Scarborough Bluffs
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The Scarborough Bluffs are an escarpment in Scarborough, Ontario along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. They run from the foot of Victoria Park Avenue in the West to the mouth of Highland Creek in the east. However, the escarpment continues westward inland, running between Kingston Road and Queen Street East, pausing over the Don Valley, and continuing on the north side of Davenport Avenue. The escarpment forms the old shoreline of Lake Iroquois, formed after the last ice age.
The bluffs were named after Scarborough, England by Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. The bluffs along Scarborough's Lake Ontario shores reminded her of the limestone cliffs in Scarborough, England. In her diary, she wrote, "The [eastern] shore is extremely bold, and has the appearance of chalk cliffs, but I believe they are only white sand. They appeared so well that we talked of building a summer residence there and calling it Scarborough."[1][2]
A park created from fill has been built in the lake below the cliffside; named Bluffer's Park, it is accessible from the foot of Brimley Road.
A stylized version of The Bluffs appeared prominently on the old flag of the City of Scarborough.
[edit] References
- ^ Carter, Chris (2005-10-06). A holiday with history. toronto.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
- ^ The Trip to York. Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe. Archives of Ontario. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
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