Bond Lake is a glacial

kettle lake A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, or pothole) is a depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating ...

in the

Oak Ridges Moraine The Oak Ridges Moraine is an Ecology, ecologically important Geology, geological landform in the Mixedwood Plains of south-central Ontario, Canada. The moraine covers a geographic area of between Caledon, Ontario, Caledon and Rice Lake (Ontario ...

. It is located on the east side of Yonge Street in the north end of

Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill ( 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and the 27th most populous municipality in Canada. Ric ...

History

Prior to the late 1800s the lake was surrounded by farms by various land holders: Whitneys' and Mortons', (William) Websters, whom acquired from Chief Justice

Sir John Robinson, 1st Baronet, of Toronto Sir John Beverley Robinson, 1st Baronet, (26 July 1791 – 31 January 1863) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was considered the leader of the Family Compact, a group of families which effectively controlled the ear ...

with tenant lease to James Legge. In the 1790s (1794 and 1797) 200 acres around the lake was granted to former

Queen's York Rangers The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve regiment of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. Based in Toronto and Aurora, Ontario, the regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Gro ...

Sergeant William Bond. Initially called Bond's Pond and later as Bond Lake. William Bell would sell his portion to developers responsible for Bond Lake Park. Bond Lake Park was a recreation park from 1899 to 1929 owned by the

Metropolitan Street Railway (Toronto) The Metropolitan line in the Toronto area, operated by the Metropolitan Street Railway, started out as a local horsecar line and transformed itself into an electric Interurban, radial line extending to Lake Simcoe, following an old stage coach ro ...

(MSR). The park closed as the MSR was owned by the

Toronto Transportation Commission Toronto Transportation Commission (TTC) was the public transit operator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, beginning in 1921. It operated buses, streetcars and the island ferries. The system was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 1954. H ...

(since 1922) and had little interest in owning non transit assets. Today the lake and lands are part of a 175 acres Oakridges Corridor Conservation Reserves under the

Toronto Region Conservation Authority The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is a conservation authority in southern Ontario, Canada. It owns about of land in the Toronto region, and it employs more than 400 full-time employees and coordinates more than 3,000 volunte ...

Ecology

Due to rapid urbanization of adjacent lands, the lake is experiencing deterioration in water quality and loss of biodiversity. The most significant factor is contaminated

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...

, especially external phosphorus loading. The lake, together with the adjacent

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

, is designated as an

Area of Natural and Scientific Interest An Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (or ANSI) is an official designation by the provincial Government of Ontario in Canada applied to contiguous geographical regions within the province that have geological or ecological features which are si ...

Fish

The species diversity of the lake is low, due its isolated nature. The only species found in the lake are

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

, emerald shiner,

brown bullhead The brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas'') and yellow bullhead (' ...

banded killifish The banded killifish (''Fundulus diaphanus'') is a North American species of temperate freshwater killifish belonging to the genus ''Fundulus'' of the family Fundulidae. Its natural geographic range extends from Newfoundland to South Carolina, ...

and

pumpkinseed The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as sun perch, pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small to medium–sized freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from the sunfish fami ...

References

Literature cited * {{Refend

History

Ecology

Fish

References

See also