Twenty Mile Creek
- This article is about the creek in Lincoln and Wentworth Counties Ontario, Canada. For the creek in Chautauqua County, New York and Erie County, Pennsylvania, see Twentymile Creek.
| Twenty Mile Creek (Kenowchdaw) | |
| River | |
 The Twenty Mile Creek flows over Ball's Falls as it crosses the Niagara Escarpment | |
| Name origin: English: named for the location of its mouth, twenty miles west of the Niagara River | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | Ontario |
| District | Lincoln, Wentworth |
| Source | Headwaters south of the City of Hamilton, near Hamilton International Airport |
| - elevation | 238 m (781 ft) |
| - coordinates | 43°11′7″N 79°54′34″W / 43.18528°N 79.90944°W |
| Mouth | Lake Ontario |
| - location | Jordan Harbor |
| - elevation | 74 m (243 ft) |
| - coordinates | 43°9′44″N 79°14′12″W / 43.16222°N 79.23667°W |
| Length | 79 km (49 mi) |
| Basin | 291 km2 (112 sq mi) |
  Location of the mouth of the Twenty Mile Creek in Ontario.
| |
The Twenty Mile Creek is a minor waterway, located in the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada. It receives its name because the mouth of the Twenty Mile Creek is twenty miles west of the mouth of the Niagara River. The Indian name for the Twenty Mile Creek was the Kenowchdaw, which translates to Lead River.[1]
Watershed
The Twenty Mile Creek's watershed covers an area of 112 sq. miles and is about 49 miles in length. The creek begins at the headwaters above the Niagara escarpment in the City of Hamilton, rising near the Hamilton International Airport. From there the creek travels east above the escarpment, before turning north and crossing the Niagara Escarpment at Balls Falls (where it drops 83 feet). The creek eventually enters Lake Ontario at Jordan Harbour, after passing through the Jordan Marsh, which was created by lake waters flooding the lower reaches of the river valley. The Twenty Mile Creek watershed contains five sub-watersheds including the main channel of Twenty Mile Creek; Gavora Ditch, Spring Creek, North Creek and Sinkhole Creek.
The Twenty Mile Creek watershed contains several areas of natural and scientific interest, environmentally sensitive areas, and regionally significant wetlands. The upper reaches of the Twenty Mile Creek watershed are characterized by rolling topography with fairly steep slopes in the headwaters. Further downstream, the watershed contains gently rolling to flat topography before the creek flows over the Niagara Escarpment.
Base flow in Twenty Mile Creek drops to zero during the summer months, although some water is retained in the channel pools. The low to non-existent summer flows may be due to a number of land use factors primarily resulting from agricultural expansion. These factors include a loss of water storage resulting from a decrease in the amount of forested areas, soil compaction, soil loss, and tile drainage. There may also be natural surface water losses via bedrock fractures and karst features [2]
Navigation
Historically, the Twenty Mile Creek has been navigable by small craft and canoe as far upriver as Smithville, with the use of portages, most notably around the cataracts at Ball's Falls. In recent years, rafters have navigated the rapids at Ball's Falls, although the 83 foot main cataract has yet to be attempted. It is estimated that the rapids rate a Class II to Class III on the International Scale of River Difficulty. [3]
Settlements
The waterway played an essential role in the development of the communities on its banks. Smithville, St. Anns, and Jordan all owe their early activity to industry based upon the creek. The ghost town of Ball's Falls' development was also due to its location on the Twenty. [4]
Terror Plot
The Canadian National trestle bridge near Jordan was allegedly the subject of a terror plot in early 2013. The alleged plot involved an attempt by Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, both non-citizen residents of Canada, to derail the daily New York-Toronto passenger train as it crossed the trestle. The two men were allegedly affiliates of an Al-Qaeda group operating out of Iran. [5][6][7]
References
- ↑ Coffman Barbara and Janet Powell (eds). Lincoln County, 1856-1956. Saint Catharines, Lincoln County Council. 1956.
- ↑ http://www.sourceprotection-niagara.ca/pdf/ApprovedAR/Text/Chapter%202.pdf.
- ↑ http://www.liquidlore.com/ontario/twenty/
- ↑ Coffman Barbara and Janet Powell (eds). Lincoln County, 1856-1956. Saint Catharines, Lincoln County Council. 1956.
- ↑ ref name = Reuters>Rocha, Euan; Alastair Sharp (22 April 2013). "Canada thwarts "al Qaeda-supported" passenger train plot". Reuters Canada. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ Macdonald, Alaistair; Siobhan Gorman; David George-Cosh (22 April 2012). "Canada Thwarts Alleged Plot to Attack Train". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ http://www.niagarathisweek.com/mobile/news/article/4313523/