Credit River near Cataract Falls
Cataract Falls is where the Credit River spills 21 metres over an edge of the mighty Niagara Escarpment. The Credit River was so-named by 17th-century French traders because they would pay the natives for furs a full season in advance.
The "plunge-class" waterfall, also known as Churches Falls, is now part of Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. There's a signed trail to a large viewing platform over the gorge. Below the gorge sit the ruins of an old power plant.
Above and below the falls, the gorge walls have been reinforced with concrete. Above the falls is the Village of Cataract which was booming in the late 1800s thanks to three quarries employing 400 men to extract stone that was used in several noteworthy structures, including Toronto's Casa Loma, old City Hall, the Provincial Legislature at Queen's Park and some of the buildings of the University of Toronto.
The steep hills in this area are the remnants of gravel deposits (“till”) left behind by the glaciers as they melted away from this area more than 10,000 years ago. Established in 1855, the Village of Cataract had a grist mill, woollen mill, sawmill, broom factory, barrel plant, a brewery and two hotels. One of the hotels is still in business as the Cataract Inn.
For a very small village, there are a lot of No Parking signs in view today.
Credit River near Cataract Falls
Cataract Falls is where the Credit River spills 21 metres over an edge of the mighty Niagara Escarpment. The Credit River was so-named by 17th-century French traders because they would pay the natives for furs a full season in advance.
The "plunge-class" waterfall, also known as Churches Falls, is now part of Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. There's a signed trail to a large viewing platform over the gorge. Below the gorge sit the ruins of an old power plant.
Above and below the falls, the gorge walls have been reinforced with concrete. Above the falls is the Village of Cataract which was booming in the late 1800s thanks to three quarries employing 400 men to extract stone that was used in several noteworthy structures, including Toronto's Casa Loma, old City Hall, the Provincial Legislature at Queen's Park and some of the buildings of the University of Toronto.
The steep hills in this area are the remnants of gravel deposits (“till”) left behind by the glaciers as they melted away from this area more than 10,000 years ago. Established in 1855, the Village of Cataract had a grist mill, woollen mill, sawmill, broom factory, barrel plant, a brewery and two hotels. One of the hotels is still in business as the Cataract Inn.
For a very small village, there are a lot of No Parking signs in view today.