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125-587: The Toronto Marathon , held annually on the first Sunday of May, is a race from Yonge and Sheppard, in the north end of Toronto , to Exhibition Place , via Humber Bay Park . The origins of the event trace back to 1977, and the race was initially called the Canadian International Marathon . In 2003, its name was changed to the Toronto Marathon. It was held previously on the third Sunday in October,

250-520: A wildlife corridor , permitting the animals that live within it to travel from one area of the city to another. The corridors are of particular importance for wild mammals, as they provide the only safe passage for them to traverse from one part of the city to another to find new mates and establish their own homes. The ravine system is one of the northernmost Carolinian forests found in North America, consisting of mixed woodlands and southern traces of

375-417: A "shared subconscious of the municipality," and is therefore where most of the local literature is born from. Fulford also suggests the childhood experiences Toronto-based authors had with ravines resulted in their use as "receptacles of the childhood experiences that they have repressed," and as a "creative, liminal space in which the ambiguities of life can play out". Fulford notes that for many Torontonians,

500-408: A "topographical signature" of the city. This includes literary works like Margaret Atwood 's Lady Oracle , which depicts the ravines as a meeting place where the unruly dense wilderness collided with the tidy streets of suburban Toronto. Anne Michaels ' also describes Toronto as a "city of ravines," in her novel Fugitive Pieces , describing the ravine system as a place where one could "traverse

625-716: A capital. In 1787, the British Lord Dorchester arranged for the Toronto Purchase with the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, thereby securing more than a quarter of a million acres (1000 km ) of land in the Toronto area. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto. The first 25 years after the Toronto purchase were quiet, although "there were occasional independent fur traders" present in

750-633: A channel to the harbour. The peninsula was formed by longshore drift taking the sediments deposited along the Scarborough Bluffs shore and transporting them to the Islands area. The other source of sediment for the Port Lands wetland and the peninsula was the deposition of the Don River, which carved a wide valley through the sedimentary land of Toronto and deposited it in the shallow harbour. The harbour and

875-456: A major obstacle to construction. However, the cleared portions of the ravine system saw several dump sites, farms, mills, and landscaped parks established in the 19th and 20th centuries. By the mid-19th century, the Don Valley gained a reputation as a "space for undesirables," with residents of the city perceiving the ravine as an area that harboured and facilitated lawlessness. The perception of

1000-515: A moraine located north of the city. The point where the Humber, Don, and Rouge River watersheds meet is near the intersection of Bathurst Street and Jefferson Sideroad at the Vaughan - Richmond Hill boundary. Many of the ravines that surround these waterways branch off into smaller ravines, winding through commercial, industrial, and residential neighbourhoods of the city. During the late summer, many of

1125-482: A park" character. Architect Larry Richards describes Toronto as topographically being " San Francisco turned upside down" in reference to San Francisco's hilly terrain . Sandy M. Smith, a professor of urban forestry at the University of Toronto , has also remarked how the ravine system acts as the "green veins of the city," defining the city landscape and shaping Toronto's road network, with roadways having to conform to

1250-640: A part of a larger regional watershed system that encompasses the Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt and the Oak Ridges Moraine. The ravine system contains seven watersheds, the Don River, Etobicoke Creek, Highland Creek, Humber River, Mimico Creek, Petticoat Creek , and the Rouge River. The Humber watershed is the largest of the seven watersheds, although the Don watershed constitutes the largest percentage of

1375-420: A ravine as a distinct landform with a minimum of 2 metres (6.6 ft) change in grade between "the highest and lowest points of elevation," has vegetation cover, and has or once had water flowing through or adjacent to the landform. In addition to these landforms, buffer areas and some other environmentally significant areas are also covered under this act. In total, the act protects approximately 17 per cent of

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1500-579: A ravine or valley and continue on the other side. Toronto has many bridges spanning the ravines. Large bridges such as the Prince Edward Viaduct were built to span broad river valleys. Despite its deep ravines, Toronto is not remarkably hilly, but its elevation does increase steadily away from the lake. Elevation differences range from 76.5 metres (251 ft) above sea level at the Lake Ontario shore to 209 m (686 ft) above sea level near

1625-473: A result of heavy urbanization around Black Creek , the water quality of the creek is considerably lower in comparison to the other watersheds of the ravine system. The ravine system holds the greatest variety of ecosystems, species and genetic diversity within the city. The variety in species is a result of the mosaic of ecosystems that exists within the system, including forests, wetlands, rivers and streams. The connected nature of these habitats helps support

1750-514: A result of human activity in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as several natural valleys were filled in, rivers rechannelled or buried entirely, and wetlands drained to facilitate new developments. The Don River was altered near the mouth of the river, with a concrete channel created to prevent the Port Lands from flooding. Creeks and ravines within downtown Toronto were also buried during this period, including Garrison and Taddle Creek . As

1875-526: A result of these changes, the Don River and a small portion of Taddle Creek were the only remaining waterways that flowed into Toronto Bay by the mid-20th century. The surviving portions of Toronto's ravine system primarily surround four waterways—the Don River, Highland Creek , Humber River, and the Rouge River —although smaller ravines can also be found along the other waterways of Toronto , including Etobicoke Creek and Mimico Creek . The ravine system

2000-454: Is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canada's major national broadcast networks and media outlets . Its varied cultural institutions , which include numerous museums and galleries , festivals and public events , entertainment districts, national historic sites , and sports activities , attract over 43 million tourists each year. Toronto

