Credit River
Encyclopedia
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in southern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment
Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
to empty into Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
at Port Credit
Port Credit, Ontario
Port Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...
, Mississauga. It drains
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
an area of approximately 1,000 km². The total length of the river and its tributary streams is over 1,500 km.
Despite urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
and associated problems with water quality
Water quality
Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which...
on the lower section of this river, it provides spawning
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
areas for chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
and rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
. There is a fish ladder
Fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass or fish steps, is a structure on or around artificial barriers to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration. Most fishways enable fish to pass around the barriers by swimming and leaping up a series of relatively low steps into the waters on...
on the river at Streetsville
Streetsville, Ontario
Streetsville is an established community located in the northwestern corner of the city of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on the Credit River...
. Much of the river can still be travelled by canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
or kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
. The headwaters of the Credit River is home to a native self-sustaining
Self-sustainability
A system is self-sustaining if it can maintain itself by independent effort. The system self-sustainability is:# the degree at which the system can sustain itself without external support...
brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
population and an introduced brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
population.
Credit Valley Conservation
Credit Valley Conservation
The Credit Valley Conservation is a Conservation Authority responsible for the protection and management of the Credit Valley watershed, surrounding the Credit River from its headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to the point at which it meets Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga...
, the local watershed management conservation authority, operates several Conservation Areas including Belfountain, Island Lake, and Terra Cotta.
Forks of the Credit Provincial Park
Forks of the Credit Provincial Park
Forks of the Credit Provincial Park is located in Caledon, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Ontario Parks system and is part of the Niagara Escarpment biosphere. The park is on the Bruce Trail. The Credit River runs through the park. Other notable features of the park include a kettle lake,...
is located on the upper part of the river between Brampton and Orangeville, and is near the Bruce Trail
Bruce Trail
The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern and central Ontario, Canada.-General:The trail follows the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, one of the thirteen UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves in Canada, for almost...
.
Communities in the river's watershed include:
- City of BramptonBrampton, OntarioBrampton is the third-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada and the seat of Peel Region. As of the 2006 census, Brampton's population stood at 433,806, making it the 11th largest city in Canada. It is also one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, with an average...
- City of Mississauga
- Township of AmaranthAmaranth, OntarioAmaranth is a township in Ontario, Canada with a 2006 Population of 3,845. It is named after the plant which grows abundantly within its borders. It is bordered by Mono to the east and East Luther to the west....
- Town of CaledonCaledon, OntarioCaledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. In terms of land use, Caledon is somewhat urban, though it is primarily rural in nature...
- Township of East GarafraxaEast Garafraxa, OntarioEast Garafraxa is a rural township in Dufferin County, Ontario, Canada, to the west of Orangeville and within relative commuting distance of Toronto, Brampton, Guelph, and Kitchener.The township includes the population centres of Marsville and Orton....
- Town of Halton HillsHalton Hills, OntarioHalton Hills is a town in the Regional Municipality of Halton, west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located within the Greater Toronto Area....
- Town of MonoMono, OntarioThe Town of Mono is situated in south-central Ontario, Canada, at the south-east corner of County of Dufferin, just north of Caledon and northeast of Orangeville. It stretches from Highway 9 along its southern border to Highway 89 along its northern border. Its border to the west is with the...
- Town of OrangevilleOrangeville, OntarioOrangeville is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County.-History:Before European settlers, Orangeville was thought to be a native hunting ground...
- Town of Port CreditPort Credit, OntarioPort Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...
The river was named Rivière au Crédit by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
rs, because trading goods were supplied to the native Mississaugas
Mississaugas
The Mississaugas are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations people located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwa...
in advance (on credit) against furs which would be provided the following spring. A trading post was set up at the mouth of the river, in Port Credit
Port Credit, Ontario
Port Credit is found at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, within the southcentral area of the city of Mississauga...
, in the early 18th century.
Watershed population and land use
750,000 people live in the watershed as of the 2006 census, 87% of whom live in the lower 1/3 of the watershed. Population growth is approximately 3% per year. In 1999, 21% of the watershed was developed. By 2020 40% of the watershed will be developed (based on approved development and the official plans of the municipalities).Plants and animals
The Credit River is home to a wide range of wildlife. Some species are permanent or seasonal residents while others are sighted occasionally. 1330 species of plants, 64 fish species (including many bait fishBait fish
Bait fish are small fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks such as ballyhoo, and...
, pike, and brook trout), 41 species of mammals, 5 species of turtles, 8 snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
species, 17 amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
species, and 244 species of birds call this watershed home.
In popular culture
The Canadian indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band The Constantines
The Constantines
-History:The band was formed by Steve Lambke, Bryan Webb, Doug MacGregor, and Dallas Wehrle in 1999, following the break-up of Webb and MacGregor's emotional hardcore band Shoulder...
entitled a track "Credit River" on their 2008 album Kensington Heights
Kensington Heights
Kensington Heights is the fourth full-length album by the Constantines. It was released on the Arts & Crafts record label April 15, 2008 in Canada, and April 29, 2008 in the US.The track "Hard Feelings" was released as the album's first single....
.
External links
- Fishing the Credit River Steelhead, Salmon and Trout
- Credit Valley Conservation