Lake Ontario
Encyclopedia
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 (Huron) language, ontarío means “Lake of Shining Waters”. It is the last in the Great Lakes chain and serves as the outlet to the Atlantic Ocean
via the St. Lawrence River. Lake Ontario is also the only one of the five Great Lakes
to not share a coast with the state of Michigan
.
in volume (393 cu mi, 1,639 km3). It is the 14th largest lake in the world. When its islands are included, the lake has a shoreline that is 712 miles (1,145.9 km) long. As the last lake in the Great Lakes' hydrologic chain, Lake Ontario has the lowest mean surface elevation of the lakes at 243 feet (74 m) above sea level; 326 feet (99.4 m) lower than its neighbor upstream
. Its maximum length is 193 smi and its maximum width is 53 smi. The lake's average depth is 47 fathoms 1 foot (283 ft; 86 m), with a maximum depth of 133 fathom
s 4 feet (802 ft; 244 m). The lake's primary source is the Niagara River
, draining Lake Erie, with the St. Lawrence River serving as the outlet. The drainage basin covers 24,720 square miles (64,030 km2).
Baymouth bar
s built by prevailing winds and currents have created a significant number of lagoon
s and sheltered harbors, mostly (but not limited to) Prince Edward County, Ontario and the easternmost shores. Perhaps the best-known example is Toronto Bay, chosen as the site of the Upper Canada
(Ontario) capital for its strategic harbour. Other prominent examples include Hamilton Harbour, Irondequoit Bay
, Presqu'ile Bay
, and Sodus Bay
. The bars themselves are the sites of long beaches, such as Sandbanks Provincial Park
and Sandy Island Beach State Park. One unique feature of the lake is the Z-shaped Bay of Quinte
which separates Prince Edward County from the Ontario mainland, save for a 2 miles (3.2 km) isthmus near Trenton.
Major rivers draining into Lake Ontario include the Don River
; Humber River
; Trent River
; the Cataraqui River
; the Genesee River
; the Oswego River
; the Black River
; and the Salmon River
.
called the Golden Horseshoe
occupies the lake's westernmost shores, anchored by the cities of Toronto and Hamilton. Ports on the Canadian side include St. Catharines, Oshawa, Cobourg and Kingston, near the St. Lawrence River outlet. Close to 9 million people or over a quarter of Canada's population lives within the watershed of Lake Ontario. The American shore is largely rural, with the exception of Rochester and the much smaller ports at Oswego and Sacket's Harbor
. The city of Syracuse
is 40 miles (64.4 km) inland, connected to the lake by the New York State Canal System. Over 2 million people live in Lake Ontario's American watershed.
A high-speed passenger/vehicle ferry, the Spirit of Ontario I, operated between Toronto and Rochester from 17 June 2004 to 10 January 2006, when the service was cancelled. The Crystal Lynn II, out of Irondequoit, New York has been operating between Irondequoit Bay
and Henderson, New York
since May 2000, operated by Capt. Bob Tein.
connects the lake sidestream to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway, and upstream to the other rivers in the chain via the Welland Canal
and to Lake Erie. The Trent-Severn Waterway
for pleasure boats connects Lake Ontario at the Bay of Quinte to Georgian Bay
(Lake Huron
), via Lake Simcoe
. The Oswego Canal
disconnects the lake at Oswego to the New York State Canal System
, with outlets to the Hudson River
, Lake Erie, and Lake Champlain
.
The Rideau Canal
, also for pleasure boats, connects Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River
in downtown Ottawa
.
Wolfe Island
, located near Kingston at the St. Lawrence outlet, is the largest island in the basin. It is accessible by ferry from both Canada and the U.S.
is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
-age rocks by the Wisconsin
ice sheet during the last ice age
. The action of the ice occurred along the pre-glacial Ontarian River
valley which had approximately the same orientation as today's basin. Material
that was pushed southward by the ice sheet left landforms such as drumlin
s, kame
s, and moraine
s, both on the modern land surface and the lake bottom, reorganizing the region's entire drainage system. As the ice sheet retreated toward the north, it still dammed the St. Lawrence valley outlet, so that the lake surface was at a higher level. This stage is known as Lake Iroquois
. During that time the lake drained through present-day Syracuse, New York into the Mohawk River
, thence to the Hudson River and the Atlantic. The shoreline created during this stage can be easily recognized by the (now dry) beach
es and wave-cut hills 10 to 25 miles (15 to 40 km) from the present shoreline.
When the ice finally receded from the St. Lawrence valley, the outlet was below sea level
, and for a short time the lake became a bay of the Atlantic Ocean. Gradually the land rebounded
from the release of the weight of about 6,500 feet (2,000 m) of ice that had been stacked on it. It is still rebounding about 12 inches (30 cm) per century in the St. Lawrence area. Since the ice receded from the area last, the most rapid rebound still occurs there. This means that the lake bed is gradually tilting southward, inundating the south shore and turning river valleys into bays
. Both north and south shores experience shoreline erosion, but the tilting amplifies this effect on the south shore, causing loss to property owners.