2125-412: Is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports, and culture and is one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest , for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase , when

2250-491: Is another large park in the ravine system opened by the municipal government. The Don River Valley Park encompasses over 200 hectares (490 acres) of the lower Don River valley from Pottery Road to Corktown Common . The creation of the Don River Valley Park formed a part of the larger Lower Don Master Plan, a plan to naturally restore the area. In 2017, the city introduced new trail signage to provide information for

2375-668: Is held on the Friday and Saturday at the Queen Elizabeth building on the Exhibition Grounds immediately prior to race day and features over 60 vendors as well as the race kit pick-up for event participants. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 edition of the race was cancelled, while the 2021 edition of the race was virtualized, as organizers stated that COVID-19 vaccine distribution will not be wide enough by May 2021 in order to allow

2500-509: Is its escarpments. During the last ice age , the lower part of Toronto was beneath Glacial Lake Iroquois . Today, a series of escarpments mark the lake's former boundary, known as the "Iroquois Shoreline". The escarpments are most prominent from Victoria Park Avenue to the mouth of Highland Creek , where they form the Scarborough Bluffs . Other observable sections include the area near St. Clair Avenue West between Bathurst Street and

2625-660: Is known for its many skyscrapers and high-rise buildings , in particular the CN Tower , the tallest freestanding structure on land outside of Asia. The city is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange , the headquarters of Canada's five largest banks , and the headquarters of many large Canadian and multinational corporations. Its economy is highly diversified with strengths in technology, design, financial services, life sciences, education, arts, fashion, aerospace, environmental innovation, food services, and tourism. Toronto

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2750-418: Is known that when using a GPS, the signal can be inaccurate, especially around tall structures like those found in the downtown core, and that it caused an inaccurate reading for some runners using this technology. The course is certified by AIMS and Athletics Canada meeting their measurement criteria and is re-surveyed every 5 to 10 years as required by these respective organizations. Toronto Toronto

2875-579: Is now a museum. The pre-amalgamation City of Toronto covers the downtown core and older neighbourhoods to the east, west, and north. It is the most densely populated part of the city. The Financial District contains the First Canadian Place , Toronto-Dominion Centre , Scotia Plaza , Royal Bank Plaza , Commerce Court and Brookfield Place . This area includes, among others, the neighbourhoods of St. James Town , Garden District , St. Lawrence , Corktown , and Church and Wellesley . From that point,

3000-540: Is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, straddling the Carolinian forest and the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Lowlands . The landscape of the ravine system includes large river valleys and smaller creeks. Many of the larger waterways are surrounded by narrow steep-sided valleys, with the waterways having eroded the soft deposits around it to reveal large exposures of Ordovician rocks, many of these rocks visible along

3125-656: Is the most populous city in Canada and the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario . With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the fourth-most populous city in North America . The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe , an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario , while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto

3250-510: Is the third-largest tech hub in North America after Silicon Valley and New York City , and the fastest-growing hub. The word Toronto has been recorded with various spellings in French and English, including Tarento , Tarontha , Taronto , Toranto , Torento , Toronto , and Toronton . The most frequent early spelling, Taronto , referred to 'The Narrows', a channel of water through which Lake Simcoe discharges into Lake Couchiching where

3375-400: The 2026 FIFA World Cup . Toronto covers an area of 630 square kilometres (243 sq mi), with a maximum north–south distance of 21 kilometres (13 mi). It has a maximum east–west distance of 43 km (27 mi), and it has a 46-kilometre (29 mi) long waterfront shoreline, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario . The Toronto Islands and Port Lands extend out into

3500-569: The Don Valley Parkway being the only major exception. The municipal government proceeded with its plan to create several parks in the ravine system, although they were built further upstream, adjacent to the TRCA's designated reservoirs and watersheds. Efforts to restore the ravine system to its natural state were launched in the 1990s, with citizen task forces such as the Task Force to Bring Back

3625-569: The Great Irish Famine ; most of them were Catholic . By 1851, the Irish-born population had become the largest single ethnic group in the city. The Scottish and English population welcomed smaller numbers of Protestant Irish immigrants, some from what is now Northern Ireland, which gave the Orange Order significant and long-lasting influence over Toronto society. Almost every mayor of Toronto

3750-651: The Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown , the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada . During the War of 1812 , the town was the site of the Battle of York and suffered heavy damage by American troops . York was renamed and incorporated in 1834 as the city of Toronto . It was designated as the capital of

3875-622: The Mississaugas had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars , with most returning to their homeland in present-day New York state. French traders founded Fort Rouillé in 1750 (the current Exhibition grounds were later developed there), but abandoned it in 1759 during the Seven Years' War . The British defeated the French and their indigenous allies in

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4000-456: The Royal Navy 's shipbuilding efforts. From the late-18th and 19th century, portions of the ravine system was logged for building materials, leaving few trees in Toronto that date to before the end of logging around 1850. From the late 18th to 20th century, clay was also extracted from the ravine system, with the first brickworks opened in the ravine system in 1796. The Don Valley Brick Works

4125-470: The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail , led to widespread use of the name. The pronunciation of the city is broadly / t ə ˈ r ɒ n t oʊ / tə- RONT -oh , which locals pronounce [təˈɹɒnoʊ] or [ˈtɹɒnoʊ] , leaving the second 't' silent. The site of Toronto lay at the entrance to one of the oldest routes to the northwest, a route known and used by

