Bowmanville Creek

Last updated
Bowmanville Creek
ruisseau Bowmanville
Canada Southern Ontario relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of the mouth of Bowmanville Creek in Southern Ontario
Location
Country Canada
ProvinceOntario
Regional Municipality Durham
Municipality Clarington
Physical characteristics
SourceConfluence of three unnamed streams
  locationEnfield
  coordinates 44°01′25″N78°49′50″W / 44.02361°N 78.83056°W / 44.02361; -78.83056 [1]
  elevation255 [2]
Mouth Lake Ontario
  location
Bowmanville
  coordinates
43°53′16″N78°39′51″W / 43.88778°N 78.66417°W / 43.88778; -78.66417 [3] Coordinates: 43°53′16″N78°39′51″W / 43.88778°N 78.66417°W / 43.88778; -78.66417 [3]
  elevation
74.1 m (243 ft) [4]
Basin size170 km2 (66 sq mi) [5]
Basin features
Progression Lake OntarioSaint Lawrence RiverGulf of Saint Lawrence
River system Lake Ontario drainage basin
Tributaries 
  left Soper Creek

Bowmanville Creek (French : ruisseau Bowmanville) is a stream in the municipality of Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada. It flows from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario at Bowmanville. [3] [1] [6] [7] The creek is under the auspices of the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority. [5]

Contents

Drainage basin

The headwaters of Bowmanville Creek border the headwaters of Oshawa Creek (to the west) and those of its left tributary Soper Creek (to the east), the headwaters of all of which are in the Oak Ridges Moraine. Between the mouths at Lake Ontario of Oshawa Creek (to the west) and Bowmanville Creek there are five smaller creeks (from west to east): Farewell Creek, Robinson Creek, Tooley Creek, Darlington Creek and Westside Creek. [5] [6] The next named watercourse to the east is Wilmot Creek. [6]

The area of the drainage basin of Bowmanville Creek is about 170 square kilometres (66 sq mi); almost all of the drainage basin is within Clarington, with the exception of a small part of the headwaters which are in the township municipality of Scugog to the north. [5]

Course

Bowmanville Creek begins at the confluence of three unnamed streams near the settlement of Enfield at an elevation of 255 metres (837 ft). [2] It flows southeast then turns south near the settlement of Enniskillen, flows under Ontario Highway 407 and reaches the settlement of Hampton. It continues south into the community of Bowmanville, flows under Ontario Highway 401, takes in the left tributary Soper Creek, and reaches its mouth at Port Darlington on Lake Ontario at an elevation of 74.1 metres (243 ft). [4] [5] [6] [8]

Natural history

Bowmanville Creek has been dammed in several places. About one kilometre north of Lake Ontario is the former Goodyear dam, originally built to provide electricity for a factory. This dam was a barrier to fish migration, and until the construction of a fish ladder trout and salmon were lifted over the dam by volunteers and conservation workers. [9] [10] A little further north, in what is now downtown Bowmanville, a dam provided water power for the Vanstone Mill until it was washed out in a storm in 1986. [11]

Related Research Articles

Clarington Municipality in Ontario, Canada

Clarington is a lower-tier municipality in the Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario, Canada. It was incorporated in 1973 as the town of Newcastle with the merging of the town of Bowmanville and the townships of Clarke and Darlington. In 1993, the town was renamed Clarington, a portmanteau of the names of the two former townships. Bowmanville is the largest community in the municipality and is the home of the municipal offices.

Ganaraska River

The Ganaraska River is a river in Northumberland County and the Regional Municipality of Durham in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Ontario, which it reaches at the central community of the municipality of Port Hope. The river's name is thought to originate from Ganaraske, the name for the Cayuga village which was located at the current site of Port Hope.

Rouge River (Ontario) River in Ontario, Canada

The Rouge River is a river in Markham, Pickering, Richmond Hill and Toronto in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. The river flows from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario at the eastern border of Toronto, and is the location of Rouge Park, 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.

Nottawasaga River

The Nottawasaga River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Huron. The river flows from the Orangeville Reservoir in the town of Orangeville, Dufferin County, through the Niagara Escarpment and the Minesing Wetlands, the latter a wetland of international significance, and empties into Nottawasaga Bay, an inlet of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, at the town of Wasaga Beach, Simcoe County.

Bowmanville Place in Ontario, Canada

Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 75 km (47 mi) east of Toronto, and 15 km (9.3 mi) east of Oshawa along Highway 2. Bowmanville was first incorporated as a town in 1858, but later incorporated with the neighbouring townships of Clarke and Darlington in 1974 forming the Town of Newcastle, which was renamed in 1994 to the Municipality of Clarington. Bowmanville is part of the Greater Toronto Area.

