The Niagara
Peninsula

Peninsula is the portion of Southern Ontario, Canada,
lying between the southwestern shore of
Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario and the
northeastern shore of Lake Erie. Technically an isthmus rather than a
peninsula,[1] it stretches from the
Niagara River

Niagara River in the east to
Hamilton, Ontario, in the west. The population of the peninsula is
roughly 1,000,000 people. The region directly across the Niagara River
and
Lake Erie

Lake Erie in
New York State

New York State is known as the Niagara Frontier. The
broader
Buffalo Niagara Region

Buffalo Niagara Region includes the Niagara Peninsula, the
Niagara Frontier, and the city of Buffalo, New York.
Contents
1 Government
2 History
3 21st century
4 Visiting
5 Living
6 Transportation
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Government[edit]
The greater part of the peninsula is incorporated as the Regional
Municipality of Niagara. Cities in the region include St. Catharines,
Niagara Falls, Thorold,
Port Colborne

Port Colborne and Welland. Towns include
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lincoln, Pelham, Grimsby and Fort Erie, as well
as the townships Wainfleet and West Lincoln. The remainder of the
peninsula encompasses parts of the City of Hamilton and Haldimand
County.
History[edit]
The area was originally inhabited by a
First Nations

First Nations people called the
"Neutrals", so named for their practice of trading goods such as flint
arrowhead blanks with both of the feuding regional powers, the Wyandot
and Iroquois.[citation needed] The Neutrals were wiped out by the
Iroquois

Iroquois c. 1650 as the latter sought to expand their fur-trapping
territory as part of the Beaver Wars.[2] From this point until the
arrival of
United Empire Loyalists

United Empire Loyalists following the American War of
Independence, the region was only sporadically inhabited,[citation
needed] as the
Iroquois

Iroquois did not establish permanent settlements in the
area.
The Niagara
Peninsula

Peninsula then became one of the first areas settled in
Upper
Canada
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Canada_(Pantone).svg.png)
Canada by British Loyalists in the late 18th century. The
capital of the new colony was established with the founding of
Niagara-on-the-Lake, then called Newark. Many English and Irish
immigrants settled in the peninsula, but by the 1800s, Italian and
German immigrants heavily populated the peninsula and were the chief
sources of immigrants followed by French, Polish, and other Central
Europeans[which?].[citation needed]
Following the agricultural period of European settlement, the Niagara
area became an important industrial centre, with water-powered mills
joined later by hydro-electric power generation in
Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls and
electricity-intensive industry in both
Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls and St.
Catharines. While agriculture – especially fruit farming along the
shore of
Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario – remains important to this day, it was joined
in the 19th century by industrial developments. A succession of canals
were built to connect the markets and mineral resources of the upper
Great Lakes

Great Lakes with the
St. Lawrence Seaway

St. Lawrence Seaway (See also
Welland

Welland Canal).
General Motors

General Motors built a considerable presence in
St. Catharines
.png/500px-St._Catharines,_Ontario_(montage).png)
St. Catharines with
auto plants and a foundry, and a number of auto-parts manufacturers
followed. Dry docks were also built at Port Weller on Lake Ontario.
Maid of the Mist

Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.
21st century[edit]
Heavy industry has been diminishing for the past decade or more
primarily due to the slow-down of the North American automotive
manufacturers. Thousands of jobs have been lost at long-time area
employers such as General Motors, Thompson Products, Deere &
Company, Dana
Canada
.svg/250px-Flag_of_Canada_(Pantone).svg.png)
Canada Corp, Port Weller Drydocks, Domtar Papers and
Gallagher
Thorold

Thorold Paper. Because of this, local municipalities have
been forced to look at new and diversified opportunities to prevent an
exodus of well trained staff.
Visiting[edit]
Hospitality and tourism has attracted numerous visitors to the area
for more than 150 years primarily thanks to Niagara Falls. New
development beginning during the mid-1990s has spun off an upscale
hospitality boom throughout the whole Niagara Peninsula.
Today, more than 10 million guests[citation needed] visit the
peninsula annually to see the beauty of the Falls and the Niagara
Parks.
Ecotourism

Ecotourism has become more popular with more people finding and
exploring out of the way places such as the Niagara Escarpment, named
a world
Biosphere Reserve

Biosphere Reserve by
UNESCO

UNESCO in 1990.
Another area of major tourism growth in the past thirty years has been
the expansion of the grape and wine industry. The Niagara
Peninsula

Peninsula is
one of four recognized viticultural areas by the VQA in the Ontario
wine industry. The many European-style wineries and vineyards have
played a major role in attracting visitors seeking a unique cultural
experience. Most of the local wineries offer full tours of their
facilities with a few offering onsite dining featuring unique Canadian
cuisine paired with their own VQA vintages. It is common for many of
these wineries' world-class chefs to use fresh ingredients that are
grown or acquired from local farms in season. Some wineries also
feature live music and theatrical performances in the vineyard during
the summer months. Visitors come during the coldest months of the year
(usually December to February) to watch some varieties of grapes being
harvested and pressed outdoors in the vineyard as part of the process
of creating the sweetest, and among the most expensive,[citation
needed] wine on earth – ice wine. A few Niagara
Peninsula