The lake was previously identified in some maps under different French names. In 1632 and 1656 is was referred to as Lac de St. Louis or Lake St. Louis by Samuel de Champlain
and cartographer Nicolas Sanson
respectively (likely for Louis XIV of France
) In 1660 Jesuit historian Francis Creuxius coined the name Lacus Ontarius. In a map drawn in the Relation des Jésuites (1662–1663), the lake bears the legend "Lac Ontario ou des Iroquois
" with the name "Ondiara" in smaller type. A French map produced in 1712 (currently in the Canadian Museum of Civilization
), created by military engineer Jean-Baptiste de Couagne, identified Lake Ontario as "Lac Frontenac". Iroquois people called the lake "Skanadario".
an times. The first documented European to reach the lake was Étienne Brûlé
in 1615. Artifacts which are believed to be of Norse
origin have been found in the area of Sodus Bay, indicating possible earlier visits by Europeans, but this remains unproven. A series of trading posts was established by both the British and French, such as Fort Oswego
in 1722 and Fort Rouillé
(Toronto) in 1750.
After the French and Indian War
, all forts around the lake were under British control. The United States did not take possession of forts on present-day American territory until the signing of the Jay Treaty
in 1794. Permanent, non-military European settlement began during the American Revolution
. As the easternmost and nearest lake to the Atlantic seaboard of Canada and the United States, population centres here are among the oldest in the Great Lakes basin, with Kingston, formerly the capital of Canada
, dating to the 1780s. The lake became a hub of commercial activity following the War of 1812
with canal building on both sides of the border and heavy travel by lake steamers. Steamer activity peaked in the mid-19th century before competition from railway lines.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a type of scow known as a stonehooker was in operation on the north-west shore, particularly around Port Credit
and Bronte
. Stonehooking was the practice of raking flat fragments of Dundas shale from the shallow lake floor of the area for use in construction, particularly in the growing city of Toronto.
rhythm of eleven minutes. The seiche effect normally is only about ¾ inches (2 cm) but can be greatly amplified by earth movement, winds, and atmospheric pressure changes.
Because of its great depth, the lake as a whole rarely freezes in winter. During the winter months, an ice sheet covering between 10% and 90% of the lake area typically develops, depending on the severity of the winter. Ice sheets typically form along the shoreline and in slack water bays, where the lake is not as deep. During the winters of 1877 and 1878, the ice sheet coverage was up to 95–100% in most of the lake. In the winter of 1812, the ice cover was stable enough that the American naval commander stationed at Sackets Harbor feared a British attack from Kingston
, over the ice.
When the cold winds of winter pass over the warmer water of the lake, they pick up moisture and drop it as lake-effect
snow. Since the prevailing winter winds are from the northwest, the southern and southeastern shoreline of the lake is referred to as the snowbelt
. In some winters the area between Oswego and Pulaski
may receive twenty or more feet (600 cm) of snowfall. Also impacted by lake-effect snow is the Tug Hill Plateau
, an area of elevated land that is about 20 miles (32.2 km) east of Lake Ontario, creating ideal conditions for lake-effect snowfall. The "Hill", as it is often referred to, typically receives more snow than any other region in the eastern United States. As a result, Tug Hill is a popular location for winter enthusiasts, such as snow-mobilers and cross-country skiers. Lake-effect snow often extends inland as far as Syracuse, with that city often recording the most winter snowfall accumulation of any large city in the United States. Other cities in the world receive more snow annually, such as Quebec City
, which averages 135 inches (342.9 cm), and Sapporo, Japan
, which receives 250 inches (635 cm) each year and is often regarded as the snowiest city in the world.
Foggy conditions (particularly in fall) can be created by thermal contrasts and can be an impediment for recreational boaters. In a normal winter, Lake Ontario will be at most one quarter ice-covered, in a mild winter almost completely unfrozen. Lake Ontario has completely frozen over on only two recorded occasions: during the winter of 1874–75, and in February 1934.
Lake breezes in spring tend to retard fruit bloom until the frost danger is past, and in the autumn delay the onset of fall frost, particularly on the south shore. Cool onshore winds also retard early bloom of plants and flowers until later in the spring season, protecting them from possible frost damage. Such microclimatic
effects have enabled tender fruit production in a continental climate, with the southwest shore supporting a major fruit-growing area. Apple
s, cherries
, pear
s, plum
s, and peach
es are grown in many commercial orchard
s around Rochester. Between Stoney Creek
and Niagara-on-the-Lake
on the Niagara Peninsula is a major fruit-growing and wine-making area
. The wine-growing region
extends over the international border into Niagara
and Orleans
counties. Apple varieties that tolerate a more extreme climate are grown on the lake's north shore, around Cobourg.
from industrial
chemicals, agricultural
fertilizer
s, untreated sewage
, phosphate
s, such as from laundry detergent
s, and chemicals
. Some pollutant chemicals that have been found in the lake include DDT
, benzo[a]pyrene and other pesticides; PCB
s, aramite, chromium
, lead
, mirex
, mercury
, and carbon tetrachloride
.