4250-589: The York University grounds in the city's north end at the intersection of Keele Street and Steeles Avenue. There are occasional hilly areas; in particular, midtown Toronto , as well as the Silverthorn and Fairbank neighbourhoods, have several sharply sloping hills. Lake Ontario remains occasionally visible from the peaks of these ridges as far north as Eglinton Avenue, 7 to 8 kilometres (4.3 to 5.0 mi) inland. The other major geographical feature of Toronto

4375-467: The boreal forest . Around 1,000 plant species may be found in the ravine system, making up approximately 25 per cent of all plant species that can be found in Ontario. Most flora that is native to the area, such as the oak , have the genetic diversity that makes them more adaptable and resilient to extreme climate events and pest infestations. Poison ivy and nettles are also abundant. A decline in

4500-540: The 19th century, the city built an extensive sewage system to improve sanitation, and streets were illuminated with gas lighting as a regular service. Long-distance railway lines were constructed, including a route completed in 1854 linking Toronto with the Upper Great Lakes. The Grand Trunk Railway and the Northern Railway of Canada joined in the building of the first Union Station in downtown. The advent of

4625-471: The 2000s, many neighbourhoods became ethnically diverse and underwent gentrification due to increasing population and a housing boom during the late 1990s and the early 21st century. The first neighbourhoods affected were Leaside and North Toronto , gradually progressing into the western neighbourhoods in York. Toronto ravine system The ravine system began to take shape approximately 12,000 years ago at

4750-569: The City of Toronto in 1834. Toronto hosted the 4th G20 summit during June 26–27, 2010. This included the largest security operation in Canadian history. Following large-scale protests and rioting, law enforcement arrested more than 1,000 people, the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. On July 8, 2013, severe flash flooding hit Toronto after an afternoon of slow-moving, intense thunderstorms. Toronto Hydro estimated 450,000 people were without power after

4875-435: The Don formed to help facilitate tree planting and wetland creation projects. In 2002, the municipal government of Toronto enacted a bylaw to formally protect the ravine system from human development. The ravines were also home to a considerable number of homeless people, some of them living in fairly elaborate temporary structures. In 2001, The Globe and Mail ran a three-part series titled "The Outsiders" tracing

5000-482: The Don River, and north of Davenport Road from Caledonia to Spadina Road ; the Casa Loma grounds sit above this escarpment. The geography of the lakeshore has dramatically changed since the first settlement of Toronto. Much of the land on the harbour's north shore is landfill, filled in during the late 19th century. Until then, the lakefront docks (then known as wharves) were set back farther inland than today. Much of

5125-717: The Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. This narrows was called tkaronto by the Mohawk , meaning 'where there are trees standing in the water', and was recorded as early as 1615 by Samuel de Champlain . The word Toronto , meaning 'plenty', also appears in a 1632 French lexicon of the Huron language , which is also an Iroquoian language. It also appears on French maps referring to various locations, including Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe, and several rivers. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, known as

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5250-523: The Huron, Iroquois, and Ojibwe . Archaeological sites show evidence of human occupation dating back thousands of years. The site was of strategic importance from the beginning of Ontario's recorded history. In the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon (Bead Hill) on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagon on the banks of the Humber River . By 1701,

5375-560: The Olympic competition for the women. In 1984, Anne Hird won the race as winds gusted and a large field pursued her. In 1988, the winner was Susan Stone , who had just become the Canadian National Champion in the 10K two weeks prior to the race. Regularly attracting 8,000 to 10,000 participants from over 55 countries, and every Province and Territory in Canada, the event is also a major fundraiser for many charities. A Runners Expo

5500-669: The Progressive Conservatives' majority. North York mayor Mel Lastman became the first "megacity" mayor, and the 62nd mayor of Toronto, with his electoral victory . Lastman gained national attention after multiple snowstorms, including the January Blizzard of 1999 , dumped 118 centimetres (46 in) of snow and effectively immobilized the city. He called in the Canadian Army to aid snow removal by use of their equipment to augment police and emergency services. The move

5625-610: The Toronto Harbour), and the Rouge River at the city's eastern limits. Most of the ravines and valley lands in Toronto today are parklands and recreational trails are laid out along the ravines and valleys. The original town was laid out in a grid plan on the flat plain north of the harbour, and this plan was extended outwards as the city grew. The width and depth of several of the ravines and valleys are such that several grid streets, such as Finch Avenue , Leslie Street , Lawrence Avenue , and St. Clair Avenue , terminate on one side of

5750-547: The Toronto shoreline. A large number of the trees surrounding the Town of York were logged in the early 19th century, including many trees in the ravine system. However, portions of the ravine system saw limited human developments, with flood-prone areas of the ravine having prevented large-scale urban developments. As a result, the ravine system holds the largest collection of trees in the city that predates European colonization. The ravine system also saw significant alterations as

5875-622: The Toronto skyline extends northward along Yonge Street. Old Toronto is also home to many historically wealthy residential enclaves, such as Yorkville , Rosedale, The Annex, Forest Hill, Lawrence Park , Lytton Park , Deer Park , Moore Park , and Casa Loma, most stretching away from downtown to the north. East and west of downtown, neighbourhoods such as Kensington Market , Chinatown , Leslieville , Cabbagetown and Riverdale are home to bustling commercial and cultural areas as well as communities of artists with studio lofts, with many middle- and upper-class professionals. Other neighbourhoods in

