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The Rouge River 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 ...
in Markham, Pickering, Richmond Hill and
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 anch ...
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 ...
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. The river flows from the Oak Ridges Moraine to
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 ...
at the eastern border of Toronto, and is the location of
Rouge Park Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of river in ...
, the only national park in Canada within a municipality. At its southern end, the Rouge River is the boundary between Toronto and southwestern Pickering in the
Regional Municipality of Durham The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater T ...
.


History

The Rouge River is part of the Carolinian life zone that is found in
Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...
. After the eradication of both the
Petun The Petun (from french: pétun), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati ("People Among the Hills/Mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the woodlands of eastern North America. Their last known traditional homeland was sou ...
and the Wyandot (Huron), Senecas from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
attempted to establish/expand their
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...
activities by establishing a village named ''Gandechiagaiagon'' (recorded variously as "Gandatsekiagon", "Ganatsekwyagon", "Gandatchekiagon", or "Katabokokonk"), meaning "sand-cut" at the mouth of Rouge River. According to a 1796 list by English surveyor Augustus Jones, 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 popu ...
name for the river was ''Gichi-ziibiins'' (recorded as "Che-sippi"), meaning "large creek." The river's name likely is French for "red river", based on the mappings by French explorer
Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and ...
. In the early 19th century, pioneer settlers could spear large salmon spawning as far north as the upper tributaries of the Rouge in what is today
Whitchurch-Stouffville Whitchurch-Stouffville ( 2021 population 49,864) is a town in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada, approximately north of downtown Toronto, and north-east of Toronto Pearson International Airport. It is in area, and located in t ...
In the former City of Scarborough, the Rouge was the "
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
" issue of
municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
politics, and many minor candidates for mayor often ran on a platform to preserve it. However, since Scarborough was annexed into the City of Toronto, Toronto City Council has voted on occasion to allow development around the river. For much of the course of the system in Toronto is still parkland or farmland. As for the York Region sections, the southern watershed runs through residential areas and is lined with a few small parks. The source of the system is either natural or farmland. Currently, there is a degree of abandonment in the area, of former farmlands, and historic houses. There also remain many historic houses which are still lived in, some even farmed. Research on Toronto's website listing its holdings of historic properties reveals over 20 historic buildings in the area, including Hillside PS, Scarborough's first schoolhouse, which sits across the street from a house built by the Pearse family in 1855.


Geography


Watershed

The Rouge River begins in the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill and flows past: Markham, northwest, central, to the south, including a couple of conservation areas, the eastern edge of Scarborough and Rouge Valley Park. The
watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
of the Rouge River is located in the municipalities of Richmond Hill and Markham in the
Regional Municipality of York The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regiona ...
; Pickering in the Regional Municipality of Durham; and Toronto. Tributaries of the Rouge River also extend into the municipalities of
Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
and Whitchurch-Stouffville in the Regional Municipality of York. The total area of the watershed is , of which 40% is agricultural land, 35% urban, 24% forest/wetland/meadow and 1% watercourses/waterbodies. The headwaters of the Rouge River and its tributaries are found in the Oak Ridges Moraine. Water flows down from the elevated moraine to Lake Ontario. The Rouge River meets Lake Ontario at Rouge Beach. At Rouge Beach, the Rouge Marsh is to the north and Lake Ontario to the south. More than half the remaining wetlands in the Greater Toronto Area are located here in the southern Rouge River. It is one of a few
wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
areas left in South-Central Ontario and has been virtually untouched by development since the arrival of Europeans. While many exclusive homes and conclaves border this area on the southern tip, it is currently surrounded largely by agricultural land. It is even devoid of recreational development but sports a considerable network of walking or bicycle paths. Unlike other rivers in the Toronto area, it is allowed to fill its entire
flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
on a regular basis rather than being forced through an artificial channel. However, parts of its watershed include the Toronto Zoo and the Beare Road Landfill.


Tributaries

*Little Rouge Creek (left) - runs northeast via Cedar Grove, Locust Hill, Dickson Hill, Ringwood, Lemonville, and Bloomington (Kennedy Road-Bethesda Road to Kingston Road and Altona Road) **Katabokokonk Creek - a short creek runs in northeast Markham (west of Reesor Road and Don Cousens Parkway to Major Mackenzie Drive and west of Reesor Road) and bears the original First Nations name of the Rouge *Morningside Creek (right) - flows from an area near Dennison Avenue and Markham Road to southwest of the Toronto Zoo and east of Morningside Road *Exhibition Creek - runs from north of 16th Avenue and Highway 48 to Markham and Highway 7 *Robinson Creek (left)- runs from north of Elgin Mills between McCowan Road and Kennedy Road to the east end of Milne Park at 48 and Highway 7 *Eckardt Creek (left) runs from storm management ponds at west of The Bridle Walk and 16th Avenue north to Bur Oak Avenue and east of The Bridle Walk *Bruce Creek (left) - starts in several ponds in the southeast corner of Aurora, flows briefly through the northeast corner of Richmond Hill, then southeast in the southwest corner of Whitchurch-Stouffville, through
Bruce's Mill Conservation Area Bruce's Mill Conservation Area (BMCA) is a conservation area located off Stouffville Road in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Regional Municipality of York, Canada. The conservation area is about 108 hectares (267 acres) in size. BMCA is hom ...
and into Markham. It flows through Angus Glen Golf Club and into Toogood Pond in Unionville, just before which the tributary Berczy Creek joins. The creek runs several hundred metres more to its mouth just east of Kennedy Road (Kennedy-Highway 7 to Woodbine Avenue north of Bloomington Road) **Berczy Creek - runs from north of Stouffville Road and Woodbine Avenue into Bruce Creek just upstream of Toogood Pond ***Carleton Creek - runs from Woodbine Avenue and Major Mackenzie Drive to Berczy Creek at 16th Avenue and Warden Avenue * Beaver Creek (right); flows from Richmond Hill to the future Downtown Markham development area; bounded by Major Mackenzie Drive-Bayview Avenue to Warden-Highway 407 *Apple Creek - a small creek near Apple Creek Blvd, Rodick Road and runs between residential developments in a northwest direction to 16th Avenue and Buttonfield Road (just south of Cachet Centre shopping mall)


