The Credit River is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment near Orangeville and Caledon East to empty into

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

Port Credit Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road, a ...

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

. It drains an area of approximately . The total length of the river and its tributary streams is over . Despite

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

and associated problems with water quality on the lower section of this river, it provides spawning areas for Chinook salmon and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

. There is a fish ladder on the river at Streetsville. Much of the river can still be travelled by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

or kayak. The headwaters of the Credit River is home to a native self-sustaining brook trout population and an introduced brown trout population. Credit Valley Conservation, the local watershed management conservation authority, operates several Conservation Areas including Belfountain, Island Lake, and Terra Cotta. Forks of the Credit Provincial Park is located on the upper part of the river between Brampton and Orangeville, and is near the Bruce Trail. Communities in the river's watershed include the following: * City of Brampton * City of Mississauga * Township of Amaranth * Town of Caledon * Township of East Garafraxa * Town of Halton Hills * Town of Mono * Town of Orangeville

Naming

The river became known as ''Missinnihe'' ( Eastern Ojibwa: "trusting creek") to the Mississaugas who met annually with European traders there. To the First Nations, the river was "held in reverential estimation as the favourite resort of their ancestors" and the band, which ranged from Long Point on Lake Erie to the Rouge River on Lake Ontario, became known as the Credit River Indians. Their descendants are today the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The origins of the English name come from the time when French fur traders supplied goods to the native people in advance (on credit) against furs which would be delivered the following spring. It was known as the Rivière au Crédit. The trading post was set up at the mouth of the river, in

, in the early 18th century.

Watershed population and land use

As of the 2006 census, 750,000 people live in the watershed. Of those, 87 percent live in the lower third of the watershed. Population growth is approximately 3 percent per year. In 1999, 21 percent of the watershed was developed. By 2020, 40 percent 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. This watershed is home to 1,330 plant species, 64 fish species (including many bait fish, pike, and brook trout), 41 mammal species, 5 turtle species, 8 snake species, 17 amphibian species, and 244 bird species.

Turtle species (5)

* Common snapping turtle, ''Chelydra serpentina'' * Midland

painted turtle The painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta'') is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in relatively slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They have been shown ...

, ''Chrysemys picta marginata'' * Red-eared slider, ''Trachemys scripta elegans'' * Blanding's turtle, ''Emydoidea blandingii'' * Common map turtle, ''Graptemys geographica''

Snake species (8)

* Eastern garter snake, ''Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis'' * Northern redbelly snake, ''Storeria occipitomaculata'' * Northern brown snake, ''Storeria dekayi'' * Northern ringneck snake, ''Diadophis punctatus edwardsii'' * Eastern milk snake, ''Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum'' * Northern water snake, ''Nerodia sipedon'' * Smooth green snake, ''Opheodrys vernalis'' * Northern ribbon snake, ''Thamnophis saurita septentrionalis''

Amphibian species (17)

* Common mudpuppy, ''Necturus maculosus maculosus'' * Red-spotted newt (eastern), ''Notophthalmus viridescens'' * Jefferson salamander, ''Ambystoma jeffersonianum'' ** "Silvery salamander" ** "Tremblay's salamander" * Blue-spotted salamander, ''Ambystoma laterale'' * Northern redback salamander, ''Plethodon cinereus'' * Four-toed salamander, ''Hemidactylium scutatum'' *

Spotted salamander The spotted salamander (''Ambystoma maculatum''), also known commonly as the yellow-spotted salamander, is a species of mole salamander in the family Ambystomatidae. The species is native to the eastern United States and Canada. It is the sta ...

, ''Ambystoma maculatum'' * Eastern American toad, ''Anaxyrus americanus'' ''americanus'' * Northern spring peeper, ''Pseudacris crucifer crucifer'' * Tetraploid grey treefrog, ''Hyla versicolor'' * Striped chorus frog (western), ''Pseudacris triseriata triseriata'' * Wood frog, ''Lithobates sylvaticus'' * Northern leopard frog, ''Lithobates pipiens'' * Pickerel frog, ''Lithobates palustris'' * Green frog, ''Lithobates clamitans'' * Mink frog, ''Lithobates septentrionalis'' * Bullfrog, ''Lithobates catesbeianus''

In popular culture

The Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band The Constantines entitled a track "Credit River" on their 2008 album '' Kensington Heights''. A youth Hockey team in th
OMHA
is named th
Credit River Capitals

Bridges

List of major roadways crossing over the Credit in Peel Region: * Lakeshore Road - 4 lane steel box girder bridge *

Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highways, 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The highway begins at the Canada–United States border on the Pea ...

- two span open spandrel deck arch bridges built in 1934 and widened 1960; maybe demolished and replaced pending review * Dundas Street West - two separate span steel box girder bridges * Burnhamthorpe Road West - two separate span concrete bridges * Ontario Highway 403 - 8 lane concrete girder overpass(es) * Eglinton Avenue West - two separate span concrete bridges ** a lower small steel truss bridge for pedestrian trail visible from the north side * Bristol Road West - two lane concrete girder bridge * Britannia Road - 4 lane concrete overpass * Creditview Road - concrete overpass being widened with new span to accommodate 4 lanes * Ontario Highway 401 - 6 lane concrete girder overpasses * Old Derry Road West - two lane steel Warren truss bridge (c. 1930 and rehabilitated in 2005) * Derry Road - 6 lane concrete overpass * Ontario Highway 407 - two separate span 8 lane concrete girder overpasses * Steeles Avenue West - 4 lane concrete girder overpass * Creditview Road - single lane concrete bowstring bridge c. 1928 * Mississauga Road - 4 lane concrete girder overpass near Queen Street in Brampton * Heritage Road - 2 lane concrete overpass * Ontario Highway 7 / Guelph Street - 2 lane overpass Most of the bridges were built in the mid-20th century or later. Only the Queen Elizabeth Way and Old Derry Road West bridges are older. CP Rail and CN Rail have steel deck truss bridges crossing over the Credit River.

References

Sources

External links

Fishing the Credit River
Steelhead, Salmon and Trout
Credit Valley Conservation
{{Authority control Rivers of Dufferin County Tributaries of Lake Ontario Rivers of Mississauga