The “Golden Horseshoe”

• Describes the region around lake Ontario from Oshawa to Niagara Falls

• It is called the “Golden Horseshoe” because it makes a horseshoe shape around the lake and is the most economically prosperous regions in Canada

• What location factors have to do with this prosperity?

The area is rich with resources, farmable land and access to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence sea way, it is also very close to the U.S. border

The Challenge to Transportation

There is a 100 metre drop in elevation between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario

What landform have we studied over the past few days that represents this drop in elevation?

Hint:

Niagara Falls is a result of the Niagara river falling over the side of the Niagara Escarpment

Hang on, if the escarpment represents the drop of 100 metres to Lake Ontario, how do boats get from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario?

The Challenge to Transportation

The Welland Canal passes through the Niagara region and has a series of locks that turn this:

Into this:

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X

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X

What is a lock? VIDEO

The Niagara Escarpment

Agriculture: This region is ideal for agriculture. There are 3 natural factors that make it ideal.

1. The escarpment provides protection from the wind.

2. The lake provides warmth and regulates the temperature.

3. Lake bed soil is good quality.

What do we already know about this region when it comes to agriculture?

• This is the only region in Canada where we can grow tender fruits. • The wine industry has blossomed as a major tourist industry as a result.

Threat to the Region

Urban Sprawl: We are literally “paving over” this region with development.

Why is it important to preserve this land based on what we know about this region?

So we can’t grow grapes anymore, what’s the big deal? The southern Ontario wine industry has a value of 613 million dollars annually and this is just the sale of wine.

Conservation

Conservation efforts are focussed on the preservation of space. The “greenbelt” is a conservation initiative designed to protect natural spaces around the Golden Horseshoe.

The green areas on this map represent the green belt. Why is there so little protected space close to the water?

Recreation/Tourism

The Bruce trail is a path that follows the escarpment. It starts at General Brock’s monument in Queenston Ontario and ends in Tobermory at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula.

Millions of tourists hike this path every year. Some travel its entire length over the course of many days.

Tourism is a multi billion dollar industry in southern Ontario and our natural landscape is a huge reason for this.