Twelve Mile Creek is a waterway located on the

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

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 ...

in 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 ...

. Its headwaters are located in the town of Pelham, encompassing some of the most unspoiled and natural areas of Niagara area. The creek's lower reaches flow through urban areas of

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 ...

and St. Catharines and has been heavily altered by human activity for almost two centuries. The creek was first known as "Ashquasing" by 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 ...

Indigenous people, the name meaning "that which lies at the end" in the

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

language.

Watershed description

Twelve Mile Creek is named because its outlet 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 ...

is located approximately from the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

. It drains a watershed of approximately . This may be grouped into six sub-watersheds: * Upper Twelve Mile Creek * Lake Gibson System * Richardson Creek * Francis Creek * Dicks Creek * Lower Twelve Mile Creek Of these, only the Upper Twelve Mile Creek can truly be considered to retain any significant degree of its natural state. This sub-watershed branches out into dozens of small streams and drains flowing through

Short Hills Provincial Park Short Hills Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the centre of the Niagara Peninsula, bordering the city of St. Catharines and the town of Pelham in the Niagara Region in southern Ontario, Canada. It occupies an area of . It als ...

and St. John's Conservation Area, as well as various natural, agricultural and lightly developed areas. The area containing the headwaters is known as the Fonthill Kame Delta Complex and was formed from debris left behind by

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

s as they retreated approximately 12,000 years ago. This area has the highest elevation, and contains the only identified cold water streams identified in the Niagara region. The area provides habitat for many bird species, including the Acadian flycatcher,

hooded warbler The hooded warbler (''Setophaga citrina'') is a New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America and across the eastern United States and into southernmost Canada (Ontario). It is migratory, wintering in Central America and the West Indies. ...

Louisiana waterthrush The Louisiana waterthrush (''Parkesia motacilla'') is a New World warbler, that breeds in eastern North America and winters in the West Indies and Central America. Plain brown above, it is white below, with black streaks and with buff flanks and u ...

and

Kentucky warbler The Kentucky warbler (''Geothlypis formosa'') is a small species of New World warbler. It is a sluggish and heavy warbler with a short tail, preferring to spend most of its time on or near the ground, except when singing. Description Adult Kent ...

. Lake Gibson is not a natural feature, but rather an artificially created reservoir. Township maps from the latter half of the 19th century show a meandering stream flowing through this area (Beaverdams Creek) and plunging over the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...

Decew Falls 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 ...

. This is the site of

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 ...

(still in existence today) which used this stream for power. This stream was subsequently dammed to provide a reservoir for hydroelectric generation at the Decew Falls Generation Station. The landscape was further altered with various channels and canals to improve flow to the generating station, and with the creation of additional reservoirs. Lake Gibson receives almost all of its water supply 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 ...

. This reservoir also serves as the domestic water supply for the City of St Catharines. Richardson Creek flows through mostly agricultural, but rapidly urbanizing land in the western part of St. Catharines. It is about in length. It combines with Francis Creek and empties into the Twelve Mile Creek at Martindale Pond, very close to its outlet. These two sub-watersheds therefore do not contribute to water flow on the great majority of the Twelve Mile Creek. Lonely S (18976521999)

The Dicks Creek sub-watershed originates near the escarpment in a residential area, but afterwards flows into industrial and commercial areas. It flows through the abandoned second Welland Canal, passing through the stone locks which once carried ships, before entering a tunnel. It emerges from the tunnel and joins with the main branch of the Twelve Mile Creek immediately beside Highway 406, and not far from the downtown buildings of St. Catharines. The lower portion of Twelve Mile Creek, while historically navigable as part of the second Welland Canal, is now a fast flowing river with rapids and a wide, swift water course. Almost all of the water (98 to 99%) in this portion of the creek is from the Welland Canal by way of the Decew Falls generating stations. The creek empties into Martindale Pond, a small artificial lake near the shores of Lake Ontario created to permit navigation on the first Welland Canal. This body of water also served as the route for the second and third canals and remains of locks from the second and third canals are still visible. Martindale Pond is now the site of the

Royal Canadian Henley Regatta The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta started in 1880 as the first championship for the newly formed Canadian Amateur Rowing Association. History It changed venues often until 1903, when it was decided to hold it at St. Catharines Port Dalhousie's M ...

course. The water flows over a weir into Port Dalhousie harbour, and finally out into Lake Ontario between two long piers.

