The Toronto waterway system comprises a series of natural and man-made

watercourse A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

s in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

city of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

. The city is dominated by a large river system spanning most of the city including the Don River, Etobicoke Creek, Highland Creek, Humber River, Mimico Creek and Rouge River.

Current rivers in Toronto

List

The city has many rivers that stretch all over the city and all end up draining 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. The Canada–United States border sp ...

. Of the various watercourses that drained Toronto, the Don River, the Humber River, and the Rouge River have headwaters in the

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

Humber River

The Humber River is a river in Southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. It is in the

Great Lakes Basin The Great Lakes Basin consists of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lands of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada, whose dir ...

, is a tributary of

and is one of two major rivers on either side of the city of

, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a

Canadian Heritage River The Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS; french: Le réseau de rivières du patrimoine canadien) is a joint program administered by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada's river he ...

on September 24, 1999. The Humber collects from about 750 creeks and tributaries in a fan-shaped area north of Toronto that encompasses portions of

Dufferin County Dufferin County is a county and census division located in Central Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Orangeville, and the current Warden is Wade Mills. The current chief administrative officer is Sonya Pritchard. Dufferin covers an area of , ...

, the

Regional Municipality of Peel The Regional Municipality of Peel (informally Peel Region or Region of Peel, also formerly Peel County) is a regional municipality in the Greater Toronto Area, Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of three municipalities to the west and northwe ...

Simcoe County Simcoe County is located in the central portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. The county is just north of the Greater Toronto Area, stretching from the shores of Lake Simcoe in the east to Georgian Bay in the west. Simcoe County forms part of ...

, and the

Regional Municipality of York The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional ...

. The main branch runs for about 100 kilometres (60 mi) from the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff ov ...

in the northwest, while another other major branch, known as the East Humber River, starts at Lake St. George in the

near

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

to the northeast. They join north of Toronto and then flow in a generally southeasterly direction into

at what was once the far western portions of the city. The river mouth is flanked by Sir Casimir Gzowski Park and

Humber Bay Park Humber Bay Park is a waterfront park located in Etobicoke, part of Toronto, Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historical ...

East. The Source of the River is the Huber Spring Pond and the basin is 903 km² .

Don River

The Don River is a watercourse in southern Ontario, that empties into

, at

Toronto Harbour Toronto Harbour or Toronto Bay is a bay on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a natural harbour, protected from Lake Ontario waves by the Toronto Islands. Today, the harbour is used primarily for recreational b ...

. Its mouth was just east of the street grid of the town of

York, Upper Canada York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital ...

, the municipality that evolved into

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. The Don is formed from two rivers, the East and West Branches, that meet about 7 kilometres (4 mi) north of

while flowing southward into the lake. The area below the confluence is known as the ''lower Don'', and the areas above as the ''upper Don''. The Don is also joined at the confluence by a third major branch, Taylor-Massey Creek. The

Toronto and 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 voluntee ...

(TRCA) is responsible for managing the river and its surrounding watershed. The Don Valley is notable because of its deep wide valley in the lower reaches due to its glacial origins. Due to the urbanized nature of the watershed, the Don River experiences low base flows interspersed with high volume floods. The river flows into Lake Ontario at the Keating Channel at

Lake Shore Boulevard Lake Shore Boulevard (often incorrectly compounded as Lakeshore Boulevard) is a major arterial road running along more than half of the Lake Ontario waterfront in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prior to 1998, two segments of Lake Shore ...

East which is at the north east corner of the

. The Source of the River is the Oak Ridge Moraine and the basin is 360 km² . The average flow of the river is 4 m³/s.

Rouge River

The Rouge River is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

in Markham,

Pickering Pickering may refer to: Places Antarctica * Pickering Nunataks, Alexander Island Australia * Pickering, South Australia, the original name (1872–1940) of the town of Wool Bay * Pickering Brook, Western Australia, Australia Canada * Pic ...

, Richmond Hill and

in the Greater Toronto Area of

. The river flows from the

at the eastern border of Toronto, and is the location of

Rouge Park Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of river in ...

, the only national park in Canada within a municipality. At its southern end, the Rouge River is the boundary between Toronto and southwestern Pickering in the

Regional Municipality of Durham The Regional Municipality of Durham (), informally referred to as Durham Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada. Located east of Toronto and the Regional Municipality of York, Durham forms the east-end of the Greater Toro ...

. The Source of the River is the Oak Ridge Moraine and the basin is 336 km² . The average flow of the river is 1.76 m³/s.

Former rivers of Toronto

The city also has many rivers that were buried or completely removed to make way for development and the rapid expansion of the city. *

Ashbridge's Creek Ashbridge's Creek was a watercourse that flowed in Ashbridge's Bay, between the Don River and Highland Creek. Its headwaters were north of Greenwood and Danforth avenues, making it about long. The creek was buried, and converted to a sewer, ...

Bonar Creek Bonar Creek was a creek in Mimico, Ontario, Canada. It was a tributary of the still-existing Mimico Creek, a watercourse that empties into Lake Ontario. Bonar Creek joined Mimico Creek north of Lake Shore Boulevard, in the marsh at the mouth of ...

* Castle Field Creek * Castle Frank Brook * Cudmore Creek * Garrison Creek *

Jackson Creek Jackson Creek may refer to: ;In Australia *Jackson Creek (Victoria), a watercourse of the Port Phillip catchment in Victoria ;In Canada *Jackson Creek (Alberta) *Jackson Creek (Toronto) *Jackson Creek (Peterborough, Ontario) ;In the United States ...

* Market Steams * North Creek * Russell Creek *

Small's Creek Small's Creek was one of the three watercourses that flowed into Small's Pond, a small body of water of several acres in area, located near the intersection of Queen Street and Kingston Road, in Toronto, Ontario. There is a small plain between ...

Superior Creek Superior Creek was a stream draining into Lake Ontario in the former village of Mimico, Ontario, Canada. It was approximately 3 kilometers long, with headwaters near the present intersection of Kipling Avenue and The Queensway. The lower reach ...

* Taddle Creek *

Tomlin's Creek Tomlin's Creek is short creek in Toronto, which drained into Small's Pond. Its headwaters seem to have been in the ravine that contains Glen Davis Crescent, because residents report small springs breaking out. In the 19th century Tomlin's Creek ...

* Walmsley Creek *

Wendigo Creek Wendigo Creek was a short watercourse in Toronto, Ontario, that drained into Grenadier Pond. It was spring fed, like nearby Spring Creek (Grenadier Pond), Spring Creek. Its headwaters were north of Bloor Street, Toronto, Bloor Street, near Dunda ...

References

External links

*http://www.lostrivers.ca/content/centralkey.html *http://www.lostrivers.ca/ {{Toronto Waterways, state=autocollapse