6000-616: The West. Like the Irish before them, many of these migrants lived in overcrowded shanty-type slums, such as " the Ward ", which was centred on Bay Street , now the heart of the country's Financial District . As new migrants began to prosper, they moved to better housing in other areas, in what is now understood to be succession waves of settlement. Despite its fast-paced growth, by the 1920s, Toronto's population and economic importance in Canada remained second to

6125-460: The adjacent Port Lands on the harbour's east side was a wetland filled in early in the 20th century. The shoreline from the harbour west to the Humber River has been extended into the lake. Further west, landfill has been used to create extensions of land such as Humber Bay Park. The Toronto Islands were a natural peninsula until a storm in 1858 severed their connection to the mainland, creating

6250-497: The ancestral Wyandot peoples began to raise the crop by clearing the floodplains. By the 14th century, the area held several Wyandot and Petun communities around the Don, Humber, and Rouge drainage system. The large amount of timber needed to house these communities was typically extracted from nearby cedar swamps. However by the end of the 16th century, most of these communities had moved northward to other Petun and Huron communities around present-day Simcoe County . The areas

6375-405: The architecture of its homes, and for being one of Toronto's earliest planned communities, was designated as an Ontario Heritage Conservation district in 1985. The Casa Loma neighbourhood is named after "Casa Loma", a castle built in 1911 by Sir Henry Pellat , complete with gardens, turrets, stables, an elevator, secret passages, and a bowling alley. Spadina House is a 19th-century manor that

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6500-534: The area, with the usual complaints of debauchery and drunkenness. In 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany . Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York, believing the new site would be less vulnerable to attack by the United States. The York garrison

6625-619: The capital until 1865 (two years before Canadian Confederation). Since then, the capital of Canada has remained Ottawa , Ontario. Toronto became the capital of the province of Ontario after its official creation in 1867. The seat of government of the Ontario briefly returned to the same building that hosted the Third Parliament Building of Upper Canada, before moving to the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in 1893. Because of its provincial capital status,

6750-668: The central city retain an ethnic identity, including two smaller Chinatowns, the Greektown area, Little Italy , Portugal Village , and Little India , among others. The inner suburbs are contained within the former municipalities of York and East York. These are mature and traditionally working-class areas, consisting primarily of post–World War I small, single-family homes and small apartment blocks. Neighbourhoods such as Crescent Town , Thorncliffe Park , Flemingdon Park , Weston, and Oakwood Village consist mainly of high-rise apartments, which are home to many new immigrant families. During

6875-464: The channel of the Don River have been dredged numerous times for shipping. The lower section of the Don River was straightened and channelled in the 19th century. The former mouth drained into a wetland; today, the Don River drains into the harbour through a concrete waterway, the Keating Channel . To mitigate flooding in the area, as well as to create parkland, a second more natural mouth was built to

7000-412: The city beneath the streets, look up to the floating neighbourhoods, houses built in the treetops". The unique topography of Toronto was one of the primary reasons Atom Egoyan chose to set his film Chloe in the city. According to Robert Fulford , because the ravines are a "tangible (though often hidden) part of [Toronto's] surroundings and a persistent force in [its] civic imagination", they form

7125-735: The city granted the operation of the transit franchise to the Toronto Railway Company . The public transit system passed into public ownership in 1921 as the Toronto Transportation Commission , later renamed the Toronto Transit Commission . The system now has the third-highest ridership of any city public transportation system in North America . The Great Toronto Fire of 1904 destroyed a large section of downtown Toronto . The fire destroyed more than 100 buildings. The fire claimed one victim, John Croft, who

7250-466: The city that year. In addition to a full marathon , the event also includes a half marathon , a 10K run , a 5K run, and an eight-person relay across the marathon course. The marathon meets international standards and is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon . The event is a member of AIMS and Athletics Ontario and meets their criteria. The race featured women marathoners prior to the opening of

7375-632: The city was also the location of Government House , the residence of the viceregal representative of the Crown in right of Ontario . Long before the Royal Military College of Canada was established in 1876, supporters of the concept proposed military colleges in Canada. Staffed by British Regulars, adult male students underwent a three-month-long military course at the School of Military Instruction in Toronto. Established by Militia General Order in 1864,

7500-470: The city was hit by a massive blackout which affected millions of Torontonians (it also affected most of Southern Ontario and parts of the United States), stranding some hundreds of people in tall buildings, knocking out traffic lights and suspending subway and streetcar service across the city during those aforementioned days. On March 6, 2009, the city celebrated the 175th anniversary of its inception as

7625-408: The city's land area, making up 32.5 per cent of the city. In total, there is approximately 371 kilometres (231 mi) of watercourses that flow through the city and its ravine. Most of the smaller creeks and streams are situated within the city limits of Toronto, although the source for the larger three rivers of the ravine system, the Don, Humber, and Rouge, originates from the Oak Ridges Moraine,

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7750-449: The city, there exist hundreds of small neighbourhoods and some larger neighbourhoods covering a few square kilometres. The many residential communities of Toronto express a character distinct from the skyscrapers in the commercial core. Victorian and Edwardian-era residential buildings can be found in enclaves such as Rosedale , Cabbagetown , The Annex , and Yorkville . The Wychwood Park neighbourhood, historically significant for

7875-571: The elimination of racially based immigration policies by the late 1960s, Toronto became a destination for immigrants from all over the world. By the 1980s, Toronto had surpassed Montreal as Canada's most populous city and chief economic hub. During this time, in part owing to the political uncertainty raised by the resurgence of the Quebec sovereignty movement , many national and multinational corporations moved their head offices from Montreal to Toronto and Western Canadian cities. On January 1, 1998, Toronto

