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Facts & Figures
The opposite of Lake Superior in almost every way, Lake Ontario is the easternmost, lowest in elevation, smallest in surface area and perhaps the most polluted Great Lake. As the last lake in the chain, Ontario receives the accumulation of contaminants from the other Great Lakes in addition to the agricultural runoff and urban and industrial waste discharges within its own basin. Its name originated with the local Iroquois Indians' word for "a beautiful lake" -- which it still is. University of Wisconsin |
Lake Ontario (43.7° N, 77.9° W) is the eastern-most and smallest in surface area (7,540 square miles, 19,529 km²)of the Great Lakes, although it exceeds Lake Erie in volume (393 cubic miles, 1639 km³). It is the 14th largest lake in the world and has a shoreline 712 miles (1146 km) long.
Lake Ontario has an elevation of 246 feet (75 m)[1] above sea level. Its length is 193 miles (311 km), and its width is 53 miles (85 km). The average depth is 283 feet (86 m), with a maximum depth of 802 feet (244 m). Wikipedia
Lake Ontario is similar to Lake Erie in length and breadth (193 miles by 53 miles). Yet with its greater average depth (approximately 283 feet), Lake Ontario holds almost four times the volume (395 cubic miles) and has a retention time of about 6 years. The drainage basin covers parts of Ontario and New York, and a small portion of Pennsylvania. Major urban industrial centers, such as Hamilton and Toronto, are located on its shore. The U.S. shore is less urbanized and is not intensively farmed. Great Lakes Information Network
Approximately 80 percent of the water flowing into Lake Ontario comes from Lake Erie through the Niagara River. The remaining flow comes from Lake Ontario basin tributaries (14%) and precipitation (7%). About 93 percent of the water in Lake Ontario flows out to the St. Lawrence River; the remaining 7 percent leaves through evaporation. Since Lake Ontario is the downstream Great Lake, it is impacted by human activities occurring throughout the Lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie basins. EPA
Lake Ontario occupies a bedrock depression originally produced by stream erosion and later modified by glaciation. Several glacial lakes of varying elevation occupied the basin before the current level and outlet were established about 11 000 years ago. The present basin has an elliptical plan with an east-west orientation and a complex lake bed reflecting its underlying rock structure and the effects of glaciation. The lakeshore is typically a low bluff of rock or glacial sediment with a narrow beach.Canadian Encyclopedia
Land Use and Pollution Sources
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The extensive urban/industrial and rural/agricultural land use activity within the Lake Ontario drainage basin of accounts for a range of pollutants entering tributaries and lakes from "point sources" (e.g. industrial and municipal effluent discharges) and "non-point sources" (e.g. diffuse runoff from urban or agricultural areas). These pollutants include suspended solids, dissolved solids, bacteria, nutrients, metals, and trace organic contaminants (including pesticides, PCBs, and a range of industrial organic chemical byproducts). Associated impacts can range from short-term restrictions on recreational water use, to impaired aquatic and benthic habitat, to uptake and magnification of persistent trace organics through the food web resulting in potential harm to fish-eating birds and mammals (including humans). Identifying the location and extent of possible impacts remains a key challenge in the design of an effective monitoring program.
Contaminants associated with urban runoff include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals and petroleum hydrocarbons associated with vehicle exhaust, brake and tire wear, fuel and engine oil leaks or spills, and corrosion. Other contaminants associated with roads and urban runoff include suspended solids, nutrients, pesticides and bacteria from sanitary sewer cross connections, infiltration from the sanitary sewer system, accidental or deliberate spills to road side catch basins, chemical applications (fertilizers and pesticides) run off from commercial/industrial storage areas, and faecal material from wildlife and domestic animals.
Pollutants linked to rural and agricultural land uses can overlap to some degree with urban sources and include suspended solids, nutrients, pesticides, and bacteria. Sources would include fertilizer and pesticide applications, run off from animal storage areas, and faecal material from livestock. The relative impact of suspended solids, fertilizers and pesticides on rural streams can vary widely with the season and local farm practices but can be significant, particularly during the spring.
The intersection of older and higher glacial and lake deposits at the southeast end of Toronto has produced the Scarborough Bluffs - spectacular, cathedral- like cliffs rising as high as 100 m above the lake. Other scenic shore features include the rocky coasts and islands of the Kingston Basin and the extensive sandy beaches at Hamilton and Toronto on the Canadian side and Mexico Bay in the US.
Ministry of the Environment, Ontario
History
The first European known to have visited the lake was Étienne Brûlé in 1615. The name Ontario is sometimes thought to be of Iroquoian origin, meaning "beautiful lake" or "sparkling water." It was first applied to the lake by Europeans in 1641 and appears on maps of North America as early as 1656. Conflict between the English and French and their Indian allies over the local fur trade inhibited European settlement until after the English takeover in 1763.
The first major group of settlers were Loyalists, many of whom settled on the north shore. The most vigorous campaigns of the WAR OF 1812 between the US and Great Britain were fought on or near Lake Ontario. (The vessels Hamilton and Scourge, lost in a squall during a naval engagement at that time, have been found on the lake bed near Niagara.)Canadian Encyclopedia
Shipping
The commerce of Lake Ontario is limited in comparison with that of the lakes above Niagara Falls, and is restricted to vessels that can pass through the Welland canal locks, which are 270 ft. long, 45 ft. wide and 14 ft. deep. Freight consists principally of coal shipped from Charlotte, Great and Little Sodus bays and Oswego to Canadian ports in the lakes, and to ports on the St Lawrence river; of grain shipped through the Welland canal to the St Lawrence; and of
lumber from Canadian ports .
Ports on the lake are limited in capacity to vessels
drawing not more than 14 ft. of water. The principal Canadian ports are Kingston, at the head of the St Lawrence river; Toronto, where the harbour is formed by an island with improved entrance channels constructed both east and west of it; and Hamilton, at the head of the lake, situated on a landlocked lagoon, connected with the main lake by Burlington channel, an artificial cut. The principal United States port is Oswego, where a breakwater has been built, making an
outer harbour . The construction of a breakwater was undertaken in 1907 by the United States government at Cape Vincent to form a harbour where westbound vessels can shelter from storm before
crossing the lake . The difference of 327 ft. in level between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie is overcome by the Welland canal, which leads southward from Port Dalhousie.
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