By the 1960s and 1970s, the increased pollution caused frequent algal bloom
s to occur in the summer. These blooms killed large numbers of fish
, and left decomposing piles of filamentous algae and dead fish along the shores. At times the blooms became so thick that waves could not break.
Since the 1960s and 1970s, environmental concerns have forced a cleanup of industrial and municipal wastes. Cleanup has been accomplished through better treatment plants, tighter environmental regulations, de-industrialization and increased public awareness. Today, Lake Ontario has recovered much of its pristine quality but regional airshed pollution remains a concern. For example, walleye
, a fish species considered as a marker of clean water, are now found. The lake has also become an important sport fishery
, with introduced Coho and Chinook salmon
now thriving there.
Invasive species
are a problem for Lake Ontario, particularly lamprey
and zebra mussel
s. Lamprey are being controlled by poisoning in the juvenile stage in the streams where they breed. Zebra mussels in particular are difficult to control, and pose major challenges for the lake and its waterways. Thermal pollution
from the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station
and Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
just east of Toronto has become a concern in recent years, with the warm wastewater released from the plant being a problem year-round. Radioactive and heavy metal contamination from these nuclear plants, as well as nuclear-industry fuel manufacturing in Port Hope, Ontario
, is also an ongoing concern.
being sighted in the lake. The creature is described as large with a long neck, green in colour, and generally causes a break in the surface waves.
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of 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....
, and on the south by the American state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot (Huron) language, ontarío means “Lake of Shining Waters”. It is the last in the Great Lakes chain and serves as the outlet to the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
via the St. Lawrence River. Lake Ontario is also the only one of the five Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
to not share a coast with the state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Geography
Lake Ontario is the easternmost of the Great Lakes and the smallest in surface area (7,340 sq mi, 18,960 km2), although it exceeds Lake ErieLake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
in volume (393 cu mi, 1,639 km3). It is the 14th largest lake in the world. When its islands are included, the lake has a shoreline that is 712 miles (1,145.9 km) long. As the last lake in the Great Lakes' hydrologic chain, Lake Ontario has the lowest mean surface elevation of the lakes at 243 feet (74 m) above sea level; 326 feet (99.4 m) lower than its neighbor upstream
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
. Its maximum length is 193 smi and its maximum width is 53 smi. The lake's average depth is 47 fathoms 1 foot (283 ft; 86 m), with a maximum depth of 133 fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
s 4 feet (802 ft; 244 m). The lake's primary source is the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
, draining Lake Erie, with the St. Lawrence River serving as the outlet. The drainage basin covers 24,720 square miles (64,030 km2).
Baymouth bar
Baymouth bar
A baymouth bar is a depositional feature as a result of longshore drift. It is a spit that completely closes access to a bay, thus sealing it off from the main body of water. These bars usually consist of accumulated gravel and sand carried by the current of longshore drift and deposited at a less...
s built by prevailing winds and currents have created a significant number of lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
s and sheltered harbors, mostly (but not limited to) Prince Edward County, Ontario and the easternmost shores. Perhaps the best-known example is Toronto Bay, chosen as the site of the Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
(Ontario) capital for its strategic harbour. Other prominent examples include Hamilton Harbour, Irondequoit Bay
Irondequoit Bay
Irondequoit Bay is a large body of water located in northeastern Monroe County, New York. The bay, roughly wide and in length, is fed by Irondequoit Creek to the south and flows into Lake Ontario at its northern end...
, Presqu'ile Bay
Presqu'ile Provincial Park
Presqu'ile Provincial Park is a park in southeastern Northumberland County on the north shore of Lake Ontario near the town of Brighton in Ontario, Canada. The park occupies an area of ....
, and Sodus Bay
Sodus Bay
Sodus Bay is a bay on the south shore of Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes. Sodus Bay is located in Wayne County, New York, USA. Most of the bay is in the Town of Huron, but the western part is in the Town of Sodus....
. The bars themselves are the sites of long beaches, such as Sandbanks Provincial Park
Sandbanks Provincial Park
Sandbanks Provincial Park is a provincial park located on Lake Ontario in Prince Edward County near Picton, Ontario, Canada. It is noted for its picturesque sand dunes and beaches. It also has the world's largest fresh water sand bar and dune system.Sandbanks is run...
and Sandy Island Beach State Park. One unique feature of the lake is the Z-shaped Bay of Quinte
Bay of Quinte
The Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
which separates Prince Edward County from the Ontario mainland, save for a 2 miles (3.2 km) isthmus near Trenton.
Major rivers draining into Lake Ontario include the Don River
Don River (Toronto)
The Don River is one of two rivers bounding the original settled area of Toronto, Ontario along the shore of Lake Ontario, the other being the Humber River to the west. The Don is formed from two rivers, the East and West Branches, that meet about north of Lake Ontario while flowing southward into...
; Humber River
Humber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
; Trent River
Trent River (Ontario)
The Trent River is a river in southeastern Ontario which flows from Rice Lake to empty into the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario. This river is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway which leads to Georgian Bay. The river is 90 km long...