8000-471: The end of the Last Glacial Period when the glaciers that once covered Toronto retreated northeast and left valleys and rivers that eventually formed deep ravines. Due to the topography of the ravine system, limited urban development occurred within it until the mid-19th century. Limited development continued in the ravine system until the occurrence of Hurricane Hazel in 1954. The destruction caused by

8125-415: The extensive biodiversity within ravines. The ravine system serves as a habitat for approximately 1,700 species of animals and plants, including many locally, regionally, and provincially sensitive species and species at risk. Approximately 90 per cent of animals that reside in Toronto inhabit the ravine system. In addition to providing a habitat in an urban environment, the ravine system also acts as

8250-580: The first mayor of Toronto . Mackenzie would later lead the unsuccessful Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 against the British colonial government. Toronto's population of 9,000 included some African-American slaves, some of whom had been brought by the Loyalists, and Black Loyalists , whom the Crown had freed (most of the latter were resettled in Nova Scotia). By 1834, refugee slaves from America's South were also immigrating to Toronto to gain freedom. Slavery

8375-458: The first Sunday after Canadian Thanksgiving, for 16 consecutive years. In 2011, the race was moved to May due to pressure from the government of Toronto over repeated road closures in October due to the Toronto Waterfront Marathon also held that month and from Scotiabank , the sponsor of the Waterfront Marathon. The Toronto Marathon was moved to the first Sunday of May in 2012. The event was temporarily held mid-May in 2011, due to other events in

8500-414: The glacial lake, creating small ponds north of Toronto. However, the early Don and Humber rivers are notable exceptions, with these waterways flowing along the compacted channels of the former Laurentian River System , an ancient river system that was scoured and buried during the Last Glacial Period. After the glacial ice had retreated north of the St. Lawrence Valley approximately 9,000 years ago,

8625-680: The hurricane caused more than CA$ 25 million in damage. In 1967, the seven smallest municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto were merged with larger neighbours, resulting in a six-municipality configuration that included the former city of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities of East York , Etobicoke , North York , Scarborough , and York . In the decades after World War II, refugees from war-torn Europe and Chinese job-seekers arrived, as well as construction labourers, particularly from Italy and Portugal. Toronto's population grew to more than one million in 1951 when large-scale suburbanization began and doubled to two million by 1971. Following

8750-471: The hurricane destroying many homes and leaving 1,868 families homeless. Many of the homes that were destroyed were situated in the rechannelled rivers and streams of the ravine system, areas already threatened by flooding from heavy rainfalls. The TRCA was formed under the provincial Conservation Authorities Act as a result of Hurricane Hazel. The TRCA established several flood control and water management policies that saw major developments halted within

8875-418: The hurricane led to a halt to major developments within the ravine system. The Toronto ravine system remains largely undeveloped, with most of its public lands having been designated as parkland. More than two-thirds of the publicly owned portions of the ravine system are made up of forests, with the other portions being beaches, meadows, open water, successional lands , and wetlands. Although large portions of

9000-400: The lake, allowing for a somewhat sheltered Toronto Harbour south of the downtown core. An Outer Harbour was constructed southeast of downtown during the 1950s and 1960s, and it is now used for recreation. The city's limits are formed by Lake Ontario to the south, the western boundary of Marie Curtis Park , Etobicoke Creek , Eglinton Avenue and Highway 427 to the west, Steeles Avenue to

9125-482: The land in the city, or about 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) of land. The system contains at least 150 ravines, constituting the largest ravine system in any city in the world. The edge of the ravine system throughout the city collectively amounts to over 1,200 kilometres (750 mi), ten times the length of the Toronto waterfront . The system is primarily surrounded by residential areas. Approximately 60 per cent of

9250-405: The land was transferred from the municipal governments of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities to Parks Canada , with Rouge National Urban Park formally established on 15 May 2015. As of July 2019, the park has incorporated 95 per cent of the 79.1 square kilometres (30.5 sq mi) of land committed to it by the municipal, provincial, and federal governments. The Don River Valley Park

9375-495: The late-19th century. Many of Toronto's storm drains continue to empty into the ravines, with large parts of the city's infrastructure still reliant on the ravine system to absorb and filter stormwater in case of overflow. By the mid-1950s, several plans had emerged to create public parks within the ravine system and protect the system from further human development. Developments in the ravine system were largely halted after Hurricane Hazel passed through Toronto in 1954, with

9500-399: The life of the homeless residents of the ravines for nearly a year. It won a National Newspaper Award for best feature writing. During the 2000s, illegal dumping of garbage in the ravines became an issue for forestry officials in the city. A report published in 2018 estimated that the ravine system provided the city with C$ 822 million in eco-system services in 2017. Eco-services provided by

9625-435: The live in-person racing event to be safely held by that spring. In 2018, the Toronto Marathon was accused of having an incorrect distance. Participants using GPS devices believed that the marathon course was 43km even though it was supposed to be 42.2km. The organizers claim that this is not true and that "the distance is 100 per cent correct" The course was proven to be measured correctly and km points designated accurate. It

9750-483: The lower waterbed. The flooding of the lower ravine system also resulted in the formation of several spits , lagoons , and wetlands near Toronto's shoreline. Before the arrival of European settlers, the landscape from Lake Ontario to the Oak Ridge Moraine was dominated by forests of maple, beech, and hemlock trees, while its low-lying areas were made up of forests and shrub swamps, with extensive marches along