Maitland River

The Maitland River is a river in Huron County, Perth County and Wellington County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The river is in the Great Lakes Basin and empties into Lake Huron at the town of Goderich. It is 150 kilometres (93 mi) long, and is named after Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada from 1818 to 1828. It was formerly known as the Menesetung River.

Crowe River

The Crowe River is a river in the counties of Haliburton, Hastings, Northumberland and Peterborough in southern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Lake Ontario drainage basin and is a tributary of the Trent River.

Newcastle, Ontario Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Newcastle is a community in the municipality of Clarington in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. The community inherits the former name of the present-day municipality which it belongs to.

Courtice Unincorporated community in Ontario, Canada

Courtice is a community in Ontario, Canada, about 60 km (37 mi) east of Toronto, adjacent to Oshawa and west of Bowmanville in the Municipality of Clarington. Courtice Road connects with Highway 401 at Interchange 425, providing arterial access to the community. Darlington Provincial Park is located just south of Courtice.

Darlington Provincial Park

Darlington Provincial Park is a part of the Ontario Provincial Parks system. It is located just south of Highway 401 near the town of Courtice, between the cities of Bowmanville and Oshawa. A small park, the topography is dominated by gentle hills, a terminal moraine deposited by glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. The park borders on the northern shore of Lake Ontario also encloses McLaughlin Bay. The Bay is shallow, and at some point in the 1990s was completely closed off from the lake by the action of the waves. The property bordering the park to the west is the home of General Motors Corporation's Canadian headquarters. Kintigh Generating Station can be seen from this provincial park even though it is on the other side of the lake in Somerset, New York.

Groundhog River river in Northeastern Ontario, Canada

The Groundhog River is a river in Cochrane District and Sudbury District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. The river is in the James Bay drainage basin and is a left tributary of the Mattagami River.

Indian River (Rice Lake)

The Indian River is a river in Peterborough County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Rice Lake.

Cream of Barley Mill

The Cream of Barley Mill is a historic mill in the town of Bowmanville, Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Canada.

Black River (York Region)

The Black River is a river in the Regional Municipality of York and the Regional Municipality of Durham in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Simcoe; the entire watershed is under the auspices of the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority.

Oshawa Creek is a watercourse that flows 50 kilometres (31 mi) from its headwaters in the Oak Ridges Moraine to its mouth on Lake Ontario, at Oshawa, Ontario. It drains a watershed of 120 square kilometres (46 sq mi). In its lowest reaches, in Oshawa, two tributaries, Goodman's Creek and Montgomery Creek, join the watercourse.

Darlington Creek

Darlington Creek is a stream in the municipality of Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario, Canada. It is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is located in geographic Darlington Township, after which it is named.

Farewell Creek is a watercourse in Durham County, that empties into Lake Ontario, at Oshawa, Ontario. It drains a watershed of 10,726 hectares (41.41 sq mi).

Toronto waterway system

The Toronto waterway system comprises a series of natural and man-made watercourses in the Canadian city of Toronto. The city is dominated by a large river system spanning most of the city including the Don River, Etobicoke Creek, Highland Creek, Humber River, Mimico Creek and Rouge River.

Stephens Gulch

Stephen's Gulch is a conservation area located in the municipality of Clarington, Ontario. The conservation area borders a large section of the Soper Creek, and contains 354 acres of deciduous forests as well as coniferous forests and swamps. The conservation area is also an important watershed area for Ontario.

Millhaven Creek

Millhaven Creek is a stream in the municipalities of Loyalist, Lennox and Addington County, and South Frontenac, Frontenac County, and the single-tier municipality of Kingston in eastern Ontario, Canada. It is a tributary of Lake Ontario and is under the auspices of the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority.

References

  1. 1 2 "Toporama (on-line map and search)". Atlas of Canada . Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  2. 1 2 "Google Earth" . Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  3. 1 2 3 "Bowmanville Creek". Geographical Names Data Base . Natural Resources Canada . Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  4. 1 2 Inferred from Lake Ontario. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bowmanville/Soper Creek – 2020 Watershed Plan Update". Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Ontario Geonames GIS (on-line map and search)". Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  7. Restructured municipalities - Ontario map #5 (Map). Restructuring Maps of Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 2006. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  8. Map 3 (PDF) (Map). 1 : 700,000. Official road map of Ontario. Ministry of Transportation of Ontario. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  9. Hatherly, Tara (2011-12-15). "Helping fish get up the creek in Bowmanville". Oshawa This Week. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  10. Vyhnak, Carola (2012-08-22). "Chinook salmon get a lift in Bowmanville". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  11. "Bowmanville/Soper Creek Watershed Aquatic Resource Management Plan" (PDF). Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority. September 2000. p. 33. Retrieved 2021-01-23.