; the Cataraqui River
Cataraqui River
The Cataraqui River forms the lower portion of the Rideau Canal and drains into Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario. It is also known as the Great Cataraqui River or the Greater Cataraqui River to distinguish it from the smaller Little Cataraqui Creek, 4.5 km to the west...
; the Genesee River
Genesee River
The Genesee River is a North American river flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides hydroelectric power for downtown Rochester....
; the Oswego River
Oswego River (New York)
The Oswego River is a river in upstate New York in the United States. This river is the second-largest river flowing into Lake Ontario. James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea is set in the Oswego River valley...
; the Black River
Black River (New York)
The Black River is a blackwater river that empties into the eastern end of Lake Ontario on the shore of Jefferson County, New York in the United States of America...
; and the Salmon River
Salmon River (New York)
The Salmon River arises in north central New York State on the Tug Hill Plateau to the east of Lake Ontario. It flows westward off the plateau and there is a hydroelectric dam near Little America to create the Salmon River Reservoir. Both the Salmon River and Salmon River Reservoir are heavily...
.
Settlements
A large conurbationConurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
called the Golden Horseshoe
Golden Horseshoe
The Golden Horseshoe is a densely populated and industrialized region centred around the Greater Toronto Area at the western end of Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Georgian Bay. Most of it is also part of the Quebec City...
occupies the lake's westernmost shores, anchored by the cities of Toronto and Hamilton. Ports on the Canadian side include St. Catharines, Oshawa, Cobourg and Kingston, near the St. Lawrence River outlet. Close to 9 million people or over a quarter of Canada's population lives within the watershed of Lake Ontario. The American shore is largely rural, with the exception of Rochester and the much smaller ports at Oswego and Sacket's Harbor
Sackets Harbor, New York
Sackets Harbor is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,386 at the 2000 census. The village was named after land developer and owner Augustus Sackett, who founded it in the early 19th century.The Village of Sackets Harbor is within the western part of the...
. The city of Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
is 40 miles (64.4 km) inland, connected to the lake by the New York State Canal System. Over 2 million people live in Lake Ontario's American watershed.
A high-speed passenger/vehicle ferry, the Spirit of Ontario I, operated between Toronto and Rochester from 17 June 2004 to 10 January 2006, when the service was cancelled. The Crystal Lynn II, out of Irondequoit, New York has been operating between Irondequoit Bay
Irondequoit Bay
Irondequoit Bay is a large body of water located in northeastern Monroe County, New York. The bay, roughly wide and in length, is fed by Irondequoit Creek to the south and flows into Lake Ontario at its northern end...
and Henderson, New York
Henderson, New York
Henderson is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,360 at the 2010 census. The town is named after William Henderson, the original land owner....
since May 2000, operated by Capt. Bob Tein.
Ontario, Canada
|
New York, U.S.A.
|
Ocean and Lake navigation
The Great Lakes WaterwayGreat Lakes Waterway
The Great Lakes Waterway is a system of channels and canals that makes all of the Great Lakes accessible to oceangoing vessels. Its principal civil engineering components are the Welland Canal, bypassing Niagara Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and the Soo Locks, bypassing the rapids of...
connects the lake sidestream to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway, and upstream to the other rivers in the chain via the Welland Canal
Welland Canal
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada that extends from Port Weller, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, to Port Colborne, Ontario, on Lake Erie. As a part of the St...
and to Lake Erie. The Trent-Severn Waterway
Trent-Severn Waterway
The Trent–Severn Waterway is a Canadian canal system formerly used for industrial and transportation purposes and now for recreational and tourism purposes, connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to the Georgian Bay portion of Lake Huron at Port Severn...
for pleasure boats connects Lake Ontario at the Bay of Quinte to Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
(Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
), via Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
. The Oswego Canal
Oswego Canal
The Oswego Canal is a canal in the New York State Canal System located in New York, United States. Opened in 1828, it is 23.7 miles in length, and connects the Erie Canal at Three Rivers to Lake Ontario at Oswego...
disconnects the lake at Oswego to the New York State Canal System
New York State Canal System
The New York State Canal System is a successor to the Erie Canal and other canals within New York...
, with outlets to the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, Lake Erie, and Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
.
The Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
, also for pleasure boats, connects Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
in downtown Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
.
Lighthouses
- Braddock Point LightBraddock Point LightBraddock Point Light was a lighthouse just west of Braddock Bay at Bogus Point on Lake Ontario in New York.-History:The lighthouse was established and lit in 1896 and was deactivated in 1954. The lighthouse was constructed out of red brick. The shape of the tower was octagonal. The original lens...
- Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse
- Gibraltar Point LighthouseGibraltar Point LighthouseThe Gibraltar Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario. Completed in 1808, it is the oldest existing lighthouse on the Great Lakes.- History :...
- Oswego Harbor West Pierhead LightOswego Harbor West Pierhead LightOswego Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation located off the coast of Oswego, New York. It was built in 1934 to replace an earlier light constructed in 1880. It stands at the end of a breakwater at mouth of Oswego River, extending .5 miles out onto Lake Ontario. It is...