Peninsula wineries
have won the most prestigious international awards[citation needed]
for their ice wine products, many of which are only available from the
vintner.
There is an official [1] Wine Routes Guide for those that wish to
self-drive while transportation companies offering wine tours operate
out of major hotel and bed and breakfast establishments in Niagara
Falls,
Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake and Toronto. (Driving from downtown Toronto
to the Niagara wine region is about two hours.)
Another major attraction for the well travelled looking for cultural
activities is the famous
Shaw Festival Theater (named for playwright
George Bernard Shaw) located in the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. A
resident repertory company of actors uses three theatres during a
six-month season.
Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake is also the location of Fort
George, a British-built and -occupied fort during the War of 1812. It
was rebuilt for the public during the 1960s and is open during the
summer months. Other key historical locations nearby include: Brock's
Monument, the
Laura Secord

Laura Secord Monument and the battlefield sites of
Battle of Queenston Heights,
Battle of Lundy's Lane

Battle of Lundy's Lane and Battle of
Chippawa.
Living[edit]
The region's moderate year-round climate, in addition to its close
proximity to the United States for easy road and air access to the
southern U.S., makes it a popular[citation needed] retirement
destination. In fact, the Niagara
Peninsula

Peninsula has both the highest
density and growth rate of seniors for any region within
Ontario.[citation needed] The highest percentage of seniors to the
total population is located within the city of Port Colborne.[citation
needed]
During the early 1990s a major telecommunications highway between
metropolitan
Toronto

Toronto and the U.S. was upgraded to become one of North
America's fastest fiber backbones.[citation needed] It passes through
the heart of the Niagara
Peninsula

Peninsula and enters the U.S. at Buffalo, New
York. This gave Niagara the advantage of having direct access to the
backbone and attracting many new professional call centers.
Compared with the cities of Toronto, Hamilton and most Ontario
municipalities with populations similar in size to the whole of the
Niagara Peninsula, the average cost of living is very
reasonable.[citation needed] The cost of housing, both owned and
rented, is lower.[citation needed] The three major cities, St.
Catharines,
Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls and
Welland

Welland are mostly urban with most
needed services available locally. The remainder of the peninsula,
especially to the far west and south, is either partially urban or
almost entirely rural.
Centres of higher education are
Brock University

Brock University and Niagara College,
both offering undergraduate and post-graduate studies in many
disciplines.
Transportation[edit]
The major roadway bisecting the peninsula is the Queen Elizabeth Way
(QEW). This freeway connects
Toronto

Toronto and Buffalo, New York, in the
United States. It is one of the major thoroughfares for the North
American trucking industry and is responsible for supporting the
carriage of nearly one third of all goods imported and
exported.[citation needed] The second major roadway is Highway 406
which begins at the QEW in west
St. Catharines
.png/500px-St._Catharines,_Ontario_(montage).png)
St. Catharines and ends approximately
30 km south in the city of Welland. Another shorter freeway is
Highway 405, named the General
Isaac Brock

Isaac Brock Parkway in 2006. It begins
at the QEW in Niagara-on-the-Lake, just east of St. Catharines, and
ends about 9 km away at Queenston, Ontario, where it connects to
an international bridge that crosses into the United States at
Lewiston, New York. This is also a major travel zone for the Canada/US
trucking industry.
All cities and some towns in the peninsula have taxi services while
St. Catharines,
Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls and
Welland

Welland all have a local transit
commission. There is also one major airbus company that services
Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo airports exclusively. Most cities and
some towns also have very limited inter-city bus services operated
mostly by Greyhound and Coach Canada. A specialized inter-city
regional bus service, owned and operated by the Regional government,
began operation in late 2006 but is restricted to those requiring
transport to medical appointments throughout the region and have no
other means of transportation. (Other restrictions apply.) The region
hopes to have a fully integrated region-level transit system by the
end of the decade.
Niagara Falls,
St. Catharines
.png/500px-St._Catharines,_Ontario_(montage).png)
St. Catharines and Grimsby are all connected to the CN
railway line.
Via Rail

Via Rail offers limited daily commuter and weekend
service between these three peninsula municipalities and
Toronto

Toronto and
many points between.
Via Rail

Via Rail and
Amtrak

Amtrak also offer daily southbound
service from
Toronto

Toronto to New York City with stops at the same stations.
See also[edit]
Niagara,
St. Catharines
.png/500px-St._Catharines,_Ontario_(montage).png)
St. Catharines and
Toronto

Toronto Railway
Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway
References[edit]
^ "Imagine Niagara" (PDF). Consolidated Official Plan. Niagara Region.
August 2014. p. 1.4. Retrieved 22 June 2015. The "Niagara
Peninsula" area is not a true peninsula but is a narrow neck of land
stretching between Lakes Erie and Ontario.
^ Niagara
Peninsula

Peninsula - History http://www.niagarapeninsula.com/?pg=15.
Retrieved 11 August 2016. Missing or empty title= (help)
External links[edit]
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Niagara Peninsula.
The Regional Municipality of Niagara
Coordinates: 43°00′N 79°30′W / 43.00°N 79.50°Wï