The Humber, as seen from a point near the northern border of Toronto.

The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999. The Humber collects from about 750 creeks and tributaries in a fan-shaped area north of the city. One main branch runs for about 100 km from the Niagara Escarpment to the northwest, while the other major branch starts in the Lake St. George in the Oak Ridges Moraine near Aurora, Ontario to the northeast. They join north of Toronto and then flow in a generally southeasterly direction into Lake Ontario at what was once the far western portions of the city. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1728, 2294 KB)Looking south along the Humber River from a point just south of Steeles Ave. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1728, 2294 KB)Looking south along the Humber River from a point just south of Steeles Ave. ... The river as it runs beneath the Bloor/Danforth trestle bridge The Don River is one of two rivers bounding the original settled area of Toronto, Canada along the shore of Lake Ontario, the other being the Humber River to the west. ... The Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS) was established in 1984 by the federal, provincial and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canadas river heritage, to give them national recognition, and to encourage the public to enjoy and appreciate them. ... is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Rattlesnake Point near Milton, Ontario. ... The Oak Ridges Moraine is an ecologically sensitive geological landform in south central Ontario, Canada. ... Motto: Youre in Good Company This map shows the location of Aurora, in relation to York Region. ... Lake Ontario, bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontarios Niagara Peninsula and by New York State, USA, is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. ...

The Humber has a long history of human settlement along its banks. Native settlement of the area is well documented archaeologically and occurred in three waves. The first settlers were the Palaeo-Indians who lived in the area from 10,000 to 7000 BC. The second wave, people of the Archaic period, settled the area between 7000 and 1000 BC and began to adopt seasonal migration patterns to take advantage of available plants, fish, and game. The third wave of native settlement was the Woodland period, which saw the introduction of the bow and arrow and the growing of crops which allowed for larger, more permanent villages. The Woodland period was also characterized by movement of native groups along what is known today as the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, running from Lake Ontario up the Humber to Lake Simcoe and eventually to the northern Great Lakes. Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. ... The Toronto Carrying-Place Trail, also known as the Humber Portage, was a major portage route in Ontario, linking the Lake Ontario with Lake Simcoe and the northern Great Lakes . ... Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth largest lake in the province. ... The Great Lakes from space The Laurentian Great Lakes are a group of five large lakes in North America on or near the Canada-United States border. ...

The Humber during a mild winter (February, 2006)

Étienne Brûlé was the first European to encounter the Humber while travelling the Toronto Carrying-Place Trail. Brûlé passed through the watershed in 1615 on a mission from Samuel de Champlain to build alliances with native peoples. The Trail became a convenient shortcut to the upper Great Lakes for traders, explorers, and missionaries. A major landmark on the northern end of the trail in Lake Simcoe was used to describe the trail as a whole, and eventually the southern end became known simply as "Toronto" to the Europeans. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 491 KB) This is a photo of the Humber River (Toronto), taken during the mild winter of 2006. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1280x960, 491 KB) This is a photo of the Humber River (Toronto), taken during the mild winter of 2006. ... Étienne Brûlé (c. ... A much-reproduced fictional portrait of Champlain by Théophile Hamel (1870) (no authentic portrait has survived)[1]) Samuel de Champlain , the father of New France, was born around 1580 in the town of Brouage, a seaport on Frances west coast. ...

A fort, Fort Toronto, was constructed about 1 km inland from the mouth of the Humber to protect the Trail, which eventually became the modern city of Toronto. During the 1660s this was the site of Teiaiagon, a permanent settlement of the Seneca used for trading with the Europeans. Popple's map of 1733 shows a prominent river beside "Tejajagon" which we can only assume was the Humber. Its name is given as the Tanaovate River. French missionaries used the area for many years, including Jean de Brébeuf and Joseph Chaumonot in 1641, Louis Hennepin in 1678, and Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle in 1680. Teiaiagon was a Seneca village on the east bank of the Humber River in Toronto. ... The Seneca are a Native American people, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League. ... Saint Jean de Brébeuf (25 March 1593 – 16 March 1649) was a Jesuit missionary, martyred in Canada March 16 1649. ... A painting of Father Louis Hennepin discovering Saint Anthony Falls. ... René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (November 22, 1643 - March 19, 1687) was a French cleric and explorer. ...