- Sodus Point LightSodus Point Light-History:Sodus Point Light is a lighthouse that was built on Sodus Point on Lake Ontario, New York. The lighthouse has been replaced by a modern skeleton tower. The lighthouse tower is a square, pyramidal cast iron tower on a concrete and stone pier. It is white with red trim. There is a 2.5...
- Stony Point LightStony Point (Henderson) LightFor the lighthouse on the Hudson River, see Stony Point Light.STONY POINT LIGHT State: NEW YORKLocation: HENDERSON BAY / LAKE ONTARIONearest City: HENDERSONCounty: JEFFERSONU.S.C.G...
- Presqui'le LighthousePresqu'ile Provincial ParkPresqu'ile Provincial Park is a park in southeastern Northumberland County on the north shore of Lake Ontario near the town of Brighton in Ontario, Canada. The park occupies an area of ....
Islands
Nearly all of Lake Ontario's islands are located on the eastern and north-eastern shores, between the Prince Edward County headland and the lake's outlet at Kingston. The Toronto Islands on the north-western shore are the remnants of a sand spit formed by coastal erosion, whereas the mostly larger eastern islands are underlain by the basement rock found throughout the region. The Thousand Islands, mostly found in the St. Lawrence River, have several large members near the Lake Ontario side of the outlet.Wolfe Island
Wolfe Island (Ontario)
Wolfe Island is an island located at the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River in Lake Ontario near Kingston, Ontario. Wolfe Island is part of Frontenac County, Ontario. Together with Howe Island, Simcoe Island, and Hickory Island forms the Township of Frontenac Islands. It is the largest of the...
, located near Kingston at the St. Lawrence outlet, is the largest island in the basin. It is accessible by ferry from both Canada and the U.S.
- Thousand IslandsThousand IslandsThe Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the...
- Toronto IslandsToronto IslandsThe Toronto Islands are a chain of small islands in the city of Toronto, Ontario. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the city centre, and provide shelter for Toronto Harbour...
– only island on the western end of the lake - Association IslandAssociation IslandAssociation Island is a island located at the northern tip of Stony Point, a peninsula into the eastern end of Lake Ontario. A part of the Town of Henderson, New York in Jefferson County, the island is about southwest of Watertown at...
- Galloo IslandGalloo Island LightGalloo Island Light is located on Galloo Island in Lake Ontario near Sacketts Harbor, New York. Most of the island and light tower is private property, with an easement for the Coast Guard for the light in the tower. There is a small Coast Guard Station on the island.It was added to the National...
- Amherst IslandAmherst IslandAmherst Island is one of the Thousand Islands in Lake Ontario near Kingston, Ontario. The island is approximately 70 km² in size, measuring 16.5 km long and 7 km at its widest. It is part of Loyalist Township in Lennox and Addington County. The two main communities on the island are...
- Simcoe IslandSimcoe IslandSimcoe Island is a small island in Lake Ontario, just off Wolfe Island, close to Kingston, Ontario, and Amherst Island. The island in almost completely farmland and can be reached by ferry from Wolfe Island...
- Garden IslandGarden Island (Ontario)Garden Island is located in Lake Ontario, approximately 2 miles south of Kingston, north west of Wolfe Island, and is approximately 65 acres in size....
- Grenadier IslandGrenadier Island, New YorkGrenadier is a relatively small island, approximately in size, long and wide. It is located two miles out from Mud Bay in Cape Vincent, New York. It was visited by General Wilkinson and his troops after retreating from the St...
- Waupoos IslandWaupoos Island, OntarioWaupoos Island is a community in Ontario, located within the municipality of Prince Edward County. It is also known as Fleguel Island....
- Nicholson Island
- Big Island
Great Lakes Circle Tour
The Great Lakes Circle TourGreat Lakes Circle Tour
The Great Lakes Circle Tour is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. It consists of routes for circumnavigating the lakes, either individually or collectively.-Lake Superior Circle Tour:...
is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.
Geology
The lake basin was carved out of soft, weak SilurianSilurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
-age rocks by the Wisconsin
Wisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
ice sheet during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. The action of the ice occurred along the pre-glacial Ontarian River
Ontarian River
The Ontarian River is the term used for the pre-glacial river that began the creation of the valley in Silurian age shales and limestones now occupied by Lake Ontario. The valley was greatly deepened by glacial action during the Ice age....
valley which had approximately the same orientation as today's basin. Material
Till
thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....
that was pushed southward by the ice sheet left landforms such as drumlin
Drumlin
A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín , first recorded in 1833, is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine.-Drumlin formation:...
s, kame
Kame
A kame is a geological feature, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the glacier...
s, and moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
s, both on the modern land surface and the lake bottom, reorganizing the region's entire drainage system. As the ice sheet retreated toward the north, it still dammed the St. Lawrence valley outlet, so that the lake surface was at a higher level. This stage is known as Lake Iroquois
Glacial Lake Iroquois
Glacial Lake Iroquois was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed at the end of the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago.The lake was essentially an enlargement of the present Lake Ontario that formed because the St. Lawrence River downstream from the lake was blocked by the ice sheet...