The early Welland Canal

In the period following 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 ...

, assorted mills made use of water power from various creeks which flowed over Niagara Escarpment. Among these was a sawmill and a grist mill on Twelve Mile Creek owned by

William Hamilton Merritt William Hamilton Merritt (July 3, 1793July 5, 1862) was a businessman and politician in the Niagara Peninsula of Upper Canada in the early 19th century. Although he was born in the United States, his family was Loyalist and eventually settl ...

. Merritt's mills were plagued by low water conditions, especially in late summer - exactly when the grain harvest needed to be ground. He conceived of an idea to divert water from the

Welland River The Welland River (originally called the Chippawa Creek) is a river in the Golden Horseshoe that passes through the Southern Ontario cities of Welland and Niagara Falls. It flows from its source just south of Hamilton, Ontario to meet the Nia ...

to augment the water supply. The idea of a navigable canal across the Niagara Peninsula had come up in the past and it did not take long before Merritt's idea was expanded to include such a navigable waterway. In spite of initial plans, the water source for the canal was initially the Grand River via the

Feeder Canal Feeder may refer to: Technology * Feeder (livestock equipment) * Feeder (beekeeping), any of several devices used in apiculture to supplement or replace natural food sources * Feeder (casting), another name for a riser, a reservoir built into ...

, as opposed to the Welland River. The modern canal receives its water directly from

. Twelve Mile Creek was not necessarily the best route for the canal, but it was the location of Merritt's mills, so economic motivation became a factor. Ultimately, the first two

s were routed via Twelve Mile Creek. The third bypassed most of the creek, but continued to use its outlet to Lake Ontario. Early maps show that the creek meandered greatly in its lower reaches. These meanders were flooded by means of a dam at

Port Dalhousie, Ontario Port Dalhousie is a community in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Known for its waterfront appeal, it is home to the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta and is historically significant as the terminus for the first three (19th century) routes of th ...

to create Martindale Pond. Further upstream, the first canal generally followed the bends in the creek, but most were straightened for the second canal resulting in the lower creek now being almost straight.

Hydroelectric development

Just as water once powered mills directly, it continues to power industrial and domestic uses through generation of electricity. On a significantly smaller scale than the nearby

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

generating stations, the two DeCew Falls stations take their water supply from the Lake Gibson system, which is in turn fed mainly from Lake Erie via the Welland Canal. The DeCew Falls 1 station was originally put into service in 1898 and produces 23 MW of power. The DeCew Falls 2 station has been in service since 1943 (unit 1) and 1948 (unit 2) and produces 144MW of power. Water from these plants is discharged into the lower Twelve Mile Creek.

Current state of the creek

Large segments of Twelve Mile Creek are available for public access. Walking and cycling trails line most of the lower creek.. Short Hills Provincial Park and St. John's Conservation Area provide both conservation and public access to the creek's upper reaches. Parks and trails are present in several areas around Lake Gibson and the

Bruce Trail The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern Ontario, Canada, from the Niagara River to the tip of Tobermory, Ontario. The main trail is more than long and there are over of associated side trails. The trail mostly follows the edge of the Nia ...

crosses the upper portion of the watershed. Historic sites such as

and remnants of the early Welland Canals are preserved and accessible. The creek, however, is facing challenges from increasing urbanization and from agricultural, industrial and domestic pollution. The lower reaches are not in anything resembling a natural state, having been straightened, dredged and fed massively increased water flows. Dick's Creek flows through old stone locks and, in some areas, in tunnels. Other tributaries flow through flood control channels. Similarly, the Lake Gibson system bears little resemblance to Beaverdams Creek which once flowed through this area. Twelve Mile Creek is a study in contrasts - in some areas, one of the most natural, and in other areas, one of the most altered watersheds in Niagara.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em

External links