However, no permanent European settlement occurred until the arrival of Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (not the famous author) in the late 1700s. Rousseau piloted John Graves Simcoe's ship into Toronto Bay to officially begin the British era of control in 1793. Most of the British attention was focussed to the east of the Humber, around the protected Toronto Bay closer to the Don River. Settlement was scattered until after the War of 1812 when many loyalists moved to the area, who were joined by immigrants from Ireland and Scotland who chose to remain in British lands. John Graves Simcoe (February 25, 1752 – October 26, 1806) was the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (modern-day southern Ontario plus the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior) from 1791-1796. ... This article is about the U.S. – U.K. war. ... This article is about the country. ...

By the 1840s, agriculture had developed suffiently to support a grist mill and a sawmill, both built by Joseph Rowntree. Joseph Rowntree was pioneer in north Etobicoke village of Thistletown and established two mills on the banks of the Humber River. ...

As the Toronto area grew, the lands around the Humber became important farming areas and were extensively deforested; in addition, some areas of the river's flood plain were developed as residential. This led to serious runoff problems in the 1940s, which the Humber Valley Conservation Authority was established to address. But in 1954, Hurricane Hazel raised the river to devastating flood levels, destroying buildings and bridges; on one street, Raymore Drive, 60 homes were destroyed and 32 people killed. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Floodplain. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lowest pressure ≤937 mbar (hPa)[1] Damage $381+ million (1954 USD)[2] $3–5 billion (2005 USD) Fatalities 600 – 1,200 direct Areas affected Grenada, Haiti, Bahamas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Toronto and southern and eastern Ontario Part of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane... volcanic rock. ...

The Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority succeeded the Humber Valley authority in 1957 (the word "Metropolitan" was dropped in 1998). More recently, a task force within the TRCA was formed to further clear the Humber as a part of the Great Lakes 2000 Cleanup Fund. Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is one thirty-six conservation authorities in Ontario, Canada. ...

The Humber as it exits into Lake Ontario. The bridge carries a cycling path over the river, and is the same path as in the image above, some 20k to the north.

Unlike the Don to the east, the Humber remained relatively free from industrialization as Toronto grew, mainly because it is much flatter and does not provide a large river valley to build in. Since Hurricane Hazel showed the land to be unsuitable for housing, it has been largely developed or redeveloped as parkland, with the extensive and important wetlands on its southern end remaining unmolested. Whereas the mouth of the Don is often clogged with flotsam and is obstructed by low bridges, the Humber is navigable and a major sporting and fishing area. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1728, 2329 KB)Foot of the Humber River, Toronto, looking south into Lake Ontario. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1728, 2329 KB)Foot of the Humber River, Toronto, looking south into Lake Ontario. ... Lowest pressure ≤937 mbar (hPa)[1] Damage $381+ million (1954 USD)[2] $3–5 billion (2005 USD) Fatalities 600 – 1,200 direct Areas affected Grenada, Haiti, Bahamas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Toronto and southern and eastern Ontario Part of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane...

Today the majority of the Toronto portion of the Humber is parkland, with paved trails running from the lakeshore all the way to the northern border of the city some 30 km away. Trails following the various branches of the river form some 50 km of bicycling trails, much of which are excellent. Similar trails on the Don tend to be narrower and in somewhat worse condition, but the complete set of trails is connected along the lakeshore, for some 100 km of off-road paved trails. Cycling is a recreation, a transport across land. ...

Tributaries

• Albion Creek

• Salt Creek
• Cold Creek
• Centreville Creek

See also

• List of Ontario rivers
• List of rivers of Canada
• Humber Bay Arch Bridge
• Etobicoke
• Humber Valley Village
• Bolton, Ontario

See also: Rivers in Canada Tributaries of Hudson Bay Rivers in Canada alphabetically Rivers of the Americas This is the list of rivers situated which flow through Ontario. ... The list of rivers in Canada is organized by drainage basin and province. ... The Humber Bay Arch Bridge (also known as Gateway Bridge and Humber River Arch Bridge) is a pedestrian bridge south of Lakeshore Boulevard West. ... Etobicoke (pronounced a-TOE-ba-coe; in SAMPA [@toUb@koU]), is the western region of Toronto, Ontario. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Bolton is the most populated village within the township of Caledon, located in the Region of Peel, approximately 50 kilometers north-west of Toronto, Canada. ...

External links

• The Humber Watershed, the TRCA's site for the Humber Watershed Task Force
• Flooding events in Canada - Ontario, an Environment Canada page