. During that time the lake drained through present-day Syracuse, New York into the Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
, thence to the Hudson River and the Atlantic. The shoreline created during this stage can be easily recognized by the (now dry) beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es and wave-cut hills 10 to 25 miles (15 to 40 km) from the present shoreline.
When the ice finally receded from the St. Lawrence valley, the outlet was below sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, and for a short time the lake became a bay of the Atlantic Ocean. Gradually the land rebounded
Post-glacial rebound
Post-glacial rebound is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, through a process known as isostasy...
from the release of the weight of about 6,500 feet (2,000 m) of ice that had been stacked on it. It is still rebounding about 12 inches (30 cm) per century in the St. Lawrence area. Since the ice receded from the area last, the most rapid rebound still occurs there. This means that the lake bed is gradually tilting southward, inundating the south shore and turning river valleys into bays
Ria
A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the...
. Both north and south shores experience shoreline erosion, but the tilting amplifies this effect on the south shore, causing loss to property owners.
History
Name
Samuel de Champlain
Samuel de Champlain , "The Father of New France", was a French navigator, cartographer, draughtsman, soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnologist, diplomat, and chronicler. He founded New France and Quebec City on July 3, 1608....
and cartographer Nicolas Sanson
Nicolas Sanson
Nicolas Sanson was a French cartographer, wrongly termed by some the creator of French geography. He was born of an old Picardy family of Scottish descent, at Abbeville, on the 20th of December 1600, and was educated by the Jesuits at Amiens.In 1627 he attracted the attention of Richelieu by a...
respectively (likely for Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
) In 1660 Jesuit historian Francis Creuxius coined the name Lacus Ontarius. In a map drawn in the Relation des Jésuites (1662–1663), the lake bears the legend "Lac Ontario ou des Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
" with the name "Ondiara" in smaller type. A French map produced in 1712 (currently in the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada....
), created by military engineer Jean-Baptiste de Couagne, identified Lake Ontario as "Lac Frontenac". Iroquois people called the lake "Skanadario".
17th to 20th centuries
The lake was a border between the Huron and their vassals and the Iroquois Confederacy in pre-EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an times. The first documented European to reach the lake was Étienne Brûlé
Étienne Brûlé
Étienne Brûlé , was the first of European French explorers to journey along the St. Lawrence River with the Native Americans and to view Georgian Bay and Lake Huron Canada in the 17th century. A rugged outdoorsman, he took to the lifestyle of the First Nations and had a unique contribution to the...
in 1615. Artifacts which are believed to be of Norse
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
origin have been found in the area of Sodus Bay, indicating possible earlier visits by Europeans, but this remains unproven. A series of trading posts was established by both the British and French, such as Fort Oswego
Fort Oswego
Fort Oswego was an important frontier post for British traders in the 18th century. A trading post was established in 1722 with a log palisade, and New York governor William Burnet ordered a fort built at the site in 1727. The log palisade fort established a British presence on the Great Lakes....
in 1722 and Fort Rouillé
Fort Rouillé
Fort Rouillé or Fort Toronto was a French trading post located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that was established around 1750 but abandoned in 1759. The fort site is now part of the public lands of Exhibition Place...
(Toronto) in 1750.
After the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, all forts around the lake were under British control. The United States did not take possession of forts on present-day American territory until the signing of the Jay Treaty
Jay Treaty
Jay's Treaty, , also known as Jay's Treaty, The British Treaty, and the Treaty of London of 1794, was a treaty between the United States and Great Britain that is credited with averting war,, resolving issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris of 1783, which ended the American Revolution,, and...
in 1794. Permanent, non-military European settlement began during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. As the easternmost and nearest lake to the Atlantic seaboard of Canada and the United States, population centres here are among the oldest in the Great Lakes basin, with Kingston, formerly the capital of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
, dating to the 1780s. The lake became a hub of commercial activity following the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
with canal building on both sides of the border and heavy travel by lake steamers. Steamer activity peaked in the mid-19th century before competition from railway lines.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a type of scow known as a stonehooker was in operation on the north-west shore, particularly around 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...
and Bronte
Bronte, Ontario
Bronte is the community that makes up much of the west end of Oakville, in Ontario, Canada. Twelve Mile Creek flows through the middle of town and empties into Lake Ontario. Main roads include Bronte Road , Lakeshore Road West and Rebecca Street...
. Stonehooking was the practice of raking flat fragments of Dundas shale from the shallow lake floor of the area for use in construction, particularly in the growing city of Toronto.
Climate
The lake has a natural seicheSeiche
A seiche is a standing wave in an enclosed or partially enclosed body of water. Seiches and seiche-related phenomena have been observed on lakes, reservoirs, swimming pools, bays, harbors and seas...
rhythm of eleven minutes. The seiche effect normally is only about ¾ inches (2 cm) but can be greatly amplified by earth movement, winds, and atmospheric pressure changes.