9875-409: The majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, over 160 languages are spoken in the city. The mayor of Toronto is elected by direct popular vote to serve as the chief executive of the city. The Toronto City Council is a unicameral legislative body, comprising 25 councillors since the 2018 municipal election , representing geographical wards throughout the city. Toronto

10000-505: The much longer established Montreal , Quebec. However, by 1934, the Toronto Stock Exchange had become the largest in the country. In 1954, the City of Toronto and 12 surrounding municipalities were federated into a regional government known as Metropolitan Toronto . The postwar boom had resulted in rapid suburban development. It was believed a coordinated land-use strategy and shared services would provide greater efficiency for

10125-562: The north and the Rouge River and the Scarborough–Pickering Townline to the east. The city is mostly flat or gentle hills, and the land gently slopes upward away from the lake. The flat land is interrupted by the Toronto ravine system , which is cut by numerous creeks and rivers of the Toronto waterway system , most notably the Humber River in the west end, the Don River east of downtown (these two rivers flanking and defining

10250-421: The periphery of the ravine system. However, these communities were not designed with direct access to the ravine system and were effectively cut off from them by multi-story parking at the base of the towers. As a result, these communities have largely failed to adopt the ravines as an amenity, despite their prominent visibility from homes. Toronto's ravines have been presented as central to Toronto's "city within

10375-421: The protected land is publicly owned, whereas the remaining 40 per cent is held privately. Within this area there are 86 municipally-recognized "Environmentally Significant Areas" and 1,500 urban parks . Most of the ravine system remains in a naturalized state for flood control purposes, given the high variability in the water levels of the rivers and streams. More than two-thirds of the publicly-owned portions of

10500-502: The province of Ontario in 1867 during Canadian Confederation . The city proper has since expanded past its original limits through both annexation and amalgamation to its current area of 630.2 km (243.3 sq mi). The diverse population of Toronto reflects its current and historical role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada . About half of its residents were born outside of Canada and over 200 ethnic origins are represented among its inhabitants. While

10625-399: The quality of vegetation composition was observed between 2009 and 2019, with invasive plant species spreading throughout the ravine system. In a 2018 study on the ravine system's ecology, at least one of 15 identified high-risk invasive plant species was found in 75 per cent of areas surveyed. The study also indicated that the native flora in the ravine system faced extirpation if action

10750-458: The railway dramatically increased the numbers of immigrants arriving, commerce and industry, as had the Lake Ontario steamers and schooners entering port before. These enabled Toronto to become a major gateway linking the world to the interior of the North American continent. Expanding port and rail facilities brought in northern timber for export and imported Pennsylvania coal. Industry dominated

10875-614: The ravine include aesthetics, carbon sequestration , flood mitigation, the regulation of temperature and noise, and recreation. In the report, it was estimated that the ravine system is responsible for the sequestration of 14,542 tonnes of carbon per year. Work on new bypass tunnels to capture combined sewer overflows and prevent their flow into the Don River and Lake Ontario was undertaken beginning in December 2019. The bypass tunnels will divert overflows to Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant for ultraviolet disinfection. Although

11000-551: The ravine system are forests, with its remaining portions being beaches, meadows, open water, successional lands , and wetlands. The ravine system accounts for approximately 36 per cent of the city's total tree cover . Nearly the entire ravine system forms a part of the city's green space and natural heritage system, with municipal bylaws for those areas largely restricting human developments, with exceptions for compatible recreational and cultural facilities and essential public works. Legal ordinances that restrict developments within

11125-435: The ravine system during the mid-19th century led developers to build low-end neighbourhoods near the ravine system, an area situated on the periphery of 19th-century Toronto and near its industrial lands. During the late 19th century several wetlands and lagoons at the mouths of the Don River were infilled, as the shallowness of Ashbride's Marsh made the area optimal for redevelopment as the Port Lands. The Don River around

11250-533: The ravine system formed a part of the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail , a major canoe-and-portage route used by fur traders to reach the upper Great Lakes. The first sawmill opened in Toronto at the Don River valley in 1795. Due to the limited lumber supply the British had during the Napoleonic Wars , and the abundance of old-growth pines in the ravine system, portions of the Rouge Valley were logged to support

11375-444: The ravine system has a small number of formal entry points, it remains an area that few can engage with regularly and remains an "unknown, and inaccessible place" for many in the city. Access to some ravine parks remains limited to pedestrian traffic, most notably ravine parks where its boundary with the sidewalk and roadways has a slope greater than 45 per cent. During the 1950s and 1960s, several high-rise communities were built at

11500-452: The ravine system include the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection Bylaw , which restricts the destruction of any tree in the system without a permit from the city, and TRCA Regulation 166/06, which prohibits any man-made alterations or filling of the ravine system's waterways or wetlands without a permit from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). The Toronto ravine system forms

11625-440: The ravine system remain undeveloped, parts of the ravine system are used for flood management, carbon sequestration , and recreational purposes by the city. In addition to its human uses, the ravine system also serves as a habitat and wildlife corridor for a large number of animals. The Toronto ravine system originated approximately 12,000 years ago at the end of the Last Glacial Period , with rivers and valleys being formed in

