Etobicoke Creek on Lake Ontario in the Long Branch neighbourhood. Marie Curtis Park was built after the devastating floods of Hurricane Hazel in 19 ...
. It is surrounded by cliffs and the bottom is solid stone, often covered with smaller rocks. It is full of small fish and
crayfish
Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...
, a sign of purity of water.
Geology
The creek is characterized by winding paths
ravine
A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.[shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...](_blank)
banks.
Incidents
Aircraft accidents
A section of Etobicoke Creek runs close to Toronto's
Pearson International Airport
Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...
, leaving a ravine very close to the west ends of
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
s 24L and 24R or the beginnings of Runways 6R & 6L. There have been two major aircraft incidents which have resulted in aircraft in the ravine.
*On 26 June 1978, an
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...
Douglas DC-9-32
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
,
Flight 189, with 107 people on board, overshot runway 24R and crashed into the ravine, destroying the aircraft and killing two of the passengers.
*On August 2, 2005, an
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
Airbus A340-300
The Airbus A340 is a long-haul, long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus.
In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the Airbus A300, A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 qu ...
,
Flight 358, with 309 people on board, overran runway 24L into the ravine, followed by a fire on board. All people on board escaped safely but dozens were injured. One passenger, Roel Bramar, later commented, "It was a hell of a roller coaster going into the ravine." Although it was widely reported the Air France plane landed in a heavily wooded area, the area is in fact is fairly wide open, due to airport maintenance of both sides of the ravine. The west side of the ravine is a gentle slope, with grass and the airport's light towers for both 6R and 6L. The fact that all on board the aircraft survived led to the incident quickly being referred to as the 'Miracle of Toronto' by press outlets.
![Airfranceflight358](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Airfranceflight358.jpg)
The position of the ravine so close to the airport's overrun area has raised some concerns among the general public, despite Toronto Pearson's compliance with all safety regulations.
Spills
On March 24, 2020, approximately 400 litres of red ink spilled onto Etobicoke Creek, causing it to turn red.
Neighbourhoods
*
Markland Wood
Markland Wood is a residential neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located west of the central core, in the former suburb of Etobicoke and is the westernmost residential community in Toronto along Bloor Street West.
It's located on t ...
is bounded by Etobicoke Creek to the west and Elmcrest (tributary) Creek to the east.
*
Alderwood is bounded by Etobicoke Creek to the west.
*
Long Branch is bounded on the west by Etobicoke Creek.
Tributaries
*
Spring Creek
A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring creek may additionally be ...
- begins from Etobicoke Creek northwest of the airport northwards between Torbram and Kennedy Roads, to about Bovaird Drive.
*
Little Etobicoke Creek
* Elmcrest Creek - small tributary that begins from two ponds inside
Etobicoke Centennial Park and flows into Etobicoke Creek in the south at the Markland Wood Golf Club.
Another tributary called Silver Creek was buried during the construction of
Malton Airport
Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...
, which has since become Toronto Pearson International Airport.
[Hicks, Kathleen A. (2006). Malton: Farms to Flying (PDF). Mississauga, Ontario: Friends of the Mississauga Library System. ISBN 0-9697873-9-1.]
Gallery
File:The Etobicoke Creek looking north.jpg, The Etobicoke Creek looking north from the waterfall
File:The Etobicoke Creek as it travels through southern Etobicoke.jpg, The Etobicoke Creek as it travels south
File:The Etobicoke Creek in Marie Curtis Park.jpg, The Etobicoke Creek as it travels through Marie Curtis Park
File:Etobicoke Creek Waterfall.jpg, The waterfall in the Etobicoke Creek near the south end of the creek. It is located beside the Toronto Golf Course.
File:Four Mute Swans.jpeg, Four mute swans
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...
along the bank of the Etobicoke Creek.
See also
*
List of rivers of Ontario
This is the list of rivers which are in and flow through Ontario. The watershed list includes tributaries as well.
Dee River, flows between Three Mile Lake and Lake Rosseau.
List of rivers arranged by watershed Hudson Bay
Atlantic Ocean
...
References
*
External links
Etobicoke & Mimico Creeks Watershedsat the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
Markland Wood- Residential Community
Markland Wood Golf Club
{{Authority control
Etobicoke
Rivers of Toronto
Tributaries of Lake Ontario
Rivers of Mississauga