Because of its great depth, the lake as a whole rarely freezes in winter. During the winter months, an ice sheet covering between 10% and 90% of the lake area typically develops, depending on the severity of the winter. Ice sheets typically form along the shoreline and in slack water bays, where the lake is not as deep. During the winters of 1877 and 1878, the ice sheet coverage was up to 95–100% in most of the lake. In the winter of 1812, the ice cover was stable enough that the American naval commander stationed at Sackets Harbor feared a British attack from Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, over the ice.
When the cold winds of winter pass over the warmer water of the lake, they pick up moisture and drop it as lake-effect
Lake effect snow
Lake-effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when cold winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, providing energy and picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the leeward shores...
snow. Since the prevailing winter winds are from the northwest, the southern and southeastern shoreline of the lake is referred to as the snowbelt
Snowbelt
Snowbelt is a term describing of a number of regions near the Great Lakes in North America where heavy snowfall in the form of lake-effect snow is particularly common. Snowbelts are typically found downwind of the lakes, principally off the eastern and southern shores...
. In some winters the area between Oswego and Pulaski
Pulaski, New York
Pulaski is a village in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 2,365 at the 2010 census.The Village of Pulaski is within the Town of Richland, and lies between the eastern shore of Lake Ontario and the Tug Hill region. The village is located on US Route 11 and is adjacent to...
may receive twenty or more feet (600 cm) of snowfall. Also impacted by lake-effect snow is the Tug Hill Plateau
Tug Hill Plateau
The Tug Hill Plateau is an upland region in upstate New York in the USA, famous for heavy winter snow. The Tug Hill Region is west of the Adirondack Mountains and is separated from the Adirondacks by the Black River Valley. Although the region is and has traditionally been known as the Tug Hill...
, an area of elevated land that is about 20 miles (32.2 km) east of Lake Ontario, creating ideal conditions for lake-effect snowfall. The "Hill", as it is often referred to, typically receives more snow than any other region in the eastern United States. As a result, Tug Hill is a popular location for winter enthusiasts, such as snow-mobilers and cross-country skiers. Lake-effect snow often extends inland as far as Syracuse, with that city often recording the most winter snowfall accumulation of any large city in the United States. Other cities in the world receive more snow annually, such as Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, which averages 135 inches (342.9 cm), and Sapporo, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, which receives 250 inches (635 cm) each year and is often regarded as the snowiest city in the world.
Foggy conditions (particularly in fall) can be created by thermal contrasts and can be an impediment for recreational boaters. In a normal winter, Lake Ontario will be at most one quarter ice-covered, in a mild winter almost completely unfrozen. Lake Ontario has completely frozen over on only two recorded occasions: during the winter of 1874–75, and in February 1934.
Lake breezes in spring tend to retard fruit bloom until the frost danger is past, and in the autumn delay the onset of fall frost, particularly on the south shore. Cool onshore winds also retard early bloom of plants and flowers until later in the spring season, protecting them from possible frost damage. Such microclimatic
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
effects have enabled tender fruit production in a continental climate, with the southwest shore supporting a major fruit-growing area. Apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s, cherries
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, pear
Pear
The pear is any of several tree species of genus Pyrus and also the name of the pomaceous fruit of these trees. Several species of pear are valued by humans for their edible fruit, but the fruit of other species is small, hard, and astringent....
s, plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s, and peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
es are grown in many commercial orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
s around Rochester. Between Stoney Creek
Stoney Creek, Ontario
Stoney Creek is a community in Ontario, Canada.Note: This article will only deal with matters up to its amalgamation with Hamilton.-Geography and population:...
and Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a Canadian town located in Southern Ontario where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region of the southern part of the province of Ontario. It is located across the Niagara river from Youngstown, New York, USA...
on the Niagara Peninsula is a major fruit-growing and wine-making area
Niagara Peninsula wineries
Niagara Peninsula wineries are a series of wineries located in the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Canada.The region is also known for their icewines and may wineries are part of the wine tour region and have accommodations to attract visitors to stay and taste their products.A list of key...
. The wine-growing region
Niagara Escarpment AVA
The Niagara Escarpment AVA is an American Viticultural Area in the New York state portion of the Niagara Escarpment. The area was officially recognized as an AVA on October 11, 2005, by ruling of the United States Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau...
extends over the international border into Niagara
Niagara County, New York
Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...
and Orleans
Orleans County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 44,171 people, 15,363 households, and 10,846 families residing in the county. The population density was 113 people per square mile . There were 17,347 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...
counties. Apple varieties that tolerate a more extreme climate are grown on the lake's north shore, around Cobourg.
Environmental concerns
During modern times, the lake became heavily pollutedPollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
from industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
chemicals, agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
s, untreated sewage
Sewage
Sewage is water-carried waste, in solution or suspension, that is intended to be removed from a community. Also known as wastewater, it is more than 99% water and is characterized by volume or rate of flow, physical condition, chemical constituents and the bacteriological organisms that it contains...
, phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
s, such as from laundry detergent
Detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with "cleaning properties in dilute solutions." In common usage, "detergent" refers to alkylbenzenesulfonates, a family of compounds that are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water...
s, and chemicals
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
. Some pollutant chemicals that have been found in the lake include DDT
DDT
DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic insecticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history....
, benzo[a]pyrene and other pesticides; PCB
Polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...
s, aramite, chromium
Chromium
Chromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, mirex
Mirex
Mirex is a chlorinated hydrocarbon that was commercialized as an insecticide and later banned because of its impact on the environment. This white crystalline odorless solid is a derivative of cyclopentadiene. It was popularized to control fire ants but by virtue of its chemical robustness and...
, mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
, and carbon tetrachloride
Carbon tetrachloride
Carbon tetrachloride, also known by many other names is the organic compound with the formula CCl4. It was formerly widely used in fire extinguishers, as a precursor to refrigerants, and as a cleaning agent...
.
By the 1960s and 1970s, the increased pollution caused frequent algal bloom
Algal bloom
An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments. Typically, only one or a small number of phytoplankton species are involved, and some blooms may be recognized by discoloration...
s to occur in the summer. These blooms killed large numbers of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, and left decomposing piles of filamentous algae and dead fish along the shores. At times the blooms became so thick that waves could not break.
Since the 1960s and 1970s, environmental concerns have forced a cleanup of industrial and municipal wastes. Cleanup has been accomplished through better treatment plants, tighter environmental regulations, de-industrialization and increased public awareness. Today, Lake Ontario has recovered much of its pristine quality but regional airshed pollution remains a concern. For example, walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, a fish species considered as a marker of clean water, are now found. The lake has also become an important sport fishery
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
, with introduced Coho and 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...
now thriving there.
Invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
are a problem for Lake Ontario, particularly lamprey
Lamprey
Lampreys are a family of jawless fish, whose adults are characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. Translated from an admixture of Latin and Greek, lamprey means stone lickers...
and zebra mussel
Zebra mussel
The zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, is a small freshwater mussel. This species was originally native to the lakes of southeast Russia being first described in 1769 by a German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga and Dnieper rivers. They are still found nearby, as Pontic and Caspian...
s. Lamprey are being controlled by poisoning in the juvenile stage in the streams where they breed. Zebra mussels in particular are difficult to control, and pose major challenges for the lake and its waterways. Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature.A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers...
from the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Pickering, Ontario. The facility derives its name from the City of Pickering in which it is located....
and Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington, Ontario. The facility derives its name from the Township of Darlington, the former name of the municipality in which it is located.The Darlington station is a large...
just east of Toronto has become a concern in recent years, with the warm wastewater released from the plant being a problem year-round. Radioactive and heavy metal contamination from these nuclear plants, as well as nuclear-industry fuel manufacturing in Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...
, is also an ongoing concern.
Lake Monster
In the 1800s, there were reports of an alleged creature similar to the so-called Loch Ness MonsterLoch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
being sighted in the lake. The creature is described as large with a long neck, green in colour, and generally causes a break in the surface waves.
See also
- Lake Ontario WaterkeeperLake Ontario WaterkeeperLake Ontario Waterkeeper is a Toronto-based environmental justice advocacy group founded in 2001, with Lake Ontario, the Great Lakes Basin, and allied waterways at heart. It is a licensed member of the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, and a registered Canadian charity...
- Glacial Lake IroquoisGlacial Lake IroquoisGlacial Lake Iroquois was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed at the end of the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago.The lake was essentially an enlargement of the present Lake Ontario that formed because the St. Lawrence River downstream from the lake was blocked by the ice sheet...
- Glacial Lake AdmiraltyGlacial Lake AdmiraltyAdmiralty Lake was a proglacial lake in the basin of what is now Lake Ontario.The shoreline of Admiralty Lake was about lower than Lake Ontario. The shoreline of Glacial Lake Iroquois, an earlier proglacial lake was much higher than Lake Ontario's, because a lobe of the Laurentian Glacier blocked...
- Welland CanalWelland CanalThe Welland Canal is a ship canal in Canada that extends from Port Weller, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, to Port Colborne, Ontario, on Lake Erie. As a part of the St...
- Engagements on Lake OntarioEngagements on Lake OntarioThe Engagements on Lake Ontario encompass the prolonged naval contest for control of the lake during the War of 1812. Few actions were fought, none of which had decisive results, and the contest essentially became a naval building race, sometimes referred to sarcastically as the "Battle of the...
- Bay of QuinteBay of QuinteThe Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
- Niagara RiverNiagara RiverThe Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
- St. Lawrence River
- United Empire Loyalist
- Fort NiagaraFort NiagaraFort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
- Wyandot people
- Iroquois Confederacy
- Ontario LacusOntario LacusOntario Lacūs is a lake composed of methane, ethane and propane near the south pole of Saturn's moon Titan. Its character as a hydrocarbon lake was confirmed by observations from the Cassini spacecraft, published in the 31 July 2008 edition of Nature...
, a hydrocarbon-lake on SaturnSaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
's moon TitanTitan (moon)Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
named after Lake Ontario