11750-527: The ravine system was typically their first glimpse of wilderness, representing for many residents a "savage foreign place," and a "republic of childhood," as parents would warn younger children of the "evils" that lurk within, while adolescents viewed the ravines as the only place where they can "find freedom from the vigilant gaze of adults". However, the way local authors have portrayed the ravine system has changed over time. Several mid-20th century authors, including Atwood and Michael Ondaatje , have portrayed

11875-415: The ravine system. This included creating a boundary to delineate the high water mark for the ravine's rivers, as well as a ban on construction within the boundary. The formation of the TRCA marked the ravine system as a volatile force that would be managed under an intensive set of developmental constraints. As a result, most of the existing ravine system from 1954 has been preserved, with the construction of

12000-414: The ravine's boundaries. The ravine system has helped to form a cultural identity for its constituents, as the ravines occupy the "cultural and poetic imagination" of Toronto-based artists and authors as a "para-natural form of infrastructure" beyond the city. It has been suggested that ravines are featured in several works set in Toronto because they are "the chief characteristic of the local terrain" and

12125-404: The ravine's parks and trails. There exist approximately 1,500 urban parks within the ravine system. In addition to small local parks, larger urban parks that encompass large portions of the ravine system have also been established during the 2010s. In 2011, the federal government announced its intention to create a national park around the Rouge River watershed. To establish the national park,

12250-472: The ravines were designated as an open space that is publicly accessible, only small sections of it are dedicated as parkland and sanctioned for public use. The municipal government's official ravine strategy identifies the ravine system as areas that should be preserved in their natural state. As a result, recreational activities within the ravine system have been limited to passive recreational activities, including cycling, hiking, and cross-country skiing within

12375-506: The referendum results and did so in April when it tabled the City of Toronto Act . Both opposition parties held a filibuster in the provincial legislature, proposing more than 12,000 amendments that allowed residents on streets of the proposed megacity to take part in public hearings on the merger and adding historical designations to the streets. This only delayed the bill's inevitable passage, given

12500-462: The region. The metropolitan government began to manage services that crossed municipal boundaries, including highways, police services, water and public transit . In that year, a half-century after the Great Fire of 1904, disaster struck the city again when Hurricane Hazel brought intense winds and flash flooding. In the Toronto area, 81 people were killed, nearly 1,900 families were left homeless, and

12625-399: The river's mouth was also straightened to attract shipping upriver. Some smaller waterways in Toronto were also buried during this period after public health officials prompted the municipal government to cover the smaller waterways being used by residents as a receptacle for trash and human waste. The city's sewage system and water filtration plant was also built into the ravine system during

12750-485: The school enabled officers of militia or candidates for commission or promotion in the Militia to learn military duties, drill and discipline, to command a company at Battalion Drill, to drill a company at Company Drill, the internal economy of a company, and the duties of a company's officer. The school was retained at Confederation, in 1867. In 1868, Schools of cavalry and artillery instruction were formed in Toronto. In

12875-488: The smaller streams will slow to a trickle or even disappear completely. During the spring and after major storms, creeks in the ravine will often overflow their banks. The shape of streams within the ravine system is subject to constant change, with large storms causing the area to flood, and erosion to occur on river banks and meanders. In particular, waterways in narrow ravines, and straightened/rechannelled waterways are particularly susceptible to change due to erosion. As

13000-548: The south during the first half of the 2020s, thereby creating a new island, Ookwemin Minising . Toronto encompasses an area formerly administered by several separate municipalities that were amalgamated over the years. Each developed a distinct history and identity over the years, and their names remain in common use among Torontonians. Former municipalities include East York, Etobicoke, Forest Hill , Mimico , North York, Parkdale , Scarborough, Swansea , Weston and York. Throughout

13125-409: The storm and Toronto Pearson International Airport reported 126 mm (5 in) of rain had fallen over five hours, more than during Hurricane Hazel. Within six months, from December 20 to 22, 2013, Toronto was brought to a near halt by the worst ice storm in the city's history, rivalling the severity of the 1998 Ice Storm (which mainly affected southeastern Ontario, and Quebec). At the height of

13250-568: The storm, over 300,000 Toronto Hydro customers had no electricity or heating. Toronto hosted WorldPride in June 2014, and the Pan and Parapan American Games in 2015 . The city continues to grow and attract immigrants. A 2019 study by Toronto Metropolitan University (then known as Ryerson University) showed that Toronto was the fastest-growing city in North America. The city added 77,435 people between July 2017 and July 2018. The Toronto metropolitan area

13375-479: The stream banks. The ravine system forms a part of a larger network of ravines that extends towards the Oak Ridges Moraine , located north of Toronto. The largest ravines surround the rivers running south from the moraine towards Lake Ontario, the Don, Humber, and Rouge rivers. The present ravine system is a protected natural landform under the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection Bylaw . The bylaw defines

13500-410: The surrounding area, initially on the trails of the lower Don River. There were 924,486 hikers and 398,240 cyclists who used the trails in the Toronto ravine system in 2017. The heavy use of some trails remains an issue for conservation efforts, with these trails showing signs of accelerated erosion and disruption to wildlife. Certain parts of the ravines are also known as gay cruising areas. As

13625-461: The town's surrender. American soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation. Because of the sacking of York, British troops retaliated later in the war with the burning of Washington, D.C. York was incorporated as the City of Toronto on March 6, 1834, adopting the Indigenous name. Reformist politician William Lyon Mackenzie became

