Lake Gibson is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

near

Thorold Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first su ...

in the

Regional Municipality of Niagara The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern ...

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The lake is not natural, but rather was created as a reservoir for hydroelectric power generation at the

Ontario Power Generation Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and "government business enterprise" that is responsible for approximately half of the electricity generation in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is w ...

Decew Falls 1 and Decew Falls 2 generating stations. The lake was created by flooding the shallow valley of Beaverdams Creek. Lake Moodie is located to the northwest of Lake Gibson and is a smaller segment of the overall Lake Gibson system. Almost all of the water supply to these lakes comes from

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

via the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller in St. Catharines t ...

. The lakes form part of the Twelve Mile Creek watershed.

Highway 406 crosses over the lake. At the west end of the lake is

Morningstar Mill Morningstar Mill is a heritage site located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The site includes the Morningstar Mill, a sawmill, the home of the Morningstar family, a barn used for blacksmith demonstrations, and the Decew Falls gorge along the ...

, consisting of a working gristmill dating from 1872, plus a reconstructed sawmill. A short distance east of this are the ruins of

DeCou House DeCew House (variably spelt DeCow, Du Coo or DeCou) was built c.1808 in Thorold Township, Upper Canada. The two-story house had limestone walls thick. Early history DeCew was a captain in the 2nd Lincoln Militia during the War of 1812, ...

, the destination of

Laura Secord Laura Secord ( Ingersoll; 13 September 1775 – 17 October 1868) was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. She is known for having walked out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American atta ...

's famous journey during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. Lake Gibson is part of St. Catharines' drinking water supply. Consequently, no boating is permitted.

References

External links

Website for Morningstar Mill park

Morningstar Mill

Gibson, Lake Landforms of the Regional Municipality of Niagara Tourist attractions in the Regional Municipality of Niagara {{GoldenHorseshoe-geo-stub