Parks


National Park

Rouge National Urban Park Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of river in Toron ...
is a national
urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...
managed by
Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
. The Park the largest urban park in North America, comprising a significant portion of the Rouge River. The Park was created after the Ministry of Stephen Harper proposed, in the
41st Canadian Parliament The 41st Canadian Parliament was in session from June 2, 2011 to August 2, 2015, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011. Parliament convened on June 2, ...
throne speech, the creation of the national park.


Municipal parks

There are a number of local parks around of the Rouge watershed managed by the municipalities of Markham, Pickering, Richmond Hill, and Toronto. In addition, 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 volunt ...
manages a number of parks and
conservation areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
. These parks include: * Bob Hunter Memorial Park * Littles Road Park * Morningview Ravine Park * Woodlands Park * Glen Rouge Park * Rouge Valley Park, Markham * Rouge Beach Park * Milne Park, Markham * Apple Creek Park * Cedar Valley Park * Mount Joy Lake Park * Springdale Park * Monarch Park * Ashton Meadows Park * Artisan Park - Beaver Creek * Beaver Greenway - Beaver Creek * Bruce Creek Park * Berczy Creek Park * Boyton Woods Park * Elgin Mills Cemetery * Headwaters Park


Metro East Freeway

The Rouge was threatened by the proposed Metro East Freeway which would have run along the river valley like the
Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway ...
from north Scarborough through Markham between Ninth Line and York-Durham Town Line terminating in Stouffville. The roadway came into existence following the cancellation of the
Spadina Expressway William R. Allen Road, also known as Allen Road, the Allen Expressway and colloquially as the Allen, is a short expressway and arterial road in Toronto. It starts as a controlled-access expressway at Eglinton Avenue West, heading north to just ...
and pause on Scarborough Expressway in 1971. It was removed from planning in 1994. Markham continues to seek a arterial connection to
Ontario Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provi ...
which led to the construction of
Donald Cousens Parkway Donald Cousens Parkway or York Regional Road 48, also referred to historically as the Markham Bypass or Markham Bypass Extension, is a regionally maintained arterial bypass of Markham in the Canadian province of Ontario. Named for former M ...
with planned connection to Highway 401 via extension of Morningside Avenue to
Steeles Avenue Steeles Avenue is an east–west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of York Region in Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western and central Greater Toronto Area from Appleby Line in Milton in th ...
.


Golf courses

* Parkview Golf Course - created from former IBM Canada Course * Markham Green Golf Course - created from former IBM Canada Course (c. 1960) and Box Grove Golf Club (c. 1940); part of clubhouse became Rouge River Community Centre in the 1990s (pool added 1999) * Cedar Brae Golf & Country Club (c. 1922) * York Downs Golf and Country Club * Angus Glen Golf Club - opened in 1992 built on the former Angus Glen Farm (c. 1957) * Markham Golf Club * Buttonville Fairways Golf Centre A 18-hole golf course, Unionville Golf Centre, operated from 1961 to 2007 on Main Street Unionville south of Highway 7 along the Rouge River. It is now site of
Bill Crothers Secondary School Bill Crothers Secondary School is an athletic based High school in the community of Unionville in Markham, Ontario, Canada. It was the newest secondary school in the York Region District School Board for a number of years, since 2008. Named for ...
. The golf greens area along the river have now been restored as natural habitat.


Gallery

File:Lilies at Marsh near Rouge River.jpg, Lilies at the
Marshes A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
near Rouge beach park File:Rouge River.jpg, A picture of the Rouge River during winter File:The Milne Dam.jpg, The Milne Dam Conservation Park in Winter File:Robinson Creek meets Rouge.jpg, Picture of where the Robinson Creek meets the Rouge River


See also

* List of Ontario rivers *
10,000 Trees for the Rouge Valley 10,000 Trees for the Rouge Valley is a 100% volunteer-run environmental tree-planting organization that has held many Toronto-area tree plantings. It is a volunteer group that is dedicated to helping the environment, as it has restored more than ...
*
Rouge River Bridge Rouge River Bridge is a series of spans carrying traffic on Highway 401 (Ontario) over the Rouge River (Ontario). It is technically not a single bridge, but rather several spans of highway overpasses over the Rouge River. Parts of the origina ...


References


External links


Rouge Park website
*Mandano Meriano
Hydrogeology of a complex glacial system, Rouge River-Highland Creek Watershed
Master of Science Thesis, University of Toronto, 1999. * Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
Rouge River Watershed Plan
2007. {{greatlakes Rivers of Toronto Tributaries of Lake Ontario