13750-457: The wake of the retreating glaciers and the compressed land it left. Meltwater from the glacial deposit at the Oak Ridges Moraine , situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of the city, flowed southeast towards Glacial Lake Iroquois , carving through nearly 100 metres (330 ft) of soil, alluvial soft sand, gravel, and clay till to form the ravine valleys. Most of the meltwater flowed southeast along shallow ice-scrapped depressions towards

13875-589: The war, and the area became part of the British colony of Quebec in 1763. During the American Revolutionary War , an influx of British settlers arrived there as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario. The Crown granted them land to compensate for their losses in the Thirteen Colonies. The new province of Upper Canada was being created and needed

14000-552: The water level of glacial Lake Iroquois began to recede. The drop in water levels saw new waterways formed as the water meandered through the former lakebed into the newly formed Lake Admiralty , with the two main branches of the Don River joined at the old shoreline of Lake Iroquois, and new streams having been formed. The new lake existed until approximately 8,000 years ago, when the Earth's crust around Quebec and northeastern Ontario began to rebound , having been previously depressed under

14125-631: The waterfront for the next 100 years. During the late 19th century, Toronto became the largest alcohol distillation (in particular, spirits ) centre in North America. By the 1860s, the Gooderham and Worts Distillery operations became the world's largest whisky factory. A preserved section of this once dominant local industry remains in the Distillery District . The harbour allowed access to grain and sugar imports used in processing. Horse-drawn streetcars gave way to electric streetcars in 1891 when

14250-486: The weight of the glacial ice that had since retreated from that area. Water levels in the lake gradually rose as the earth's crust near the lake's outlet to the Saint Lawrence River rebounded. Major plateaus in the system, such as the lower Don Valley, were formed during this period, as rising water levels from Lake Ontario pushed into the lower valley, and sediment washed down from the upper valley accumulated in

14375-513: Was a member of the Orange Order between 1850 and 1950, and the city was sometimes referred to as the " Belfast of Canada" because of Orange influence in municipal politics and administration. For brief periods, Toronto was twice the capital of the united Province of Canada : first from 1849 to 1851, following unrest in Montreal, and later from 1855 to 1859. After this date, Quebec was designated as

14500-464: Was an explosive expert clearing the ruins from the fire. It caused CA$ 10,387,000 in damage (roughly CA$ 277,600,000 in 2020 terms). The city received new European immigrant groups from the late 19th century into the early 20th century, particularly Germans, French, Italians, and Jews. They were soon followed by Russians, Poles, and other Eastern European nations, in addition to the Chinese entering from

14625-532: Was banned outright in Upper Canada (and throughout the British Empire) in 1834. Torontonians integrated people of colour into their society. In the 1840s, an eating house at Frederick and King Streets, a place of mercantile prosperity in the early city, was operated by a black man named Bloxom. As a major destination for immigrants to Canada, the city grew rapidly through the remainder of the 19th century. The first significant wave of immigrants were Irish, fleeing

14750-435: Was built at the entrance of the town's natural harbour, sheltered by a long sand-bar peninsula. The town's settlement formed at the harbour's eastern end behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street and Front Street (in the " Old Town " area). In 1813, as part of the War of 1812 , the Battle of York ended in the town's capture and plunder by United States forces. John Strachan negotiated

14875-561: Was greatly enlarged, not through traditional annexations , but as an amalgamation of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and its six lower-tier constituent municipalities: East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, York, and the original city itself. They were dissolved by an act of the Government of Ontario and formed into a single-tier City of Toronto (colloquially dubbed the " megacity "), replacing all six governments. The merger

15000-517: Was later occupied by the Seneca in the 1600s, with early European explorers having noted the existence of a Seneca village on the Humber , and another on the Rouge rivers in the 1660s. The first Europeans to arrive in the area were primarily explorers, fur traders, and missionaries, with a French Sulpician mission established at the mouth of the Rouge River by 1669. From the 17th century to 19th century,

15125-483: Was major brickwork that served as a major quarry and source of building material for the city until 1984. Clay excavations at the Don Valley Brick Works have provided researchers with the best-known preserved interglacial record in northern North America. Urban developments within the ravines were largely limited in the early 19th century, as the muddy glacial sediment that made up the ravine valley acted as

15250-527: Was not taken against the invasive flora, with certain invasive species such as the Norway maple seizing large portions of the ravine system by killing off native undergrowth and saplings. Norway maples were a species that out-competed native vegetation. Several artifacts dating to the Archaic period in North America have been found in the ravine system. After the introduction of corn in southern Ontario circa 500 CE,

15375-541: Was proposed as a cost-saving measure by the Progressive Conservative provincial government under premier Mike Harris . The announcement touched off vociferous public objections. In March 1997, a referendum in all six municipalities produced a vote of more than 3:1 against amalgamation. However, municipal governments in Canada are creatures of the provincial governments, and referendums have little to no legal effect. The Harris government could thus legally ignore

15500-408: Was ridiculed by some in other parts of the country, fuelled in part by what was perceived as a frivolous use of resources. The city attracted international attention in 2003 when it became the centre of a major SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak. Public health attempts to prevent the disease from spreading elsewhere temporarily dampened the local economy. From August 14 to 17, 2003,

15625-609: Was the second-fastest-growing metropolitan area in North America, adding 125,298 persons, compared with 131,767 in the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metroplex in Texas. The large growth in the Toronto metropolitan area is attributed to international migration to Toronto. The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada first occurred in Toronto and was among the hotspots in the country . Toronto was named as one of 16 cities in North America (and one of two Canadian cities) to host matches for

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